There is growing discontent with the conventional wisdom concerning economic policy. The unhappy fact seems to be that a stable macroeconomic environment may be necessary but not sufficient to coax the desired outcomes from liberalized financial systems. This paper reviews several promising extensions of the conventional model and discusses their policy implications.


BACKGROUND
Multimodal imaging combining 2 or more techniques is becoming increasingly important because no single imaging approach has the capacity to elucidate all clinically relevant characteristics of a network.

METHODS
This review highlights recent advances in multimodal neuroimaging (i.e., combined use and interpretation of data collected through magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], functional MRI, diffusion tensor imaging, positron emission tomography, magnetoencephalography, MR perfusion, and MR spectroscopy methods) that leads to a more comprehensive understanding of how acute and chronic alcohol consumption affect neural networks underlying cognition, emotion, reward processing, and drinking behavior.

RESULTS
Several innovative investigators have started utilizing multiple imaging approaches within the same individual to better understand how alcohol influences brain systems, both during intoxication and after years of chronic heavy use.

CONCLUSIONS
Their findings can help identify mechanism-based therapeutic and pharmacological treatment options, and they may increase the efficacy and cost effectiveness of such treatments by predicting those at greatest risk for relapse.


THE NATURE OF SUCCESS AND FAILURE IN TELEVISION JOURNALISM AND THE ROLE OF EDUCATION Sarah Gilbert Holtan, B.A., M.S. Marquette University, 2010 This qualitative study used interviews and participant observations of practicing television journalists. The on-the-job successes and failures were studied in order to understand the divide between educational training and professional practice. The findings of this study should help educators better understand the nature of on-the-job success and failure as articulated by working television journalists. In turn, educators can use that knowledge to develop educational strategies that will better prepare students for entry into the profession. In constructing a definition of success, the informants identified the following elements: success is in all levels; success is relative to a journalist's age; success is never a finale; success is moving forward, working forward; success is being accurate; success is having a positive impact as a professional; and success means avoiding preventable on-air mistakes. Additional individual characteristics were identified. According to the informants, failure means a lack of certain characteristics, such as being factually incorrect or biased, not accomplishing the core purposes of TV news, stubbornness for producers, and not finding the story for reporters and anchors. The informants were ambivalent about their prior education. They felt it was necessary to learn about the theory of journalism in their educational training. However, they did not feel their education prepared them sufficiently for industry expectations. The theoretical framework of organizational socialization was used as a lens to analyze the findings. By clarifying the elements of the socialization process, new graduates may have a better idea what to expect in the early stages of their careers. Educators can find ways to enhance their teaching by introducing students to the tacit practices and conventions of the industry. By doing so, interns and new graduates may be better equipped for the transition points in the socialization phases of news work.


Taking the best of SAT (at large) technology for a given class of problems requires usually an expert knowledge of the solver used or to rely on an automatic configuration tool. The former condition is usually not satisfied as soon as the user is not a member of the SAT community, and the latter solution does not help the user to understand what is going on inside the solver. We propose an approach that allows the end users of Sat4j to configure a solver for a specific instance. Such an approach is based on both the ability to change dynamically the main settings of the solver when it is running and to display to the user several metrics that inform her about the state of the search in the solver. While the latter has been already explored in the SAT community, and the former has been explored in the constraint programming community, we believe that the combination of that two features is quite unique for SAT solvers. We believe that such a tool could also be used in the classroom to help students to understand how CDCL solvers work.


Prepared by the Civil Engineering Innovative Technology Evaluation Center, a CERF innovation center serving the engineering and construction industries. This report presents a CEITEC evaluation of the Trevipark automated parking system, which was developed, designed, and supplied by TREVI S.p.A., of Cesena, Italy. The evaluation is designed to determine the benefits and limitations of Trevipark for use as a technically viable automated vehicle parking system. The evaluation focused on data collection, site inspections, and analyses. The Trevipark system consists of a cylindrical enclosure with a central elevator system to park and store vehicles in a radial pattern. This proprietary system is intended to provide safe and secure parking for lower cost, smaller site and space requirements, less retrieval time, and other advantages.


Howarth and Norgaard (1992) showed in the framework of an inter-temporal general equilibrium model, that in the outcome of CBA with regard to global warming is highly dependant on the distribution of rights between present and future generations. They showed that when more rights were awarded to future generations that the 'efficient' level of global warming mitigation was much higher than when present generations were awarded a greater share of the rights. This paper extends their work by showing formally that when preferences of consumers within each generation are not identical that the 'efficient' outcome of global warming CBA will also be a function of the distribution of intra-generational rights. This reinforces Howarth and Norgaard's conclusion that it is questions of rights and ethics rather than aggregates of 'costs and benefits' that should be paramount in discussion of the appropriate level of global warming mitigation.


As the study of large graphs over hundreds of gigabytes becomes increasingly popular in cloud computing, efficiency and programmability of large graph processing tasks challenge existing tools. The inherent random access pattern on the graph generates significant amount of network traffic. Moreover, implementing custom logics on the unstructured data in a distributed manner is often a pain for graph analysts. To address these challenges, we develop Surfer, a large graph processing engine in the cloud. Surfer resolves the bottleneck of network traffic with graph partitioning, which is specifically adapted to the network environment of the cloud. To improve the programmability, Surfer provides two basic primitives as building blocks for high-level applications – MapReduce and propagation. Surfer implements both primitives with automatic optimizations on the partitioned graph. We implement and evaluate Surfer with common graph applications on the MSN social network and the synthetic graphs with over 100GB each. Our experimental results demonstrate the efficiency and programmability of Surfer.


