This thesis investigates the operationalisation of Corporate Community Involvement (CCI) practices within Multinational Corporations (MNCs) subsidiaries. This study particularly focuses on the influence of West African countries such as Burkina Faso and Mali settings on MNCs CCI engagement mechanisms when operating within host country context in their legitimacy building process. Four main theoretical domains are combined in this study: Corporate social responsibility (CSR/CCI) literature, International Business literature, Neo-institutional theory and legitimacy theory. A qualitative research methodology is used, focusing upon in-depth interviews with MNCs subsidiaries managers of the six subsidiaries and key institutional actors across both selected countries (Burkina Faso and Mali). Forty-seven in-depth interviews with the subsidiary's managers responsible for CCI implementation and institutional key actors in host countries were collected and analysed using descriptive and interpretative coding to reach the findings. The findings showed that the perception of the conception of CCI within both selected countries tend to be problematic resulting from the 'ambivalence' nature of the description of the different groups of key institutional actors in host country. The findings also showed that CCI contribution towards community socio-economic development was found to be ineffective resulting from 'unfit' projects practices and a lack of structural investments of their CCI engagement mechanisms in Burkina Faso and Mali. The findings showed evidence of the limited capabilities of host countries local authorities and the dominant position of MNCs subsidiaries even at a decentralised level. In addition, the dynamic and complex nature of the collaboration between MNCs subsidiaries were found to be characterised by two crucial perspectives: frustrating when it involves subsidiaries and CSOs/NGOs and very good when the collaboration is between subsidiaries and the government. Thus, three key types of legitimisation processes were also emphasised on the findings by subsidiaries when faced with host country institutional pressures, using their CCI practices: anticipatory, appeasement and participatory. Therefore, focusing on these findings, this study recommends the need to conduct further studies on cross-sectorial investigation of CCI engagement mechanism for the entire ECOWAS (Economic Organisation for West African State) or WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union). This could potentially contribute to generating important insights into Burkina Faso and Mali context that would be useful for organisations managers and public policy makers to better meet with different stakeholders' demands and expectations in host countries.


In this paper, a graded mesh FDTD code running on the massive parallel computer DEC 12000 with 4K processors has been applied to analyzed various MMIC discontinuities enclosed in a metal package and fed by coaxial transitions. Observe that, in the present approach, the circuit and the package are analyzed as a whole. Moreover, also the effects of the feeding connectors have been thoroughly modeled. Since the package introduces resonances several different possibilities to choke off these resonances have been investigated. It is shown that the common practice of inserting a damping layer just below the lid is often not effective. In particular, the importance of placing damping layers also on the side walls is demonstrated.


Purpose

Policing faces several critical problems, the most immediate of which are arguably public perceptions of racial bias, and widely prevalent officer fatigue related to shift work and long work hours. The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the "reverse racism effect" still occurred when officers were extremely fatigued.

Design/methodology/approach

Controlled laboratory experiments were conducted during which experienced police patrol officers responded to black and white suspects in deadly force judgment and decision-making simulations on two occasions; once immediately following the last of five consecutive 10:40 hours patrol shifts (fatigued condition) and again 72 hours after completing the last shift in a cycle (rested condition).

Findings

Contrary to expectations, the authors found that officer fatigue did not significantly affect shooting behavior. Furthermore, the authors did not find a significant interaction between officer fatigue and suspect race on either reaction time to shoot or the likelihood of shooting an unarmed suspect. Thus, the reverse racism effect was observed both when officers were rested and fatigued.

Research limitations/implications

As policing agencies around the country respond to allegations of racial bias, both the public and police search for empirical evidence about whether negative perceptions are accurate about officers' motivations in deadly encounters. The research reported here provides insight about how fatigue effects officers' decisions to shoot black vs white suspects, and directly addresses this high profile and divisive national issue.

Originality/value

This is the first valid experimental test of the impact of fatigue on officer shooting behavior, and the interaction between police fatigue and suspect race on decisions to shoot.


We present an approach to modeling computer programming as a cognitive process. In particular, we apply Piaget's four-stage model of cognitive development to study how programming is learnt by adult programmers. For this purpose we survey software developers at different stages in their career. In order to evaluate our approach, we analyze the gathered data through formal methods. Our approach is interdisciplinary in that it incorporates philosophical, psychological, cognitive and computer science aspects. The results from this study will be used as a starting point for investigating the role of deeper cognitive processes underlying programming, which can offer hints to design improved neural architectures inspired from biology and cognitive science. Our vision is to use such models to generate programs automatically given the intention of the user. The preliminary goal is to set connections between empirical evidence of how programmers write code, the cognitive processes implicated in software development and the corresponding mechanisms integrated in modern neural architectures. In the future, we plan to explore the potential of such enhanced neural models to solve tasks involving generation of computer programs.


This paper extends the tax analysis of knowledge-based capital (KBC) in several dimensions. The paper analyses non-R&D KBC: computer software, architectural and engineering designs, and economic competencies which account for over 70% of total KBC. The paper analyses the tax treatment of internally-developed KBC which is used in production by the developer versus KBC sold to third-party producers. The current tax rules generally favour internally-developed KBC, which disadvantages many SMEs and start-up companies specializing in innovation. The analysis reports two average effective tax rates (ETRs) depending on investors' considerations of their investment opportunities. When KBC is unique, earns excess returns due to market power, or involves financing-constraints, ETRs are high despite immediate expensing. The paper also analyses the effects of tax limitations, where many SMEs and start-up companies can't benefit from tax credits and deductions until having sufficient tax liability.


The development of apparatus to maintain materials at high hydrostatic pressure has been an active area of research for many years. From the pioneering work of Bridgman, during the early part of this century (Bridgman 1971), until the late 1960s, massive hydraulicly driven Bridgman-anvil and piston-cylinder devices dominated high-pressure science. Although there were later improvements in design, such as multi-anvil devices, it was not until the advent of the gasketed diamond-anvil cell, in the mid 1960s, that high-pressure studies were possible in non-specialized laboratories. Diamond has remarkable properties; not only is it the hardest known material it is also highly transparent to many ranges of electromagnetic radiation. Indeed incorporating these attributes, the gasketed diamond-anvil cell has become the standard tool for the generation of high pressures over the last three decades and has been applied in a wide range of experimental studies such as Brillouin scattering (Whitfield et al. 1976), Raman spectroscopy (Sharma 1977, Sherman 1984), NMR measurements (Lee et al. 1987) and, of course X-ray diffraction. It is this utility across a large range of science through physics, earth science and lately the life sciences that makes the development of the diamond-anvil cell as significant a revolution for measurement under non-ambient conditions in the physical sciences as that of the invention of the transistor to the whole sphere of electronics and computation.

 Figure 1.
Assembly of the gasketed diamond-anvil cell: principle of pressure generation.

As with all successful designs, the principles upon which the gasketed diamond-anvil cell (Van Valkenburg 1964) operates are elegantly simple (Fig. 1). The sample is placed in a pressure chamber created between the flat parallel faces (culets) of two opposed diamond anvils and the hole penetrating a hardened metal foil (= the gasket). A pressure calibrant is placed beside the sample and the free volume within …


Purpose: This paper is to survey and examine the impact of individualism and collectivism culture on audit judgement in Central Java Provinces, Indonesia. The paper intents to audit judgement and factors influencing audit judgement, using survey data collected by the authors. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses the cultural dimensions of individualism/collectivism with cultural variables consisting of individualism and collectivism culture on audit judgment at Public Accounting Firm. The data set is from senior auditors in Central Java Provinces, Indonesia, which perhaps limits its usefulness elsewhere. Findings: The paper found that most of the respondents who have individualistic culture are not supportive to audit judgement, while respondents who have collectivistic culture are supportive to audit judgement. Practical Imlpications: The paper will help auditors, accountants, and policy makers to consider individualistic and collectivistic culture on audit judgement. Originality/Value: The paper uses original survey data collected by the author who has considered individualism and collectivism in the analysis to enable policy makers to consider individualism and collectivism on audit judgements.


Isotope effect may cause partial chromatographic separation of labeled (heavy) and unlabeled (light) isotopologue pairs. Together with a simultaneous matrix effect, this could lead to unacceptable accuracy in quantitative liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry assays, especially when electrospray ionization is used. Four biologically relevant reactive aldehydes (acrolein, malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal, and 4-oxo-2-nonenal) were derivatized with light or heavy (d3-, 13C6-, 15N2-, or 15N4-labeled) 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and used as model compounds to evaluate chromatographic isotope effects. For comprehensive assessment of retention time differences between light/heavy pairs under various gradient reversed-phase liquid chromatography conditions, major chromatographic parameters (stationary phase, mobile phase pH, temperature, organic solvent, and gradient slope) and different isotope labelings were addressed by multiple-factor screening using experimental designs that included both asymmetrical (Addelman) and Plackett–Burman schemes followed by statistical evaluations. Results confirmed that the most effective approach to avoid chromatographic isotope effect is the use of 15N or 13C labeling instead of deuterium labeling, while chromatographic parameters had no general influence. Comparison of the alternate isotope-coded derivatization assay (AIDA) using deuterium versus 15N labeling gave unacceptable differences (>15%) upon quantifying some of the model aldehydes from biological matrixes. On the basis of our results, we recommend the modification of the AIDA protocol by replacing d3-2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine with 15N- or 13C-labeled derivatizing reagent to avoid possible unfavorable consequences of chromatographic isotope effects.


This paper is part of the project: "IDB's Science and Technology Programs: An Evaluation of the Technology Development Funds (TDF) and Competitive Research Grants (CRG)." This paper analyzes the role of National Research Funds in promoting scientific production in emerging economies. The investigation focuses on the impact of the Chilean National Science and Technology Research Fund (FONDECYT). To measure the program's impact, we implement a Regression Discontinuity (RD) design on projects submitted for funding between 1988 and 1995. The results do not show any significant impact either in terms of publications or in terms of quality of publications in the proximity of the program threshold ranking. Although results show that the program has been partially effective in identifying the best projects in terms of expected quality, evidence suggests that the FONDECYT's lack of impact may be due to targeting problems in terms of both researchers and research projects.


The family Bunyaviridae comprises over 200 viruses (serotypes, subtypes, and varieties) that infect vertebrates and/or invertebrates. Four genera of viruses have been defined (Bunyavirus, Nairovirus, Phlebovirus, and Uukuvirus). The main characteristics of the member viruses are: (i) the virus particles are for the most part uniformly spherical, 80-110 nm in diameter, and possess a unit membrane envelope from which protrude polypeptide spikes 5-10nm long; (ii) the viruses have three helical nucleocapsids, often in the form of supercoiled circles, each consisting of a single species of single-stranded RNA, major nucleocapsid polypeptide, N, and at least in some cases minor amounts of a large polypeptide which may be a transcriptase component; (iii) the genome is composed of three species of RNA (L, large; M, medium; and S, small), organized in end-hydrogen bonded circular structures; (iv) most viruses have three major virion polypeptides (N, and two surface polypeptides, designated G1 and G2); (v) for at least some member viruses, the virions have been shown to contain an RNA-directed RNA polymerase, believed to be responsible for the synthesis of viral complementary mRNA, so that bunyaviruses are considered to be negative-stranded viruses; (vi) at least some bunyaviruses are capable of heterologous virus genome segment reassortment and can form recombinant viruses at high or low frequency; (vii) viruses appear to mature primarily at smooth membrane surfaces and accumulate in Golgi vesicles and saccules, or nearby; (viii) transovarial, venereal and/or transstadial transmission in arthropods has been shown to occur for some members of the family.


Purpose: The purpose of the study was to analyze the correlation between central field index (CFI) and activity limitation in glaucoma using glaucoma activity limitation-9 (GAL-9) questionnaire. Methods: This hospital-based, cross-sectional, noninterventional study, included 50 patients diagnosed with glaucoma, with field defect encroaching onto central 10° in Humphrey field analysis 30–2 program, in at least one eye. These patients underwent central 10–2 field analysis and CFI was calculated with the help of a calculator created by us. Patients with severe cognitive impairment were excluded and the rest completed the GAL-9 questionnaire. The data was analyzed to determine the correlation between the CFI and the GAL-9 scores. Results: There was a moderate correlation between CFI of better eye (r = −0.431, confidence interval "CI" −0.619 to −0.173, P < 0.002) and worse eye (r = −0.342, CI: −0.575 to − 0.058, P < 0.015) with GAL-9, the better eye showing a stronger correlation. Mean deviations (MD) of both better (r = −0.345, CI: −0.556 to −0.069, P < 0.014) and worse eye (r = −0.346, CI: −0.578 to −0.063 P < 0.014) showed similar moderate correlation. Vision of better eye (r = −0.398, CI: −0.577 to −0.210, P < 0.004) showed a stronger correlation with GAL-9 score than worse eye (r = −0.188, CI: −0.475 to 0.100, P < 0.192). Subscales of GAL-9 questionnaire also correlated with better eye status. "Finding dropped objects" had the strongest correlation to CFI of better eye (r = −0.676) and "adjusting to dim lights" had the weakest correlation (r = −0.052). Conclusion: The better eye status in glaucoma patients correlated better than worse eye with regard to activity limitation, signifying that the better eye has a greater influence on the quality of life and how patients perceive their disability. Furthermore, CFI showed a better correlation with GAL-9 score than MD.


You can build a variety of amazing apps on the iOS platform-and every one of them presents a unique set of problems. With the recipes in this cookbook, you'll go beyond theory to solve the vexing, real-life issues you're likely to face when creating apps for the iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Each recipe provides a clear solution and sample code that you can use right away. You'll find solutions for working with development frameworks in iOS SDK 4 and technologies such as Cocoa, Objective-C, Xcode, and Interface Builder. Whether you have a little or a lot of experience with iOS development, you'll find the help you need for every phase of the process, from initial idea to completed project. * Work with Objective-C classes, objects, properties, delegates, and memory management * Construct a user interface with gesture recognizers * Develop location-aware applications with the Map Kit and Core Location APIs * Build apps that play audio and video, manage calendars and events, access contacts and groups, or tap into the Photo Library * Use the Core Motion framework to access the accelerometer and gyroscope * Maintain persistent storage for iOS apps with the Core Data framework * Create multitasking-aware apps that let users leave and return without losing their place


Modeling discourse coherence is an important problem in natural language generation and understanding. Sentence ordering, the goal of which is to organize a set of sentences into a coherent text, is a commonly used task to learn and evaluate the model. In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical attention network that captures word clues and dependencies between sentences to address this problem. Our model outperforms prior methods and achieves state-of-the-art performance on several datasets in different domains. Furthermore, our experiments demonstrate that the model performs very well even though adding noisy sentences into the set, which shows the robustness and effectiveness of the model. Visualization analysis and case study show that our model captures the structure and pattern of coherent texts not only by simple word clues but also by consecution in context.


This is an illustrated guide to Japanese paperfolding, with over 30 classic designs. It is a fabulous collection of over 40 inspirational origami projects that will stimulate, entertain and delight. It offers a wide variety of classic and modern designs to choose from, including boxes, flowers, people and animals. How to make fantastic folded flowers, birds and other figures, plus practical containers, abstract sculptures and ornaments to enhance your home. It includes helpful professional advice on choosing the appropriate types of paper, and features both basic and more advanced paperfolding techniques. It features a unique gallery section showing a range of beautiful pieces by contemporary origamists. All the projects are fully illustrated with step-by-step photographs and easy-to-follow practical instructions. For more than 2000 years, the intricate skill of origami has been a source of interest, enjoyment and intellectual stimulation, and this fascinating art form continues to be a highly popular pastime. This delightful book covers all you need to know to perfect the art of paperfolding. It contains a gallery of inspiring pieces, a guide to the wide variety of materials available, and step-by-step techniques showing how to make over 40 projects - from a dove and peacock to a samurai helmet and human figure. With over 580 photographs and a host of projects to suit every level of ability, it is an essential book for anyone interested in the art of paperfolding.


The measurement of prompt D-meson production as a function of multiplicity in p–Pb collisions at √ sNN = 5.02 TeV with the ALICE detector at the LHC is reported. D0, D+ and D∗+ mesons are reconstructed via their hadronic decay channels in the centre-of-mass rapidity range −0.96 < ycms < 0.04 and transverse momentum interval 1 < pT < 24 GeV/c. The multiplicity dependence of D-meson production is examined by either comparing yields in p–Pb collisions in different event classes, selected based on the multiplicity of produced particles or zero-degree energy, with those in pp collisions, scaled by the number of binary nucleon-nucleon collisions (nuclear modification factor); as well as by evaluating the per-event yields in p–Pb collisions in different multiplicity intervals normalised to the multiplicity-integrated ones (relative yields). The nuclear modification factors for D0, D+ and D∗+ are consistent with one another. The D-meson nuclear modification factors as a function of the zero-degree energy are consistent with unity within uncertainties in the measured pT regions and event classes. The relative D-meson yields, calculated in various pT intervals, increase as a function of the charged-particle multiplicity. The results are compared with the equivalent pp measurements at √ s = 7 TeV as well as with EPOS 3 calculations.


The sludge biogranulation technology, including the two aerobic and anaerobic processes, is an important development in the field of wastewater treatment. Much is know about the process and operation of the anaerobic granulation thanks to the rather large number of studies carried out. Aerobic granulation, however, has been only recently investigated and a limited number of studies have been dedicated to such aspects of the process as the organic source, hydrodynamic shear stress, cycle, settling time, reactor configuration, solid retention time, oxygen concentration, metallic concentration, and pH. This article tries to provide a brief review of these studies and the results obtained in an attempt to identify the most important study so far conducted. Using the results, a comparison will also be made between the anaerobic and aerobic granulation processes to gain a better understanding of both.