There is a concern that the continuing trend on miniaturization (Moore's law) in IC design and fabrication might have a negative impact on the device reliability. To understand and to possibly quantify the physics underlying this concern and phenomenon, it is natural to proceed from the experimental bathtub curve (BTC) – reliability "passport" of the device. This curve reflects the combined effect of two major irreversible governing processes: statistics-related massproduction process that results in a decreasing failure rate with time, and reliability-physics-related degradation (aging) process that leads to an increasing failure rate. It is the latter process that is of major concern of a device designer and manufacturer. The statistical process can be evaluated theoretically, using a rather simple predictive model. Owing to that and assuming that the two processes of interest are statistically independent one can assess the failure rates associated with the aging process from the BTC data by simply subtracting the predicted ordinates of the statistical failure rates (SFR) from the BTC ordinates. The objective of this analysis is to show how this could be done. The suggested methodology proceeds from the concepts that the actual ("instantaneous") SFR is a random variable with a known (assumed, established) probability distribution, that the experimental BTC can be represented by its infant mortality and the wear-out portions only (the steady-state portion in this case is simply the boundary between the infant mortality and wear-out portions) and that the two BTC portions considered can be approximated analytically. The cases, when the "instantaneous" SFR is distributed normally and in accordance with the Rayleigh law are used as suitable illustrations of the general concept. The developed methodology can be employed when there is a need to better understand the relative roles of the statisticsrelated and physics-of-failure-related processes in reliability evaluations of electronic products. The methodology can be used also beyond the field of IC engineering, when there is a need to understand and, hence, to separate the roles of the two irreversible processes in question. One of the major challenges of the future work is to determine the probability distributions of the actual ("instantaneous") SFRs for particular products and applications.


This study explores how the immigration status of the 'asylum seeker' impacts upon notions of
'identity', 'community' and 'belonging' whilst claiming asylum in the UK. By taking a narrativedialogical
approach this research explores the stories that have been constructed around 'asylum'
by policy, those working with 'asylum seekers' and 'asylum seekers' themselves. This research
looks at how the 'official' narratives of asylum are operationalised and delivered by workers
contracted to implement government policy. The study also explores how those making a claim
for asylum narrate their lives whilst living in dispersal sites in one region of the UK with
particular focus paid to exploring how asylum and dispersal impacts upon 'identity' and
'belonging'.

The data for this project was generated in three phases. In the first phase of data generation ten
asylum support managers participated in semi-structured interviews. These managers worked for
local authorities in the Region planning the strategy and delivery of the National Asylum Support
Service (NASS) policies to 'asylum seekers' accommodated locally. The second phase of the
research also included workers involved in delivering NASS support but in a service delivery
role. Twenty-two people from across the Region were invited to attend three separate focus
groups. The third and final phase of the research involved the participation of ten 'asylum
seekers', living in dispersal sites across the Region, in lengthy narrative interviews. The data was
analysed using narrative analytical techniques informed by the work of Clandinin and Connelly
(2000) and Riessman (2004) around thematic narrative analysis and guided by the theory of
'dialogism' (Bakhtin, 1981).

The research revealed that integrating a narrative-dialogical approach to understanding the
casylum' experience has allowed space for a piece of research that appears to 'fit' into the fife
worlds of the 'asylum seeker'. Moving toward a theoretical stance of dialogism has made it
possible to explore an alternative way in which the production of narratives relate to both the
personal and the social world of the individual. Rather than discounting the possibility that
conflict and contradiction can exist in personal narratives simultaneously this research has shown
that by taking a narrative-dialogical approach embraces the schizophrenic quality that appears to
punctuate the narratives of exiles and 'asylum seekers'. The research has also shown that those
contracted to operationalise and deliver NASS support to asylum seekers are not reduced to
simple ventriloquists in the support process. Instead what has emerged are support service
workers that take a creative and active role in interpreting their 'roles' to be conducive with the
perceived needs of their organisation, the 'community' and the 'asylum seeker'. Narrating their
work as a 'quest' support service workers can be seen as active and often 'heroic' in the way in
which they act as a 'buffer' between the policies designed by NASS and the asylum seekers they
support. By using Bakhtin's notion of authoritative and internally persuasive discourse (Bakhtin,
1981), support service workers can be seen to be adhering to components of the 'official' or
authoritative discourse whilst at the same time transforming other components that are not seen
as internally persuasive. From the narrative accounts generated with 'asylum seekers' it emerged
that conflict and contradiction appeared to confound their attempts to produce narrative
coherence. This conflict and contradiction appeared to suggest a good deal of psychological
tension as 'asylum seekers' attempted to narrate; feelings of belonging, the balance between
security and uncertainty and their feelings of 'home' and identity. What appeared was a dialogical
quality to their narrative accounts which emphasised simultaneity but due to their restricted
inunigration status did not have the 'privilege' of being both/and. Rather what emerged was a
dialogical structure that can be seent o be characterisedb y the tension of being 'in between' but
being 'neither/nor'. Such a position restricts the ability to 'move and mix' (Hermans and
Kempen, 1998) in their new milieu as they are held in stasis and limbo by the multiple voices
spoken by the 'asylum system'.