We perform an extensive and robust study of the performance of three different pairs trading strategies - the distance, cointegration, and copula methods - on the entire US equity market from 1962 to 2014 with time-varying trading costs. For the cointegration and copula methods, we design a computationally efficient 2-step pairs trading strategy. In terms of economic outcomes, the distance, cointegration, and copula methods show a mean monthly excess return of 91, 85, and 43 bps (38, 33, and 5 bps) before transaction costs (after transaction costs), respectively. In terms of continued profitability, from 2009, the frequency of trading opportunities via the distance and cointegration methods is reduced considerably whereas this frequency remains stable for the copula method. Further, the copula method shows better performance for its unconverged trades compared to those of the other methods. While the liquidity factor is negatively correlated to all strategies' returns, we find no evidence of their correlation to market excess returns. All strategies show positive and significant alphas after accounting for various risk-factors. We also find that in addition to all strategies performing better during periods of significant volatility, the cointegration method is the superior strategy during turbulent market conditions.


We investigate frictional contact problems for discrete linear elastic structures, in particular the quasistatic incremental problem and the rate problem. It is shown that sharp conditions on the coefficients of friction for unique solvability of these problems are the same. We also give explicit expressions of these critical bounds by using a method of optimization. For the case of two spatial dimensions the conditions are formulated as a huge set of non symmetric eigenvalue problem. A computer program for solving these problems was designed and used to compute the critical bounds for some structures of relative small size, some of which appeared in the literature. The results of a variety of numerical experiments with uniform and non uniform distributions of the frictional properties are presented.


The debate over the legality of same-sex marriage has centered largely on the substantive merits of the issue. This article does not.Instead, it seeks to draw attention to the perhaps equally important-but often overlooked-issue of the proper form and forum for resolving the substantive issue. It asks the question, if we awoke tomorrow to the newspaper headline -- "Legality of Same-Sex Marriage Decided" -- what difference would it make if the succeeding story referred to 1) a federal statute, 2) a U. S. Supreme Court decision, 3) a federal constitutional amendment, 4) a state statute, 5) a state supreme court decision, or 6) a state constitutional amendment? The article attempts to answer that question in light of the structure of what I call "our democratic, federal, republican" form of government.The article proceeds in three parts. Section one considers the nature of the decision a government makes when it defines marriage, examining the various governmental interests in defining marriage which have been identified by proponents and opponents of legalizing same-sex marriage. Section two then describes the key components of "our democratic, federal republic," highlighting both theoretical and practical reasons for the adoption of those components. Section three evaluates the relative merits of deciding the same-sex marriage issue in each of the six potential forms in terms of compatibility with the key components of "our" system of government, at the same time examining some practical effects of deciding the issue in some of the forms.This analysis indicates that where, and in what form, the same-sex marriage debate is resolved has implications for both our current governmental system and the long-term viability of the solution, whatever it may be. It also indicates that the best hypothetical newspaper story would begin with the phrase, "The state constitution was amended today ...."


Importance
Screening for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection during pregnancy identifies women whose infants are at risk of perinatal transmission. Data from a nationally representative sample showed a prevalence of maternal HBV infection of 85.8 cases per 100 000 deliveries from 1998 to 2011 (0.09% of live-born singleton deliveries in the United States). Although there are guidelines for universal infant HBV vaccination, rates of maternal HBV infection have increased annually by 5.5% since 1998. Children infected with HBV during infancy or childhood are more likely to develop chronic infection. Chronic HBV infection increases long-term morbidity and mortality by predisposing infected persons to cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer.

Objective
To update the 2009 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendation on screening for HBV infection in pregnant women.

Evidence Review
The USPSTF commissioned a reaffirmation evidence update to identify substantial new evidence sufficient enough to change the prior recommendation. The USPSTF targeted its evidence review on the effectiveness and potential harms of screening and the effectiveness and harms of case management to prevent perinatal transmission.

Findings
The USPSTF previously found adequate evidence that serologic testing for hepatitis B surface antigen accurately identifies HBV infection. Interventions are effective for preventing perinatal transmission, based on foundational evidence and observational studies of US case management programs. In addition, there is evidence that over time, perinatal transmission has decreased among women and infants enrolled in case management, providing an overall substantial health benefit. Therefore, the USPSTF reaffirms its previous conclusion that there is convincing evidence that screening for HBV infection in pregnant women provides substantial benefit.

Conclusions and Recommendation
The USPSTF recommends screening for HBV infection in pregnant women at their first prenatal visit. (A recommendation).


ABSTRACTOils and condensates with high concentrations of gasoline-range hydrocarbons typically lack adequate quantities of C15+ biomarkers used for thermal maturity and organic facies evaluations. I attempted a calibration of rock-based thermal maturity parameters between gasoline-range molecular parameters and nonmolecular maturity parameters such as Rock-Eval Tmax, vitrinite reflectance, and downhole temperatures. This enables maturity evaluation of volatile oils and condensates whose biomarker concentrations are at low or trace levels. The rock-based calibration data were used to assess thermal maturity of nonvolatile oils, volatile oils, and condensates from the Central Graben area of the UK North Sea and includes samples from high-pressure (gradients >0.8  psi/ft) and high-temperature (>150°C) hydrocarbon systems. Source rocks for theses North Sea oils and condensates are the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay and Heather shales, with a predominance of marine, algal type II organic matter.


In amplify-and-forward (AF) two-way relay networks, information is exchanged between two source nodes via a relay node by AF relaying. This dissertation develops the blind detection designs for various two-way relay systems such as one antenna AF two-way relay network with direct link, one antenna AF two-way relay network without direct link, and multiple antenna AF two-way relay network without direct link. In the first system, an effective signalling and transmitting scheme using four M-ary phase-shift keying (M-PSK) constellation sets is proposed to achieve a unique identification of the transmitted symbols and the channel coefficients in a noise-free transmission. Blind receivers with full diversity are derived for Rayleigh fading channels with Gaussian noise by the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) and least square error (LSE) criterions. Constellation selections are investigated for the source nodes to transmit at a uniform bit rate in each time slot. Power allocation schemes are discussed to further improve the average error probability of the source nodes in the blind detections. In the second system, frequency selective fading channels are assumed between each node. The knowledge of channel state information (CSI) is assumed not available for all nodes. An efficient transmission and signaling scheme is proposed. To deal with the high complexity in implementing the LSE receiver, a parallel iterative sphere decoding scheme is investigated. The low complexity of this scheme allows that the joint estimation and detection of the channel coefficients and transmitted symbols can be efficiently implemented. In the third system, multiple antennas are equipped on both source nodes. This part of work proposes an efficient transmission and signaling scheme with time-reversal spacetime-block-coded (TR-STBC) blind detection design for frequency-selective two-way relay channels. The similar sphere decoder is derived and simulated for this system to reduce the computational complexity.


Effective allocation of investments is crucial to achieve the Water and Sanitation target of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The present paper exposes the main
results of a detailed study made about the Official Development Assistance (ODA) and
the international private investment in the water sector from 1995 to 2004. Public
available data sets from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC), the World
Bank, and from the Human Development Reports (population and water and sanitation
access' figures) have been collected in a specific database. ODA programmes have been
analyzed individually, in order to separate water and sanitation subsectors, since DAC
reporting system does not make it directly. The study includes a comparative analysis of
public and private international investment; it analyzes the coherence, both geographical
and sub sectorial of aid allocation, as well as the terms and conditions of the ODA
delivered. Special focus was made on the sanitation subsector. Finally it assesses private participation success in the sector and evaluates cross cutting issues in ODA water programmes.
Results of ODA's analysis show how far donors lag behind their own commitments
both in terms of quantity and quality of aid. Data show big geographical inequalities,
comparing the share of aid received by regions related to the number of people without access living there. Regardless extremely low coverage in sanitation, donors are not really committed to improve it. Results from international private participation in water and sanitation projects show a little contribution to the achievement of the MDG, as well as a decrease tendency in participation. Complementarities between private and
public sector were not significant, if MDG are to be achieved.
As a main conclusion of the analysis, we can affirm that there is room for improvements
in the water sector's aid. A global coordination mechanism among donors is needed to ensure more efficient sector's resources allocation; at the same time, donors should fulfil their own recommendations on terms and conditions of aid. International water and sanitation funds should add on existing national funds in order to effectively increase sector investment. Consideration of private sector's investments could improve ODA's allocations. The tiny amount of ODA resources dedicated to sanitation represents a huge contradiction with actual needs.


The Hodrick-Prescott (HP) i¬ lter is one of the most widely used econometric methods in applied macroeconomic research. The technique is nonparametric and seeks to decompose a time series into a trend and a cyclical component unaided by economic theory or prior trend specii¬ cation. Like all nonparametric methods, the HP i¬ lter depends critically on a tuning parameter that controls the degree of smoothing. Yet in contrast to modern nonparametric methods and applied work with these procedures, empirical practice with the HP i¬ lter almost universally relies on standard settings for the tuning parameter that have been suggested largely by experimentation with macroeconomic data and heuristic reasoning about the form of economic cycles and trends. As recent research \citep{phillips2015business} has shown, standard settings may not be adequate in removing trends, particularly stochastic trends, in economic data. This paper proposes an easy-to-implement practical procedure of iterating the HP smoother that is intended to make the i¬ lter a smarter smoothing device for trend estimation and trend elimination. We call this iterated HP technique the \emph{boosted HP i¬ lter} in view of its connection to $L_{2}$-boosting in machine learning. The paper develops limit theory to show that the boosted HP (bHP) i¬ lter asymptotically recovers trend mechanisms that involve unit root processes, deterministic polynomial drifts, and polynomial drifts with structural breaks, thereby covering the most common trends that appear in macroeconomic data and current modeling methodology. In doing so, the boosted i¬ lter provides a new mechanism for consistently estimating multiple structural breaks even without knowledge of the number of such breaks. A stopping criterion is used to automate the iterative HP algorithm, making it a data-determined method that is ready for modern data-rich environments in economic research. The methodology is illustrated using three real data examples that highlight the dii¬€erences between simple HP i¬ ltering, the data-determined boosted i¬ lter, and an alternative autoregressive approach. These examples show that the bHP i¬ lter is helpful in analyzing a large collection of heterogeneous macroeconomic time series that manifest various degrees of persistence, trend behavior, and volatility.