This thesis is a part of collaborated project between Ericsson AB and Blekinge Institute of Technology to develop signal processing methods to be used in digital power in order to increase the functionality, performance and reliability of dc-dc converters. The task of this project work is to model a buck converter and a measurement system to sense the inductor current and output voltages of the buck converter system of Ericsson's BMR450. Such that the measurements of inductor current and output voltage can be sampled with 5MS/s and properly calibrated for BMR450 and get connected to the PCI-6111. Different current sensing techniques are analyzed and the chosen technique is modeled and simulated. The BMR450 system with measurement circuit model is implemented in MATLAB Simulink and SimPowersystems. Three different models of the buck converter are derived, simulated and compared.


Abstract: On the writing in exile of the history of the Republic of Estonia in the 1930s
The 1930s were pivotal in Estonia. The faith that Estonians placed in parliamentary democracy diminished under the influence of the worldwide economic crisis (also known as the Great Depression). In a referendum held in October of 1933, draft legislation for amending the constitution won strong popular support. This amendment had been introduced by the right-wing radical League of Veterans movement, which had recently become politically active. It would have required a head of state with extensive power to be elected in April of 1934. This election was not held because Konstantin Päts, the Premier at that time, executed a coup on 12 March 1934 with the assistance of the country's law enforcement agencies. Päts justified his actions by referring to an alleged threat posed by the League of Veterans. He suspended most civic rights and ruled the country in an authoritarian manner until the start of the Soviet occupation in 1940.
This article analyses the description of these events in the works written by authors of Estonian origin that were published in exile in the years of Soviet occupation (until 1991). Viewpoints concerning five problems are of interest here: how the situation in Estonia at the start of the 1930s was described, what was the assessment of the actions of the League of Veterans, how what took place on 12 March 1934 was explained, how the subsequent years of the undemocratic regime were described, and whether a course was set aimed at restoring democracy again in Estonia at the end of the 1930s.
After the restoration of Estonia's independence, researchers of Estonian history have mentioned only a few works written in exile on the 1930s, mostly by professional historians. Actually, more written studies on Estonia in the 1930s, which were at different academic levels, were published in exile. In addition to historians, the authors of these works were also journalists, politicians and others. Many of them had been in the service of the Päts government in the past and thus were partial. The aim of the article is to develop a narrative of Estonia in the 1930s that takes into consideration the viewpoints of as many treatments published in exile as possible, and to compare this narrative to the current state of research on this theme.
Researchers of Estonian history faced several challenges in exile. Since the most important task of the expatriate community was considered to be the fight for the restoration of Estonia's independence, the interests of this objective also had to be taken into consideration in writing history. Many believed that this meant keeping quiet about the undemocratic government of the latter half of the 1930s. Public opinion in exile raised independent Estonia's most important statesmen, who were repressed by the Soviet regime, to the status of martyrs, thus making it more difficult to criticise their actions. Those who disagreed with these views, including professional historians of the younger generation who mostly received their education in the West, were accused in the expatriate press of betraying the interests of the fight for freedom, of not being rigorous in their academic research, and of unfamiliarity with conditions in the Estonian homeland. This last argument was important since most written historical sources were in Soviet Estonia and were thus inaccessible to researchers living in exile.
Our analysis shows that in the judgement of almost all of the works consulted, Estonia's constitution of 1920 was too parliament-oriented and an expectation for amending the constitution emerged in society at the start of the 1930s. Since the political parties did not reach a consensus regarding this issue, the League of Veterans gained a great deal of popularity with its draft legislation for the constitutional amendment. The attitude of the overwhelming majority of authors towards the League of Veterans was negative, accusing them of copying the examples of foreign right-wing parties and of employing excessively aggressive propaganda methods. In the opinion of the overwhelming majority of authors, the League of Veterans had only themselves to blame for the banning of their movement – they either planned to overthrow the government in the spring of 1934 or were simply a threat to public order. The authors related reservedly to Konstantin Päts, who governed the country in an authoritarian manner after the coup of 12 March 1934. Although many of the steps that Päts took until 1940 were questionable in legal terms, and some overtly violated the constitution, several studies pointed to expediency as justification for his actions. The opinions of the authors diverged in their assessments of whether or not we can speak of the beginning of the restoration of democracy after the drafting of the new constitution and the holding of parliamentary elections in 1938. Many older works argue that this was exactly the case, adding that the Soviet occupation interrupted this process. Later works from the 1970s and 1980s tend not to agree with this assessment.
In summary, two approaches to the history of Estonia in the 1930s took shape in exile. First, an approach that favoured Konstantin Päts and the authoritarian regime that was in effect in 1934–40. The viewpoints of this approach prevailed in most popular academic works aimed at a broad readership, and in earlier general treatments of Estonian history, but also in the expatriate media. Mostly starting from the 1970s, younger professional researchers competed with this so-called mainstream. They were more critical of the authoritarian government of the country in the latter half of the 1930s. Yet they published the results of their research mostly in foreign languages and in academic publications, and their effect on the majority of the expatriate community was modest.
Most of the judgements provided by the so-called mainstream authors in exile, especially during the first decades of exile, have been refuted after the restoration of Estonia's independence. This applies particularly to judgements regarding the League of Veterans, who were portrayed in exile as the main culprits of the political crisis that broke out at the start of the 1930s and in the abandonment of democracy. Expatriate authors too easily accused the League of Veterans of National Socialism or fascism because according to current assessments, the League did not correspond to those attributes. Not one researcher has hitherto been able to find evidence of plans on the part of the League of Veterans to overthrow the government, to which Päts appealed when he himself seized power in 1934. The opinion that steps started being taken in 1938 for restoring democracy in Estonia, which the Soviet occupation cut short, is also not borne out. There is similarly no basis for the argument expounded at that time by ideologists of expatriate politics that the way the history of the Republic of Estonia was depicted in exile could affect the outcome of the struggle that was being waged to restore Estonia's independence.


In ecotoxicology, biomarkers are measurable biological responses to xenobiotics which are present in the environment and in organisms. Such biological responses are limited to sub-organismic levels including organ or tissue level, cellular or sub-cellular level and molecular level. These lower levels of biological responses precede the higher level of biological organization changes such as population, community and ecosystem. As such, the most important function of biomarkers is to provide early warning signals of significant biological effects. Appropriate organisms should be employed to detect such biomarker signals. In an aquatic ecosystem, bottom dwelling fish are commonly used for biomarker studies.
Southern sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis), is an endemic finfish species widely distributed along the southern Australian coastal waters. This species has been used as an indicator species since 1970s as it is demersal, sedentary, carnivorous and abundant, all favourable traits for environmental ecotoxicology research. However little is known about the effects of anthropogenic pollutants on this species so far and very few biomarker-related studies have been conducted on this ecologically important species.
The aim of this thesis was to develop and validate the molecular and histological biomarkers in sand flathead from southern Australian contaminated waters. The development of biomarkers was conducted in sand flathead from a historical metal polluted estuary (Derwent estuary, Tasmania). In terms of validation, the findings from the Derwent estuary were further examined in sand flathead from a more complex marine environment (Port Phillip Bay, Victoria). This research had four research chapters to address this question. 1) Assess the relationships between thyroid-related genes transcripts and trace metals in sand flathead from the Derwent estuary. 2) Investigate gill histology and hepatic expression of metal homeostasis-related genes in sand flathead from the Derwent estuary. 3) Assess the liver histological biomarkers and usefulness of Diablo/SMAC homolog and GRP78 gene as biomarkers in sand flathead from the Derwent estuary. 4) Examine the applicability of all the candidate biomarker genes and liver histology in sand flathead from Port Phillip Bay.
The data from field studies suggested that trace metals such as mercury and arsenic are associated with the transcripts of thyroid hormone related genes and environmental metal exposure influenced metals homeostasis related genes on transcriptional level, Apoptotic genes, Diablo/SMAC1 and Diablo/SMAC2 responded differently to environmental metal exposure and the ER stress marker gene GRP78 could be induced by metal stress. The results of gill histology indicated the both metal pollution and pathogen infection could contribute to gill lesions. A negative correlation observed between mercury residues and parasites number suggested pollutants may affect the abundance of gill parasites. The results for liver histology suggested chronic environmental metal exposures may contribute to the increased prevalence of inflammation and bile duct fibrosis.
Port Phillip Bay is subject to high level of organic pollutants and heavy metal mainly due to anthropogenic activities and compared to the Derwent estuary is a more complex marine environment. Results for Port Phillip Bay suggested thyroid hormone receptor genes are the major target for pollutants; Corio Bay was the most affected sampling site as some genes such as transthyretin and ferroportin 1 transcripts were only regulated in fish from this area; Diablo/SMAC1 is a potential novel biomarker gene in female fish due to its high sensitivity response to environmental pollutant exposure. Combining the gene expression results from the Derwent estuary; these data implied different pollutants impact different genes of these pathways. In terms of assessment of effects of pollution, pathway based molecular biomarker genes could provide a more comprehensive and integrated picture than the traditional single biomarker gene. In terms of histological biomarkers, a higher prevalence of granuloma was observed in the fish with high level of total arsenic, suggesting environmental arsenic exposure may contribute to the formation of this lesion.
In conclusion, this research focused on the development and validation of histological and molecular biomarkers in sand flathead. The gene transcripts involved in four different biological activities were newly identified. Two major organs, gill and liver, were used for histological assessment. The associations between the gene transcripts, pollution and parasites were observed in this work. Several gene transcripts, liver histological condition and absence of gill parasites potentially serve as biomarkers for future environmental monitoring. The results in this thesis have made a substantial contribution to understanding of interactions between pollutants and fish.


This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study compared the effects of high-dose (100 mg/d) naltrexone versus placebo in a sample of 87 randomized subjects with both cocaine and alcohol dependence. Medication conditions were crossed with two behavioral therapy platforms that examined whether adding contingency management (CM) that targeted cocaine abstinence would enhance naltrexone effects compared to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) without CM. Primary outcome measures for cocaine (urine screens) and alcohol use (timeline followback) were collected thrice-weekly during 12 weeks of treatment. Retention in treatment and medication compliance rates were low. Rates of cocaine use and drinks per day did not differ between treatment groups; however naltrexone did reduce frequency of heavy drinking days, as did CBT without CM. Notably, adding CM to CBT did not enhance treatment outcomes. These weak findings suggest that pharmacological and behavioral interventions that have shown efficacy in the treatment of a single drug dependence disorder may not provide the coverage needed when targeting dual drug dependence.