As they do every ten years, this year state legislatures across the country are redrawing legislative district lines to reflect population shifts and ensure equal representation for each district. In 2010, California voters passed a proposition granting the California Citizens Redistricting Commission control over the drawing of congressional lines. This Symposium Essay examines the potential for redistricting by an independent group of citizens such as the Citizens Redistricting Commission. First, it explores the nature of the redistricting process, a process often explained as fundamentally political, and argues, instead, that the process is both political and pre-political. This Essay then examines incumbent legislators' roles in the redistricting process in light of this insight, and challenges the presumption that incumbents are more accountable to members of their districts because of redistricting. Finally, this Essay reviews various alternatives to incumbent control of the redistricting process, and both the positive and negative potential of citizen redistricting.


A key question for legal scholars and political scientists is whether women jurists judge differently than men. Some studies have suggested that women judges are more likely to support plaintiffs in sexual harassment, employment, and immigration cases. Other studies conclude that women are more likely to vote liberally in death penalty and obscenity cases, and more likely to convince their male colleagues to join a liberal opinion. Yet other studies have found little evidence that women judge differently from men.

This article explores the jurisprudence of the first woman judge, Judge Florence Allen, to test these claims of gender difference in judging. Judge Allen was the first woman judge many times over: the first woman elected to a general trial court (Cuyahoga County Common Pleas in 1920), the first woman elected to a state supreme court (Ohio 1922), the first woman appointed to a federal appellate court (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1932), and the first woman shortlisted for the U.S. Supreme Court. Her forty years on the bench included cases of constitutional law, administrative power, criminal process, labor rights, and patent cases. Using original archival research, this Article shows that Allen's judicial record supports the conclusion that women judge no differently from men. However, Allen worked hard to cultivate this conclusion, seeking to distance herself from claims of women's difference and inferiority, and instead seeking to establish that women could "think like a man." Her deliberate effort was to judge in a moderate, neutral, and objective manner, distancing the work from her feminist activism. Overall the historical record reveals the jurisprudence of the first woman judge as one of moderation, fitted to the male-centric norms of the profession and rejecting any promise of women's advocacy on the bench.


Even experienced game developers sometimes have a hard time making their vision for a great game a reality. The number of available programming languages, libraries, and production methods can make the development process overwhelming and result in complicated, unreliable game code. C# Game Programming: For Serious Game Creation shows programmers how to write simple, clean, and reliable code step-by-step through the creation of a basic game. The game is built using C#, a high-level programming language, and OpenGL, an industry favorite for graphics display. You'll get an overview of the methods and libraries used to build good games, learn how to use those libraries and create your own, and finally build your own scrolling shooter game. You'll even find tips and information on how to develop your own game ideas and you'll have an excellent code base to work with. C# Game Programming: For Serious Game Creation provides you with all the information you need to take your game ideas from concept to completion.


The effects of zinc, nickel, zirconium and aluminum on the cobalt based spinel ferrites nanoparticles are investigated. Four series of spinel Co-ferrites with nominal compositions Co1-xZnxFe2O4 (x=0.0-0.6), Co1-xNixFe2O4(x =0.0-0.5), CoFe2-2 xZrxZnxZ4 (x = 0.0-0.4) and CoFe2-xAlx04 (x= 0.00-0.50) respectively, were prepared by the chemical co-precipitation method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, low field AC magnetic susceptibility, DC electrical resistivity and dielectric properties measurements. The average crystallite sizes were calculated from the indexed XRD diffraction peaks using the Scherrer formula. The average crystallite sizes of precipitated particles lie within the range 14-23 nm, 17-23 nm, 21-27 nm and 13-20 nm, respectively.

The Curie temperature was obtained from AC magnetic susceptibility measurements in the range 77 K to 850 K. It is observed that Curie temperature decreases with the increase of Zn, Zr, Al and increases with Ni concentration for all the samples. The variation of Curie temperature has been explained by the A-B exchange interaction strength due to the change of Fe3+ distribution between A- and B-sites for all the samples. DC electrical resistivity measurements were carried out by two-probe method from 370 K to 580 K. Temperature dependent DC electrical resistivity decreases with increase in temperature ensuring the semiconductor nature of the samples. DC electrical resistivity results are discussed in terms of cations distribution between tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sites. Activation energy calculated from the DC electrical resistivity versus temperature for all the samples. The drift mobility increases by increasing temperature due to decrease in DC electrical resistivity in all the samples. The dielectric constants, dielectric loss and tangent loss factors as a function of frequency for all the samples have been studied as a function of frequency in the range 500 Hz to 1 MHz at room temperature. The dielectric properties have been explained on the basis of space charge polarization resulting from electron displacement which is a major contributor to the dielectric constant in ferrites.


Reformed churches in the tradition of John Calvin and the well-known Synod of Dordt (1618-1619), have a long history of involvement of some kind in school education. This article looks into the famous – at least in some circles – church order of Dordt, and the present orders of three reformed churches: the Reformed Churches in South Africa, the Dutch Reformed Church and the Christian Reformed Church in North America. All three tend to be in the tradition of Dordt. In the Dutch society of the 17th century close ties between the Reformed Church and the government gave this church the opportunity to influence Dutch school education. Firstly the church used the angle of the all embracing kingdom of God in which church and school are different institutes in society but serve the same Lord. Secondly the Reformed Church also influenced school education from the viewpoint of the church as church by introducing its confessions as a point of departure and also it's discipline in schools. The other three churches opted for a say in the spiritual direction in schools, but not to tie them to a specific church. They strive for Christian and not church schools. Article text in Afrikaans


BACKGROUND
Given the increasing flux of immigrant population from high-risk areas to our country, the need of screening for loasis arises, despite systematic screening being a debated and poorly evaluated practice to which there is no protocol. This study is aimed at identifying the population to which loasis screening would be most appropriate, by drawing a comparison among four alternatives.

METHODS
Case and control group study, involving 30 cases (all those who came to our unit for treatment and who tested positive for Loa Loa in a microfilariae in the blood detection test) and 90 control cases (three controls per case from among the subjects having tested negative for microfiliariae in the blood chosen at random without any pairing criteria).

RESULTS
Of the 1,638 subjects on whom the microfilariae blood test was performed, 30 tested positive (1.8%; 1.2-2.6%). Of these 30 cases of loasis, 76.7% (23; 57.7-90.1%) had eosinophilia (OR 8.8; 3.3-23.1; p<0.0001) and 30.0% (9; 14.7-49.4%) compatible clinical symptoms (OR 2.8; 1.0-7.5; p=0.04). If we were to apply the screening test to the entire immigrant population coming from endemic areas, we would have to perform 54.6 tests to detect one case. If we were to perform the test on patients showing eosinophilia and/or compatible clinical symptoms, we would have to perform a smaller number of tests for every case detected (NNS=29; IC=21-48), but there would be 16.7% (5; 5.7-34.7%) false negatives.

CONCLUSIONS
Conducting a screening test with determination of microfiliariae in the blood on the immigrant population coming from Central and West Africa, independently of the presence of eosinophilia or compatible clinical symptoms, would be indicated, provided that the necessary resources are available.


In biomineralization the crystallization of minerals takes place in intimate contact with bio-organic molecules. These influence the lattice constants of the forming mineral. Herein we study this effect in the mineralized attachment organ (byssus) of the marine bivalve Anomia simplex . We compare two approaches to studying the biomolecule-induced lattice deformation: X-ray diffraction of annealed samples and in situ heating X-ray diffraction. In the latter case, the lattice deformation is obtained by extrapolation of the thermal expansion from high to low temperature. A positive lattice deformation was found along all three axes of the orthorhombic aragonite lattice. The microstrain fluctuations were found to be anisotropic and largest in the direction of smallest macrostrain. The all-positive macrostrain is in contrast to previous data from shells, showing that much remains to be learnt about the impact of biomolecules on minerals.


Multi-view Video Coding (MVC) is vital for low bitrate applications that have constraints in bandwidth, battery capacity and memory size. Symmetric and mixed spatial-resolution coding approaches are addressed in this thesis, where Prediction Architecture (PA) is investigated using block matching statistics. Impact of camera separation is studied for symmetric coding to define a criterion for the best usage of MVC. Visual enhancement is studied for mixed spatial-resolution coding to improve visual quality for the interpolated frames by utilising the information derived from disparity compensation.
In the context of symmetric coding investigations, camera separation cannot be used as a sufficient criterion to select suitable coding solution for a given video. Prediction architectures are proposed, where MVC that uses these architectures have higher coding performance than the corresponding codec that deploys a set of other prediction architectures, where the coding gain is up to 2.3 dB. An Adaptive Reference Frame Ordering (ARFO) algorithm is proposed that saves up to 6.2% in bits compared to static reference frame ordering when coding sequence that contains hard scene changes.
In the case of mixed spatial-resolution coding investigations, a new PA is proposed that is able to save bitrate by 13.1 Kbps compared to the corresponding codec that uses the extended architecture based on 3D-digital multimedia. The codec that uses hierarchical B-picture PA has higher coding efficiency than the corresponding codec that employs the proposed PA, where the bitrate saving is 24.9 Kbps. The ARFO algorithm has been integrated with the proposed PA where it saves bitrates by up to 35.4 Kbps compared to corresponding codec that uses other prediction architectures. Visual enhancement algorithm is proposed and integrated within the presented PA. It provides highest quality improvement for the interpolated frames where coding gain is up to 0.9 dB compared to the corresponding frames that are coded by other prediction architectures.


The paper presents hydraulic conductivity, unconfined compression strength (UCS) and triaxial test results of an 11 year old slag-cement-bentonite (CB) cut-off wall material and identifies factors affecting their long-term performance. The laboratory tests were performed on three types of CB samples ranging from contaminated block field samples to uncontaminated laboratory cast samples. The results showed that hydraulic conductivity reduces till 3 years and UCS increases till 90 days, but there after it remains constant till 11 years of age. The mean hydraulic conductivity and UCS values of block field samples are inferior and have large variability than laboratory cured samples. Such variations are mainly because of heterogeneity caused by aggressive environment and impurities within the specimen. Consolidated undrained triaxial test found that under an effective confining pressure of less than 200 kPa, tension failure occurred since the minor principal stress dropped to zero value at failure. The research outcome is useful for understanding future liability of CB wall and improving their design. © 2009 IOS Press.


We discuss here a unique flexible non-carbonaceous layered host, namely, metal titanium niobates (M-Ti-niobate, M: Al3+ , Pb2+ , Sb3+ , Ba2+ , Mg2+ ), which can synergistically store both lithium ions and sodium ions via a simultaneous intercalation and alloying mechanisms. M-Ti-niobate is formed by ion exchange of the K+ ions, which are specifically located inside galleries between the layers formed by edge and corner sharing TiO6 and NbO6 octahedral units in the sol-gel synthesized potassium titanium niobate (KTiNbO5 ). Drastic volume changes (approximately 300-400 %) typically associated with an alloying mechanism of storage are completely tackled chemically by the unique chemical composition and structure of the M-Ti-niobates. The free space between the adjustable Ti/Nb octahedral layers easily accommodates the volume changes. Due to the presence of an optimum amount of multivalent alloying metal ions (50-75 % of total K+ ) in the M-Ti-niobate, an efficient alloying reaction takes place directly with ions and completely eliminates any form of mechanical degradation of the electroactive particles. The M-Ti-niobate can be cycled over a wide voltage range (as low as 0.01 V) and displays remarkably stable Li+ and Na+ ion cyclability (>2 Li+ /Na+ per formula unit) for widely varying current densities over few hundreds to thousands of successive cycles. The simultaneous intercalation and alloying storage mechanisms is also studied within the density functional theory (DFT) framework. DFT expectedly shows a very small variation in the volume of Al-titanium niobate following lithium alloying. Moreover, the theoretical investigations also conclusively support the occurrence of the alloying process of Li ions with the Al ions along with the intercalation process during discharge. The M-Ti-niobates studied here demonstrate a paradigm shift in chemical design of electrodes and will pave the way for the development of a multitude of improved electrodes for different battery chemistries.


From the author of "Wreck This Journal," an interactive guide for exploring and documenting the art and science of everyday life. Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists. The mission Smith proposes? ?To document and observe the world around you. As if you?ve never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.? With a series of interactive prompts and a beautifully hand-illustrated two-color package, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world through this gorgeous book.


We characterize the spatiotemporal deformation of an elastic film during the radial drainage of fluid from a narrowing gap. Elastic deformation of the film takes the form of a dimple and prevents full contact to be reached. With a thinner elastic film the stress becomes increasingly supported by the underlying rigid substrate and the dimple formation is suppressed, which allows the surfaces to reach full contact. We highlight the lag due to viscoelasticity on the surface profiles, and that for a given fluid film thickness deformation leads to stronger hydrodynamic forces than for rigid surfaces.


Research on life satisfaction in non-Western countries has grown somewhat in recent years, but still lags far behind that of developed countries. The present study was aimed at investigating determinants of life satisfaction in Serbia, a developing country that has experienced a number of difficulties over the past three decades. A large, representative Serbian sample (a total of 11,618 participants; 54.6% females, M age = 47.02) from the Gallup World Poll was used. The results showed substantial gender differences in life satisfaction only among the oldest old (aged 81-99), with elderly women reporting substantially lower life satisfaction than elderly men (Cohen's d = 0.38). Life satisfaction showed a steady, progressive decline among women, whereas men's life satisfaction declined until approximately 50 years of age, and then remained relatively stable. The relationship between income and life satisfaction was positive, but much stronger at lower income levels. Robust predictors of life satisfaction in both men and women and across age groups were satisfaction with standard of living and household income, negative affect, and social support.


When concrete is subjected to elevated temperatures, a destruction of its constituent hydration products can be occurred. This destruction implies a weakening of the material degradation of its mechanical properties such as stiffness and strength. The elevated temperature generates significant fluid pressure, leading to damage it and also causing breakdown of the concrete, which is characterized by the deteriorations of the hydrated material.This study focuses the evolution of residual properties of three High performance concrete (HPC). The specimens (16×32) cm2 were subjected to different temperatures: 200°C, 400°C and 600°C with a rate of 2°C/min followed by a stage of three hours at the target temperature and then cooling to room temperature. The evaluation of different properties was evident compared to room temperature (20°C), with a maximum drop of compressive strength is of 79%. The loss of tensile strength is 62%. Losses masses and decreases dynamic elastic modulus are 6% and 89% respectively. It was observed an explosive burst of one of HPC between 400°C and 600°C.


Empirical evidence suggests that parent involvement is promotive of positive educational outcomes for students. However, scholarship exploring parent involvement for African American parents with students attending Title I schools is limited. To address this limitation in the literature, this study uses Participatory Action Research as a methodological approach to explore this topic. The purpose of this study is to give voice to African American parents with students attending a Title I middle school and to engage them in parent to parent and parent to educator/community leader collaboration to increase parent advocacy and to establish effective home-school-community partnerships. During this study, seven parents of varying social classes, educational levels and family structures representing seven schools and two school districts participated in individual and focus group interviews. They also participated in Parent Professional Learning Community meetings which allowed them to become co-constructors of knowledge about Title I schools and parent involvement. At the end of the Parent Professional Learning Community meetings, parents presented their findings to a group of educators, parents, and community/business leaders. As a result of participating in this study, parents were inspired to seek ways to form collaborative relationships with other parents to increase social networks and to establish support systems. They were also motivated to seek additional ways to advocate for their children. Program evaluation data in the form of surveys also indicated that because of the presentation, educators and community/ business leaders wanted to continue the critical discourse on African American parent involvement and they also desired to find more ways to establish authentic home-school-community partnerships to meet the needs of parents in Title I schools.


Internet data communication is a crucial activity for modern society. Since internet communication needs secure, efficient and high data rate communication, researchers propose different form of internet data communication. The current wireless data communication, Wireless-Fidelity, is based on radio frequency and uses router for signal transmitter and Wi-Fi card or chip as receiver which are built in modern computers and smart phones. This radio frequency based technology is limited in bandwidth, interfered with signals of different electronic equipment and easily accessed or hacked by unwanted hidden peoples. Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) is a new technology that, proposed in late 2011 by prof. Harald Haas, uses illumination for internet data communication and will be implemented in a near future. Li-Fi uses semiconductor diodes for both data source and data receiver. It uses different color light emitting diodes (LEDs) as a transmitter and photodiodes as a receiver which are connected with computers or smartphones. Li-Fi technology uses the very simple technique of transmitting data using LED bulbs i.e. if the LED is ON, then the digital signal 1 is transmitted else if the LED is OFF, the digital signal 0 is transmitted which are detected by the photodiode at the receiver side. Li-Fi has many advantages over wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi). The advantage of Li-Fi over Wi-Fi is due to data communication spectrum differences. The electromagnetic spectrum bandwidth used for visible light communication (VLC) of Li-Fi is 10,000 times greater than for electromagnetic spectrum bandwidth of radio frequencies for Wi-Fi. Li-Fi technology has many advantages over Wi-Fi as a result of its unlimited bandwidth, its poor object penetration capacity, its low electromagnetic interference property and its possibility to integrate with the existing light infrastructure. But Li-Fi technology has some draw backs than Wi-Fi due to its radiation range, radiation direction and penetration capacity through objects and opaque materials. Since Li-Fi is clean, cheaper, and efficient and secure, most computer related companies will join and the draw backs will be reduced.