Offline methods for reinforcement learning have a potential to help bridge the gap between reinforcement learning research and real-world applications. They make it possible to learn policies from offline datasets, thus overcoming concerns associated with online data collection in the real-world, including cost, safety, or ethical concerns. In this paper, we propose a benchmark called RL Unplugged to evaluate and compare offline RL methods. RL Unplugged includes data from a diverse range of domains including games (e.g., Atari benchmark) and simulated motor control problems (e.g., DM Control Suite). The datasets include domains that are partially or fully observable, use continuous or discrete actions, and have stochastic vs. deterministic dynamics. We propose detailed evaluation protocols for each domain in RL Unplugged and provide an extensive analysis of supervised learning and offline RL methods using these protocols. We will release data for all our tasks and open-source all algorithms presented in this paper. We hope that our suite of benchmarks will increase the reproducibility of experiments and make it possible to study challenging tasks with a limited computational budget, thus making RL research both more systematic and more accessible across the community. Moving forward, we view RL Unplugged as a living benchmark suite that will evolve and grow with datasets contributed by the research community and ourselves. Our project page is available on github.


We present a novel algorithm for an autonomous underwater robot to visually detect and follow its companion human diver. Using both spatial-domain and frequency-domain features pertaining to human swimming patterns, we devise an algorithm to visually detect the position and swimming direction of the diver. Our algorithm is unique in the way that it allows detection of arbitrary motion directions, in addition to keeping track of a diver's position through the image sequence over time. A Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based approach prunes the search-space of all potential trajectories relying on image intensities in the spatial-domain. A diver's motion signature is subsequently detected in a sequence of non-overlapping image subwindows exhibiting human swimming patterns. The pruning step ensures efficient computation by avoiding exponentially large search-spaces, whereas the frequency-domain detection allows us to detect the diver's position and motion direction accurately. Experimental validation of the proposed approach is presented on datasets collected from open-water and closed-water environments.


The submitted portfolio of work emerges from a focus on treating musicking bodies as compositional material. The work explores aspects of awkwardness in performance, slow motion movement, confrontation, simultaneous and multiple forms of intersubjective identity, public presentations of private activities, and dialogic relationships with performance. Because of these interests, and their grounding in performance, my practice has involved developing compositional approaches and strategies for working with documented forms of performance. The accompanying written commentary reflects on the findings of this investigation by focusing primarily on techniques of working with documents of performances.

By considering Nicholas Cook's notion of scores-as-scripts, by which musical scores are expanded from being isolated and autonomous texts of musical work to existing in relationship with instances of performance, I propose the notion of documents-as-scores. Reflecting on the capacity for documentation to transform representations and manifestations of performance, I suggest that chirographic and/or typographic representations of musical notation inscribed in the document-form
of sheet music have the potential to function as documentation of performance. Expanding on this potential, and drawing from various definitions of the word "document," I suggest that other document-forms such as audio/video files or human bodies can be musically inscribed to function as scores for performance. These scores are made of document-forms inscribed with information that I treat as material subject to compositional protocols of manipulation, which include protraction, expansion, situation, distortion, effacement, dislocation, isolation, and contextualization, among others. To narrow the scope of this research, I focus on ways in which musicking bodies are intellectually/physically engaged with, represented in, and embodiments of these documents-as-scores.

Integrating examples from the portfolio, the commentary introduces the notion of documents-as-scores and proceeds to examine ways of working with different document-forms. In Chapter 1, physical and digital forms of notation are effaced to articulate facets of awkwardness and integrative destruction in music. In Chapter 2, distended, incomplete, and overlaid video and audio recordings are reflected in performance by looking and listening for representations and indices of physical action. In Chapter 3, humans/persons become formally constitutive embodied documents whose verbal, physical, and musical memories are situated within performative reading contexts.


Each year, companies will spend millions of dollars developing or migrating to new software systems in their business processes. Much of the focus of development and implementation has been based upon customer need (i.e., requirements), and rightly so. Equally important to requirements, however, are the users' perceptions of the software. Does a user actually think a piece of software would help them meet the need identified? Does the user think it would be easy for them to implement this software as a solution? What do the people around the user think and how does that opinion affect theirs? It is important to understand what factors determine whether a potential user will adopt a software application and how much they will use it? A commonly used model for explaining this is the Technology Acceptance Model. Davis (1989) found that subjective belief about a software system is most closely related to the actual intention to use it. Specifically, Davis uses Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use in the Technology Acceptance Model to model intention to use a software system statistically.
Neither of these subjective views are formed by a potential user in isolation. The opinions and behavior of others can potentially exert a great deal of influence on an individual's perception of these factors. Davis himself points out the omission of social influence in the original Technology Acceptance Model was due to measurement difficulties rather than to its potential value in the model. Difficulty in measuring social influence is evidenced by the lack of a definitive scale of social influence. By its common use in many studies, Subjective Norm has become the "defacto standard" for measuring social influence but this has not resulted in a consistently significant measure of social influence. The goal of this current study is two-fold. The primary goal is to incorporate a validated scale of social influence into the original Technology Acceptance Model which preserves the model's parsimony while significantly increasing its explained variance. Secondarily, in doing so, a modified scale based upon Subjective Norms will be verified and tested. In response to a recognized shortcoming of Subjective Norm, a cognitive element will be included into the modified scale.
In this current study the modification of Subjective Norm was developed based upon existing research on the topic. The Technology Acceptance Model is augmented by the proposed scale and tested over four surveys. Two systems are chosen for study because of the nature of their use; use of one (Filebox) is voluntary, and use of the other (Blackboard) is compulsory. The results of the survey were consistent across all four surveys, with the model predicting over 40% of the variation in behavior every time. Including the modified scale of Subjective Norm significantly increased the explained variance of the model (i.e., R2) in every survey. The results verify the reliability and validity of the modified scale of Subjective Norm. These four studies make a strong case for including this scale of social influence as a regular scale in the Technology Acceptance Model for future research. Future directions for studying the scale and the resulting model are also discussed. The resulting behavioral model is a valuable tool that will give software developers and managers more forethought and insight into the development of and migration to specific software systems.


The Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA) codified the right of children in foster care to achieve a safe and permanent home. Since its passage, there has been a 79 percent increase in the number of children adopted from foster care. Surprisingly, the vast majority of post-ASFA adoptions were by foster parents or relatives of the children in care. Why so few children are adopted by general applicants is an important question, particularly for the 131,000 waiting for permanent homes. We examined this question using federal data (AFCARS), a state survey, and case record reviews and interviews with parents and agency staff in three sites. We found a steep attrition rate as prospective families go from initial call to adoption, and identified two particularly crucial points in the process. The first is the prospective parents' initial call to an agency. This information call can be an intensely emotional experience for the prospective adoptive parent, but agencies, faced with the challenge of balancing recruitment with screening, do not handle it as well as they might. The second is the placement process. In part his is a result of the inherent conflict between parents looking for the "right child" to complete their family and agencies looking for the "right home" for each child. But we also found great confusion about how the placement decision is made and what role the prospective adoptive parents should play in it. Among our recommendations are an early focus on recruitment rather than screening; documentation of the adoption process and qualifications for adopting; and, a separation of screening from training wherever possible. We also recommend a changing the way initial calls are handled and development of a buddy system paring prospective adoptive parents with experienced adoptive parents, and establishment of a process for soliciting, and incorporating feedback from prospective parents. If we want to find homes for waiting children, it is absolutely critical that child welfare agencies develop ways of listening to prospective parents throughout the adoption process and responding to their needs and concerns.


A Review of The New Plantation: Black Athletes, College Sports, and Predominately White NCAA Institutions by Billy Hawkins New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2010 256 pp. Hardcover $90 ISBN 978-0-230-61517-5 The central aim of this special issue of the Journal of Educational Foundations is to confront dominant and misleading assumptions about African Americans in education. Arguably, no subgroup within the African-American community is forced to confront more salient negative stereotyping than the African-American male college athlete (Benson, 2000; Donner, 2005; Perlmutter, 2003). Fellow students and faculty members often view African-American male college athletes as little more than "dumb jocks," who are only enrolled in college to compete on the athletics field (Edwards, 1984), while the media have sometimes created perceptions of African-American male college athletes as violent and intellectually inept (McDonald, 2010). The stigmatization of African-American male college athletes as academically challenged gladiators may affect how these athletes are viewed and studied within higher education. One of the more recent counter narratives to this dominant discourse on African-American male college athletes comes from University of Georgia professor Billy Hawkins in his book titled The New Plantation: Black Athletes, College Sports, and Predominantly White NCAA Institutions. The purpose of this book is to provide insight into the controversial relationship between African-American male athletes and predominately White National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I institutions. Hawkins argues that predominately White colleges and universities function like plantation systems internally colonizing (1) and exploiting the athletic abilities of African-American male athletes. In doing so, Hawkins attempts to convince the reader that the lower academic performance of African-American male athletes is the result of institutional structures and racial ideologies which can hinder the academic achievement of African-American male athletes, not the result of African-American male athletes being unintelligent and unmotivated. This goal was successfully accomplished in this book. Despite some limitations which deserve critiquing, the book does a satisfactory job of providing a systematic, academic analysis of the experiences of African-American male athletes at predominately White colleges and universities. The book's introduction includes Hawkins's experiences as a college basketball player and how these experiences, coupled with his experiences of growing up in a small Southern town, completing a doctorate degree and working with academically "at risk" student-athletes at a predominately White institution (PWI) led him to write this book. Chapter 1 is a very brief historical overview of the African-American male athlete and his transition from primarily attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to attending PWIs. This chapter also introduces the reader to some of the challenges faced by African-American athletes at PWIs, including racism, social isolation, and alienation. This chapter also details many African-American male athletes' struggles to adjust to the unwritten norms established and enforced by the structural forces observed at PWIs. As the author acknowledges, this is a very brief overview. Readers hoping to find a more thorough historical treatment of the transition of African-American athletes from HBCUs to PWIs may be somewhat disappointed with this chapter because the author never explicitly critiques the institutional structures and forces of HBCUs that may negatively influence the academic achievement of African-American athletes. For instance, more attention to how African-American athletes are perceived by their classmates, athletic coaches, and professors and descriptive statistics aimed to quantify African-American athletes' graduation rates and academic majors at HBCUs would have been useful because the chapter, as written, makes it difficult to ascertain the extent to which HBCUs impact the academic achievement of African-American athletes. …


The first evidence that there was a crisis looming for historic house museums came in 1988, when an informal study commissioned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation revealed that of 5,000 historic property museums in the United States, 54% of them received less than 5,000 visitors annually. This was followed in the 1990s by a series of conferences on issues such as "The Future of the Historic House Museum in the 21st Century" and "Rethinking the Uses and Stories of Historic Sites." Now that we are well into the first decade of the 21st century, these efforts have shifted to an emphasis on problem-solving, from creating a more professional nonprofit management model to the more drastic option of deaccessioning houses or their collections. Experts predict that the trend of deaccessioning will not only continue, but increase. The most stunning example to date of a house museum shifting back to private ownership took place in December, 2006, when Colonial Williamsburg announced its intention to sell Carter's Grove plantation (built from 1750-1755), once considered a "must see" tourist destination. A spokesperson for Colonial Williamsburg said the site was closed due to declining attendance and shifting priorities. In April, 2007, the property, with protective easements in place, was listed with a specialty real estate firm at an asking price of $19 million. Comments A thesis in Historic Preservation Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of Science in Historic Preservation 2007. Advisor: Gail Caskey Winkler This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/95 DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES: HOW CAN CREATIVE APPROACHES TO COMMUNICATION KEEP HISTORIC SITES FROM GOING SILENT?