Fire is a common form of recurrent disturbance in many ecosystems, but ecological theory has a poor record of predicting animal responses to fire, at both species and assemblage levels. As a consequence, there is limited information to guide fire regime management for biodiversity conservation. We investigated a key research gap in the fire ecology literature; that is, the response of an anuran assemblage to variation in the fire return interval. We tested two hypotheses using a spatially-explicit fire database collected over a 40 year period: 1) species richness would peak at intermediate levels of disturbance. 2) Species with traits which enabled them to escape fire - burrowing or canopy dwelling - would be better able to survive fires, resulting in higher levels of occurrence in frequently burned sites. We found no evidence for either a reduction in species richness at locations with short fire return intervals, or a peak in species richness at intermediate levels of disturbance. Although we found some support for individual species responses to fire return intervals, these were inconsistent with the interpretation of burrowing or climbing being functional traits for fire-avoidance. Instead burrowing and climbing species may be more likely to be disadvantaged by frequent fire than surface dwelling frogs. More generally, our results show that many species in our study system have persisted despite a range of fire frequencies, and therefore that active management of fire regimes for anuran persistence may be unnecessary. The responses of anurans to fire in this location are unlikely to be predictable using simple life-history traits. Future work should focus on understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of fire responses, by integrating information on animal behavior and species' ecological requirements.


The relationship between the cocaine trade and urban land markets in South America has been overlooked by the mainstream economics and urban studies literature. This paper examines two avenues through which the cocaine trade can have a large impact on urban development in producer countries: (i) through an employment multiplier effect similar to that of other legal exports, and (ii) through money laundering using urban real estate. We test our hypotheses using the Bolivian case and find that urban growth patterns are closely related to fluctuations in cocaine production. Further, even though our estimates suggest that the cocaine trade affects urban growth through the two avenues presented in the paper, we find that formal urban employment generated by the cocaine trade has a modest effect on urban growth and most of the effect seems to be explained by money laundering using real estate and other paths.


Fragrant tuberose is the most important scented cut flower of Iran, which rank 4 among other cut flowers, based on the cultivation area and production. Due to the scarcity of water resources, soil constraints, and the aim of comparison and possible substitution of soil cultivation with soilless cultivation of tuberose, a pot experiment was conducted as factorial, based on completely randomized design with four replications, on two cultivars of tuberose ('Mahallati' and 'Dezfuli'), in two greenhouse production systems, with soil and soilless medium. Based on the ANOVA results, photosynthetic capacity [number of leaves and leaf area, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic pigments content (chlorophyll a, b and total)], flower-stem height, number of florets, diameter of florets, nutrients uptake and flower vase life were significantly (P≤0.01) affected by culture system. Soilless system increased the flower-stem height and vase life (as the main quality indices of cut flowers) by 50% and 35%, respectively, as compared with soil cultivation. In addition, peroxidase activity, calcium, and potassium uptake were significantly (P≤0.05) affected by cultivar. Analysis of variance indicated that interaction of cultivar and cultivation system had significant effects on calcium uptake and number of leaves per plant. According to the results, soilless culture improved photosynthetic capacity and mineral uptake and subsequently increased quality and vase life of cut tuberose. This culture system showed high ability and potential to replace soil cultivation of tuberose.


The frequency of occupational accidents in the Swedish food industry and agriculture is high. This thesis has therefore explored the 'process of safety' in order to detect and analyse factors that either hinder or facilitate safety activity and to further develop intervention methods towards increased safety activity.
The first study was based on in-depth interviews with 54 injured food-industry operators and their supervisors, exploring preconditions of accidents, using the qualitative method of grounded theory. Results showed that the accidents were embedded in the "normal" in which the accidents occurred without any warning. Preconditions of accidents were technical and organisational deficiencies such as insufficient communication and learning, high responsibility in combination with low control, conflicting goals, and a gap between procedures and practice. These factors influenced the safety culture toward risk acceptance and a normalisation of accidents.
The second study tested a hypothetical model of the casual relationship between risk perception and safety activity as well as risk acceptance. Results were based on a cross-sectional questionnaire exploring the attitudes towards risk and safety of 315 farmers and farm workers. The results mainly confirmed two paths, one mediated by risk manageability and one by work stress, which counteracted each other
The third study was an evaluation of a safety intervention methodology based on group discussions with three levels of structure. Eighty-eight farmers and farm workers divided into 9 groups gathered on seven occasions during one year. A pre-post questionnaire was used to evaluate the effects. The results showed a significant increase in safety activity. Stress as well as risk acceptance were reduced, but risk perception and perceived risk manageability did not change.
The fourth study evaluated the process of the intervention. Results indicated good feasibility of the method. The social network was stated to be most beneficial and a time span was needed.
The conclusions of the thesis were that the process of safety might benefit from reflecting and discussing incident experiences, detecting hindrances/facilitators to safety. Risk acceptance and normalisation of accidents may be influenced by focusing on work stress and the priority of safety, supporting a participative process of change with an honest climate.


the goal of this study is to assess whether new lyrics are better learned and memorized when presented in a spoken or sung form. In normal young adults, mixed results have been reported, with studies showing a positive, a negative, or a null effect of singing on verbal recall. Several factors can account for this limited aid of music. First, the familiarity of the melody might play a role. Second, successive learning sessions and long-term retention intervals may be necessary. These two factors are considered here in a case study of a participant who suffers from mild Alzheimer9s disease. As expected, initial learning of new lyrics showed better performance for the spoken condition over the sung version unless the lyrics are learned on a familiar melody. After repeated learning episodes, learning sung lyrics – even on an unfamiliar melody – led to better retention of words. Thus, music may provide a more robust aid for consolidation in memory than spoken lyrics alone. The therapeutic implications of these results are discussed.


This paper presents a complete procedural 3D modelling solution
for mobile devices, called Virtual City Maker, based on
scripting algorithms allowing for both the automatic and also
semi-automatic creation of photorealistic quality virtual urban
content. The input data used include the combination of aerial
images, GIS data, 2D ground maps and terrestrial photographs
grouped with a user-friendly customized interface which permits
for the automatic and interactive generation of large-scale,
accurate, georeferenced and fully-textured 3D virtual city
content. This content can be specially optimized for use with
mobile devices but also with navigational tasks in mind.
Moreover, a user-centred mobile virtual reality (VR)
visualisation and interaction tool operating on PDAs (Personal
Digital Assistants) for pedestrian navigation is also
discussed. This engine supports the import and display of
various navigational file formats (2D and 3D) and also includes
a comprehensive front-end user-friendly graphical user
interface providing immersive virtual 3D navigation to a wide
range of users.


broadband data networks, access networks, network monitoring & management, hybrid fiber coaxial network technology Hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) technology is emerging as one of the means of delivering high-speed data services to the home. Cable operators worldwide are deploying HFC networks to enable subscriber accesses to the World Wide Web, to Email, Chat rooms, and other data services at speeds ranging up to 10 Mbps. As cable networks, which have hitherto been deployed mainly for analog television broadcasts, begin to support digital on-demand delivery of data services, a number of challenges remain to be tackled. One of the key challenges is to effectively monitor the cable network in order to proactively detect and fix network problems before subscribers notice and complain about them. In this paper, we describe experiences from monitoring a cable network for several months. Using real-world examples, we illustrate that even with minimal monitoring capabilities built-into the current generation of cable modems and other cable networking equipment, it is possible to effectively monitor the status and performance of the cable network and detect problems proactively. Since they rely on built-in instrumentation, our monitoring tools provide an extremely low-cost, attractive alternative to the more expensive, external instrumentation that is currently deployed in many cable networks.


In "Perspectives in Creativity", experts in the psychology of creativity take stock of the field by examining their own experiences. The contributors relate how they embarked on their work, how their ideas developed, what in their thinking remained the same, what had changed, and how they evaluate their successes and failures. The introductory chapter provides a historical context for subsequent contributions. J. P. Guilford then describes the development of the field of creativity from the perspective of the Structure of Intellect model. Donald W. MacKinnon describes his work at the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research. J. W. Getzels and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi recount in the following chapter how, though starting with a conception of creativity as a problem-solving process, they were driven through their work with artists to a conception of creativity as also a problem-finding process. In the fifth chapter, Frank M. Andrews describes his investigations of the social and psychological factors in scientific laboratories. Frank Barron examines the problem of creativity and alienation. Anne Roe analyzes the sources and development of paintings as reported by twenty artists. In the following chapter, Salvatore Maddi examines the widely held belief that social integration and a permissive environment are conducive to creative endeavor. In chapter 9, Calvin Taylor and Richard Ellison describe the development of the Utah program of assessment and intervention with regard to the creativity of children in the classroom. Next, Sidney Parnes discusses his work on "brainstorming" and its emphasis on a balance between imagination and judgment, freedom, and discipline. George Prince tells of the development of "synectics" since its early formulation and recounts its application to creative production in industry. E. Paul Torrance then examines recent creativity in the schools and describes his own efforts in devising diagnostic tests and educational methods. The varying perspectives of the contributors all point to a field of inquiry that is alive and well and still in a dynamic state open to conceptual and methodological transformation.