Title of Document: ON DETERMINING SPONTANEOUS IGNITION IN POROUS MATERIALS Stephen Michael Tamburello, Master of Science in Fire Protection Engineering, 2011 Directed By: Professor, Dr. James G. Quintiere, Ph.D., Department of Fire Protection Engineering A guide is developed that lays out the process of analyzing spontaneous ignition likelihood. The Frank-Kamenetskii (F-K) theory forms the basis of the approach. The Damkohler number, defined as the dimensionless heat generation parameter for a self-heating body, is described in terms of two key material constants and these materials are related to real incident spontaneous ignition scenarios. The Damkohler number is compared to the critical Damkohler number, value of heat generation at the onset of runaway condition, to determine if spontaneous ignition is likely. Corrections to the critical Damkohler number are described for cases of finite Biot number, low activation energy, and reactant consumption. Heat transfer analysis is needed in terms of a Biot number, and its calculation is described. A specific measurement of the heat transfer in an oven is described. Application of the spontaneous ignition hazard analysis for a real case is presented. ON DETERMINING SPONTANEOUS IGNITION IN POROUS MATERIALS


Objective: Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most commonly diagnosed Gastrointestinal (GI) condition in the United States affecting 30 million (10%) people. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, distension, excessive wind and altered bowel habits when anatomical abnormalities and inflammation have been excluded. A low-FODMAP diet is now considered as an effective strategy for managing symptoms of IBS in Australia, with interest expanding across the world. Several limitations of a lowFODMAP diet pertaining to dietary quality and health benefits have been suggested. Malabsorbed FODMAPs provide multiple benefits which include a natural laxative effect due to their osmotic effects, a prebiotic effect with beneficial fermentation by-products and production of a low glycemic response compared to other carbohydrates. Additionally, Dietary adherence is crucial to the success of a low-FODMAP diet, however most people do not find the diet easy to incorporate into their life. Not one study has looked exclusively at healthy adults or looked at changes in FODMAP intake and diet quality as compared to established guidelines. A study is needed looking at dietary quality of lowvs. high-FODMAP diets and should consider how adherence and other factors that may influence efficacy of the diet. Design: This study used a single-blinded crossover design. Subjects (n=16) were instructed about following a low-FODMAP and a high-FODMAP diet for three days each, presented in a random order and separated by an 11-day wash out period. The study was entitled "The Carb Study" and diets labeled "diet 1" and "diet 2" without reference to FODMAP. No food was provided. Dietary instruction was provided for each diet along with a dietary booklet. Dietary assessment consisted of four 24-hour recalls using NDSR. Recalls assessed the day prior to each intervention period (2 baselines) and assessed day 3 of each intervention period (2 interventions). FODMAP intake was estimated based on the sum of fructose, lactose and polyol intake and dietary quality was calculated based on the Healthy Eating Index 2010 (HEI-2010). Setting: Free living subjects recruited from a northeastern university. Subjects: Participants were healthy adults without gastrointestinal disorders (n=16, 63% female, 20.47±1.77 years). Results: There was no effect of diet order. There was a non-significant trend for a between treatment difference in FODMAP intake (F(1,14df)=4.27, p=.058) and a significant difference between groups in HEI-2010 total score (F(1,14df)=10.45, p=.001). Within the low-FODMAP treatment, FODMAP intake decreased from 36.30±22.62 grams to 19.29±15.79 grams (-t=2.84, p=.01) and HEI-2010 scores increased from 53.60±17.16 to 63.09±17.23 (t=2.20, p=.04); Energy intake also significantly decreased from 2259±1325 kcals to 1510±795 kcals (-t=2.68, p=.017). Within the high-FODMAP treatment, there was no change in FODMAP intake (t=.35, p=.731) but HEI-2010 scores decreased from 60.83±12.76 to 52.04±11.27 (-t=2.45, p=.027); There was no difference in energy intake (1993±962 to 2251± 864, -t=1.57, p=.14) Conclusions: This study suggests that reducing FODMAP is feasible in healthy, freeliving young adults and that this reduction is associated with an increase in dietary quality. However, the high-FODMAP intervention in this study was not effective in increasing FODMAP intake. Future research with larger samples is needed to develop interventions for increasing healthy FODMAP intake in young adults. In addition, future research is needed to assess long-term effects of these dietary modifications in healthy