We examine the extent to which recent declines in child mortality and fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa can be attributed to insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs). Exploiting the rapid increase in ITNs since the mid-2000s, we employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy to identify the causal effect of ITNs on mortality and fertility. We show that the ITN distribution campaigns reduced all-cause child mortality, but surprisingly increased total fertility rates in the short run in spite of reduced desire for children and increased contraceptive use. We explain this paradox in two ways. First, we show evidence for an unexpected increase in fecundity and sexual activity due to the better health environment after the ITN distribution. Second, we show evidence that the effect on fertility is positive only temporarily – lasting only 1-3 years after the beginning of the ITN distribution programs – and then becomes negative. Taken together, these results suggest the ITN distribution campaigns may have caused fertility to increase unexpectedly and temporarily, or that these increases may just be a tempo effect – changes in fertility timing which do not lead to increased completed fertility.


Organic effluent oxidation tests were conducted in petrochemical companies, in the Camacari Petrochemical Complex, to reduce treatment costs and improve the primary treatment efficiency in each industrial process. Ozone achieved 99.96 percent benzene reduction and 100 percent ethyl benzene and toluene reduction. Process efficiency is strongly dependent on the wastewater chemical composition and concentration. For this reason it is necessary to run pilot plant trials for each specific case. Ozone was obtained feeding commercial oxygen through a corona discharge generator and dissolved in the effluent with a bubble column. Commercial oxygen was used instead of air to increase 250 percent the ozone production, with the same ozone generator.


Surface tension confined (STC) open tracks for pumpless transport of low-surface tension liquids (e.g., acetone, ethanol, hexadecane) on microfluidic chips are fabricated using a large-area, wet-processing technique. Wettable, paraffin-wax, submillimeter-wide tracks are applied by a fountain-pen procedure on superoleophobic, fluoroacrylic-carbon nanofiber (CNF) composite coatings. The fabricated anisotropic wetting patterns confine the low-surface-tension liquids onto the flow tracks, driving them with meniscus velocities up to 3.1 cm s(-1). Scaling arguments and Washburn's equation provide estimates of the liquid velocities measured in the STC tracks. These tracks are also shown to act as rails for directional sliding control of mm-sized water droplets. The present facile top-down patterned wettability approach can be extended to deposit micrometer-wide tracks, which bear promise for pumpless handling of low-surface tension liquids (e.g., aqueous solutions containing alcohols or surfactants) in lab-on-a-chip type applications or in low power, high-throughput bio-microfluidics for health care applications.


Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose and compare the performance of the "two" robust mathematical models, the Robust Integer Facility Location (RIFL) and the Robust Continuous Facility Location (RCFL) models, to solve the emergency response facility and transportation problems in terms of the total logistics cost and robustness. Design/methodology/approach: The emergency response facilities include distribution warehouses (DWH) where relief goods are stored, commodity distribution points (CDP), and neighborhood locations. Authors propose two robust models: the Robust Integer Facility Location (RIFL) model where the demand of a CDP is covered by a main DWH or a backup CDP; the Robust Continuous Facility Location (RCFL) model where that of a CDP is covered by multiple DWHs. The performance of these models is compared with each other and to the Regular Facility Location (RFL) model where a CDP is covered by one main DWH. The case studies with multiple scenarios are analyzed. Findings: The results illustrate that the RFL outperforms others under normal conditions while the RCFL outperforms others under the emergency conditions. Overall, the total logistics cost and robustness level of the RCFL outperforms those of other models while the performance of RFL and RIFL is mixed between the cost and robustness index. Originality/value: Two new emergency distribution approaches are modeled, and evaluated using case studies. In addition to the total logistics cost, the robustness index is uniquely presented and applied. The proposed models and robustness concept are hoped to shed light to the future works in the field of disaster logistics management.


In contrast to clinical click-evoked otoacoustic emission (CEOAE) tests that are inaccurate above 4-5 kHz, a research procedure measured CEOAEs up to 16 kHz in 446 ears and predicted the presence/absence of a sensorineural hearing loss. The behavioral threshold test that served as a reference to evaluate CEOAE test accuracy used a yes-no task in a maximum-likelihood adaptive procedure. This test was highly efficient between 0.5 and 12.7 kHz: Thresholds measured in 2 min per frequency had a median standard deviation (SD) of 1.2-1.5 dB across subjects. CEOAE test performance was assessed by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The mean AUC from 1 to 10 kHz was 0.90 (SD=0.016). AUC decreased to 0.86 at 12.7 kHz and to 0.7 at 0.5 and 16 kHz, possibly due in part to insufficient stimulus levels. Between 1 and 12.7 kHz, the medians of the magnitude difference in CEOAEs and in behavioral thresholds were <4 dB. The improved CEOAE test performance above 4-5 kHz was due to retaining the portion of the CEOAE response with latencies as short as 0.3 ms. Results have potential clinical significance in predicting hearing status from at least 1 to 10 kHz using a single CEOAE response.


Background:

In the West, beginning in the early 19th century, the belief was published that suicide was always, or almost always, the result of a mental disorder (a medical problem). This belief became established wisdom when psychological autopsies commenced in mid-20th century. However, should this belief be inaccurate, our suicide prevention strategies, which are currently medically orientated, need to change. Aim:

To argue the case that metal disorder is not always, or almost always, the cause of suicide, and that suicide may be triggered by a host of other factors. Method:

The scientific basis of psychological autopsies and the practice of medicalization were explored. The opinions of non-medical experts were explored, including philosophers, historians, sociologists, economists and ethicists, among others. Epidemiology of rates in different countries and gender differences were examined for evidence. Conclusion:

Suicide is not exclusively a medical problem. While suicide is more common in people who have a mental disorder than people without a mental disorder, mental disorder is not a necessary condition. Thus, open discussions about the nature and causes of suicide are required, with a view to involving experts from a range of fields, and the general community, in developing and funding suitable prevention strategies.


The NCI Cooperative Human Tissue Network (CHTN) provides normal, benign, precancerous, and cancerous human tissue to the scientific community for biomedical research. Specimens are collected according to the investigator's individual protocol. Information provided with the specimens includes routine histopathologic and demographic data. Contact the CHTN Web site at http://www.chtn.ims.nci.nih.gov, or 1-866GO2-CHTN (1-866-462-2486).


Activity recognition is a core component of many intelligent and context-aware systems. We present a solution for discreetly and unobtrusively recognizing common work activities above a work surface without using cameras. We demonstrate our approach, which utilizes an RF-radar sensor mounted under the work surface, in three domains: recognizing work activities at a convenience-store counter, recognizing common office deskwork activities, and estimating the position of customers in a showroom environment. Our examples illustrate potential benefits for both post-hoc business analytics and for real-time applications. Our solution was able to classify seven clerk activities with 94.9% accuracy using data collected in a lab environment and able to recognize six common deskwork activities collected in real offices with 95.3% accuracy. Using two sensors simultaneously, we demonstrate coarse position estimation around a large surface with 95.4% accuracy. We show that using multiple projections of RF signal leads to improved recognition accuracy. Finally, we show how smartwatches worn by users can be used to attribute an activity, recognized with the RF sensor, to a particular user in multi-user scenarios. We believe our solution can mitigate some of users' privacy concerns associated with cameras and is useful for a wide range of intelligent systems.


Nitric acid (HNO 3 ) is one of the key products that are operationally retrieved by the European Space Agency (ESA) from the emission spectra measured by the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) onboard ENVISAT. The product version 4.61/4.62 for the observation period between July 2002 and March 2004 is validated by comparisons with a number of independent observations from ground-based stations, aircraft/balloon campaigns, and satellites. Individual HNO 3 profiles of the ESA MIPAS level-2 product show good agreement with those of MIPAS-B and MIPAS-STR (the balloon and aircraft version of MIPAS, respectively), and the balloon-borne infrared spectrometers MkIV and SPIRALE, mostly matching the reference data within the combined instrument error bars. In most cases differences between the correlative measurement pairs are less than 1 ppbv (5–10%) throughout the entire altitude range up to about 38 km (~6 hPa), and below 0.5 ppbv (15–20% or more) above 30 km (~17 hPa). However, differences up to 4 ppbv compared to MkIV have been found at high latitudes in December 2002 in the presence of polar stratospheric clouds. The degree of consistency is further largely affected by the temporal and spatial coincidence, and differences of 2 ppbv may be observed between 22 and 26 km (~50 and 30 hPa) at high latitudes near the vortex boundary, due to large horizontal inhomogeneity of HNO 3 . Similar features are also observed in the mean differences of the MIPAS ESA HNO 3 VMRs with respect to the ground-based FTIR measurements at five stations, aircraft-based SAFIRE-A and ASUR, and the balloon campaign IBEX. The mean relative differences between the MIPAS and FTIR HNO 3 partial columns are within ±2%, comparable to the MIPAS systematic error of ~2%. For the vertical profiles, the biases between the MIPAS and FTIR data are generally below 10% in the altitudes of 10 to 30 km. The MIPAS and SAFIRE HNO 3 data generally match within their total error bars for the mid and high latitude flights, despite the larger atmospheric inhomogeneities that characterize the measurement scenario at higher latitudes. The MIPAS and ASUR comparison reveals generally good agreements better than 10–13% at 20–34 km. The MIPAS and IBEX measurements agree reasonably well (mean relative differences within ±15%) between 17 and 32 km. Statistical comparisons of the MIPAS profiles correlated with those of Odin/SMR, ILAS-II, and ACE-FTS generally show good consistency. The mean differences averaged over individual latitude bands or all bands are within the combined instrument errors, and generally within 1, 0.5, and 0.3 ppbv between 10 and 40 km (~260 and 4.5 hPa) for Odin/SMR, ILAS-II, and ACE-FTS, respectively. The standard deviations of the differences are between 1 to 2 ppbv. The standard deviations for the satellite comparisons and for almost all other comparisons are generally larger than the estimated measurement uncertainty. This is associated with the temporal and spatial coincidence error and the horizontal smoothing error which are not taken into account in our error budget. Both errors become large when the spatial variability of the target molecule is high.


The effect of uniaxial deformation in partially and fully molten states on the morphology of crosslinked low-density polyethylene has been investigated. At low temperatures, the morphology is predominantly fibrillar, with little kebabs appearing on the fibril surfaces. As the deformation temperature is increased into the melting range, the shish density decreases, and overgrowths of kebabs on the fibrils concurrently increase in length. This gives rise to added twisting of the kebabs reflected in the orientation factor analysis. This shish/twisted lamellar kebab texture is observed only in a partially molten state. Studies in a substantially molten state indicate the absence of shish, althugh short lamellae are observed that are oriented in the transverse direction. This morphology indicates a high chain orientation factor as a result of short lamellae that exhibit small twisting similar to Matsumura's rod model. The absence of shishes in the final films stretched isothermally in a substantially molten stage agrees with Schultz's model, in which imperfectly formed shishes dissolve if they are not stabilized by rapid cooling, as is the case in these studies. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2228–2237, 2004


This article examines the interactions between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and African-American activists during the Cold War. Relying mostly on archival records and personal documents in English as well as Chinese, the article shows that the construction of the new "black bridge" was made possible because of the PRC's determination to achieve its policy objectives, the African-American activists' needs in fighting for racial equality, and the U.S. government's strict ban on travel to China. Both the PRC and the black activists were new to these transnational interactions, and they worked together in such an unprecedented manner that they redefined the nature and function of Sino-American cultural relations. The black bridge facilitated a limited flow of people and information but also carried misinformation that eventually led to greater misunderstanding and fiercer confrontation. The bridge began to fade in the late 1960s and early 1970s as Beijing was forced to readjust its policy toward the United States, which soon lifted its ban on travel to the PRC.


A NEW MODEL OF TRAFFIC FLOW AND TRAVEL DEMAND OVER A CONGESTED NETWORK IS DESCRIBED. ALL ROADS ARE SUBJECT TO DIFFERENT SPEED AND FLOW RELATIONS, AND THE TRAVELERS BY BUS AND CAR ARE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY BETTER ROUTES FOR THEIR JOURNEY THAT THEY CAN FIND. THE PATTERN OF TRAVEL MOVEMENTS PRODUCED BY THIS PROCESS IS AN EQUILIBRIUM DISTRIBUTION WHERE ANY CHANGE IN COST, SPEED, OR TIME OVER ANY PART OF THE NETWORK WILL AFFECT THE WHOLE SYSTEM AND THE DEMAND FOR TRAVEL BETWEEN ALL THE POINTS ON THE NETWORK. A TECHNIQUE OF GENERAL APPLICABILITY HAS BEEN FOUND TO DETERMINE THESE PATTERNS OF FLOW AND DEMAND WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF CONSISTENCY FOR EVEN VERY SMALL CHANGES, OR OTHER CHANGES APPLIED: IT IS ALSO SHOWN THAT THE MORE CONVENTIONAL SEQUENCE OF GRAVITY MODEL ASSIGNMENT OF FLOW, WHICH PRODUCES STABLE RESULTS AFTER SEVERAL REPETITIONS, CAN PRODUCE INCORRECT RESULTS. THE TECHNIQUE IS PRESENTED THROUGH THE EXAMPLE OF ROAD PRICING APPLIED TO ROAD MOVEMENTS OVER A NETWORK: THE IMPORTANCE OF OBTAINING A UNIQUE EQUILIBRIUM, THE ASSIGNMENT IMPROVEMENTS, AND THE EFFECTS ON CAR AND BUS DEMAND AND MOVEMENTS ARE ALL DEMONSTRATED. (A).


This article explores the sometimes very difficult decisions that lawyers and practicing law students must make in balancing their obligations under the applicable Code of Professional Responsibility or Model Rules of Professional Conduct, their own moral code of conduct and their sense of justice. In Professional Responsibility and Legal Ethics courses, law schools often focus primarily on the "lawyer codes" that students must learn to practice 'ethically' and to pass the Multiple-Choice Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE). However, circumstances sometimes arise in which lawyers must look beyond the legal ethics code to make complex decisions in determining what is the 'right' thing to do. I first propose an analytical model, using a series of questions and related issues, to explore and analyze what is the 'right' thing to do in a methodical, reasoned manner. Then, I apply the analytical model utilizing three examples or scenarios. The first example is from my own law practice experience involving the decision of whether or not to testify before a grand jury regarding confidences told to me by a client who was murdered by his wife, who was the subject of the grand jury proceeding. The second example involves law students whom I supervised representing an elderly Middle-eastern woman in political asylum removal proceedings whose story was not quite credible, but who likely would be arrested and killed by the government if deported and returned to her country of origin. The students struggled with the decision of how far they could push the ethical envelope in their representation of her. The third example is a Colorado case, In the Matter of Pautler, 47 P.3d 1175 (2002), in which a prosecutor deceived a murder suspect into believing that the prosecutor was a public defender in order to get the murder suspect to surrender to police. The prosecutor's actions resulted in disciplinary sanction.


Self-directed work under the supervision and guidance of an Instructor and often in conjunction with a day-to-day mentor that is a graduate student, postdoc researcher or directly with the faculty. Students normally participate in aspects of ongoing research projects. Enroll Info: None Requisites: Consent of instructor Course Designation: Level Advanced L&S Credit Counts as Liberal Arts and Science credit in L&S Repeatable for Credit: Yes, unlimited number of completions Last Taught: Fall 2020


This Study was prepared for the JURI Committee of the European Parliament, and was published by the Parliament in February 2015. It investigates the law and practice of arbitration across the European Union and Switzerland, at both a national level and at the level of the European Union. It includes an in-depth examination of the practice and the laws relating to arbitration in each Member State of the European Union and Switzerland, as well as an examination of the involvement of Member States and the European Union in arbitration. It addresses not only commercial arbitration, but also investment arbitration and consumer arbitration.The Study was undertaken and drafted from November 2013 to September 2014, and includes information developed through academic research, the largest empirical study ever undertaken of arbitration practitioners (receiving nearly 900 respondents, from every State in the EU and Switzerland), in-person visits to roughly 20 of the leading arbitral institutions in Europe, questionnaires from additional institutions, and a day-long conference on consumer arbitration involving participants from across the European Union and the United States.The Study 312 pages long, with 302 further pages of Annex material (including a 116 page narrative commentary on the arbitration laws of every State in the EU plus Switzerland). Among other specific findings, it broadly concludes that while substantial harmony exists across the European Union at both the level of law and practice, arbitration in the European Union is predominantly regional, rather than transnational. It also concludes that investment arbitration is often a beneficial feature of investment agreements, although the terms of such agreements must be carefully designed. The Annexes for this paper are available at the following URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2637320 The Survey Responses (by Country) for this paper are available at the following URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2637333 The Survey Responses (EU-Wide) for this paper are available at the following URL: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2637356


The intensity and position of the coupling points in high birefringence (Hi-Bi) fibers can be detected effectively using distributed polarization coupling (DPC) detection. The detection sensitivity can decrease due to mechanical vibration disturbance and environment noise. Thus, a method based on empirical mode decomposition is proposed to detect weak mode coupling points. The simulation and experimental results illustrate that the proposed method can suppress the noise effectively and improve sensitivity significantly. The method can identify coupling points as weak as -60 dB embedded in noise automatically and effectively. The algorithm is applicable for DPC, and the experimental sensitivity is improved by 10 dB.


Abstract Drawing upon the frequency effect and the noticing hypothesis in language acquisition, input flood treatment was introduced to second language instruction involving artificially increased incidence of the target items in the audio or visual texts that learners are exposed to, with the expectation that this artificial increase will aid learners in noticing and then acquiring the form. Targeting at Chinese notional passive construction (NPC), the present study employs pre-post testing to assess the effect of input flood, and employs think-aloud protocol (including source attributions) analysis during the posttest to detect participants' awareness of the linguistic knowledge underlying their choices. Results from experiment 1 show that in comparison with the marked 被bèi construction (BEIC), NPC is extremely difficult to be noticed in incidental exposure, rendering the input flood treatment helpless in participants' acquisition of NPC. However, it is found in experiment 2 that the effect of input flood can be elicited with a little amount of explicit instruction, which is indicative of an indispensable role of explicit instruction in teaching non-salient language forms. Besides, the linguistic knowledge demonstrated by participants regarding the selectional constraints between NPC and BEIC is primarily unconscious and is inherent among intermediate and advanced Chinese learners.