The natural resource base of the world�s drylands is under continuous threat, particularly due to immense population growth, climate and land use change. Since the majority of these ecosystems are used as rangelands for domestic livestock, forage is (beneath drinking water) one of the most required ecosystem goods. For local land users as well as policy-makers it is crucial to quantify the actual supply of forage and try to predict potential limitations in the future. Ecological indicators as easily interpretable surrogates for complex ecological processes play an important role to assess rangeland condition. However, in highly stochastic arid and semiarid ecosystems it is still a challenge to identify reliable indicators detecting anthropogenic change against a background of natural variability. The present dissertation investigates three currently discussed rangeland indicators and their significance along a steep gradient of natural variability in southern Morocco. The research was conducted on four altitudinal levels along the southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains. The transect represents a steep aridity gradient stretching from arid climate in the Basin of Ouarzazate to subhumid climate in the high mountain areas. First, the production (ANPP) and rain-use efficiency (RUE) of the vegetation was analyzed by means of an ecological field experiment comparing grazed, 1 year and 7 years rested vegetation. It revealed that ANPP and RUE are suitable and relatively �fast� indicators to quantify the actual supply of forage, but not to detect long-term and irreversible degradation processes. For that, the new parameters ANPPrel and RUErel are suggested, which standardize the production on the amount of initial biomass. In contrast to ANPP and RUE, they focus on the vitality of perennial forage plants which is altered on a longer time scale and allows a better comparison across ecosystems. Second, plant functional types (PFT) were tested as indicators. Particularly response groups and response traits were assembled to quantify grazing impact. In contrast to the initial goals of PFT research, those indicators were shown to be locally limited, since their predictive value was strongly influenced by resource stochasticity (aridity). It is deduced that using response groups and response traits for range assessment in arid and semiarid ecosystem is only reliable if their application is restricted to the local scale. Third, this work examines the local ecological knowledge of nomadic land-users in the research area. An interdisciplinary study among herdsmen of a local Berber fraction discovered that the �reliability� of plants and pastures functions as a local indicator which influences local range management. The �reliability�-concept integrates several spatial and temporal scales. It provides a new opportunity to quantify anthropological information and to compare it to ecological data. The present work depicts an important milestone for the application of ecological indicators in range assessment. It is essential for land users and policy-makers to choose the appropriate indicator level not only to economize costs and manpower, but also to reduce bias in indication processes. A combination of several hierarchically operating indicators is suggested for arid and semiarid ecosystems, for example measures of ANPP/RUE to quantify actual forage supply of pastures and ANPPrel/RUErel to detect areas affected by long-term degradation. Results of this work further build a data base for two different vegetation models. In the context of rapid climate and land use change we cannot afford further debates whether environmental changes have been caused by human impact or are just an impression of natural variability. My work shows the potential and limits of three ecological indicators under semiarid climate. It thus provides the framework for an appropriate application that allows an indication of human impact against a background of resource variability.


In the long polar night a telescope with ten 1-m mirrors will be trained on a supernova, a likely source of cosmic rays. The mirrors can detect the faint light from the short-lived cascade of particles that occurs when gamma rays hit the atmosphere. Reprinted by permission from the Science Times section of The New York Times of 12 Dec. 1989.


We compiled light utilization traits for 56 species of freshwater phytoplankton to analyze group differences, trait trade‐offs, and allometric scaling relationships. We also used these traits to explain differences in major group distributions along the light availability gradient in 527 lakes in the continental United States. Major taxonomic groups differed significantly in their light utilization traits. Cyanobacteria had the highest initial slope of the growth‐irradiance curve (ɑ) and low irradiance at the onset of photoinhibition, indicating adaptation to low light environments. Green algae had the highest maximal growth rates and low ɑ, indicating adaptation to higher light environments. Groups capable of mixotrophy had traits indicative of poor light competitive abilities and high light requirements. Key light utilization traits scaled allometrically with cell size and exhibited trade‐offs leading to contrasting ecological strategies; ɑ and cell size were conserved at the highest taxonomic level (domain), indicating a fundamental trait divergence between prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytoplankton. In line with these trait differences, major groups showed different responses to light availability in natural conditions. The relative abundances of low light–adapted groups declined with increasing light availability and vice versa. The genera mean values of the initial slopes of the growth‐irradiance curves were significantly negatively correlated with the slopes of the relationships between the genus's relative abundance and light availability characterized by Secchi depth in 527 lakes. This indicates that light utilization traits can be used to explain phytoplankton distributions in nature.


The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a monolayer of cells that are vital for visual function and play a key role in the maintenance of the photoreceptors. Within RPE cells are melanin granules which absorb stray light and minimise scatter within the eye, therefore, protecting the RPE from damage. Albinos lack this protective capacity of melanin as a result of mutations of the tyrosinase gene. The first half of this thesis investigates heterogeneity within the RPE in both pigmentation phenotypes. Furthermore, the effect of ageing on the RPE is examined. Immunohistochemistry highlighted the molecular heterogeneity of the RPE and how this varies with pigmentation phenotype. In aged animals, SEM revealed abnormalities occurring within the photoreceptor outer segments of albinos, while ERGs and QRT-PCR illustrated that albinos show the signs of an age-related decline in visual function much sooner than pigmented animals. These studies revealed that in the outer retina, albinism is a progressive disease and not simply a congenital abnormality. The second half of this thesis investigates migration and proliferation of RPE cells in healthy pigmented animals. Using BrdU and DiI it was established that individual RPE cells have the ability to migrate. In addition, the effect of inducing lesions in different retinal locations was studied to determine whether this affects the response of RPE cells to the damaged area. The results conveyed that a single unilateral lesion in the RPE caused an upregulation of proliferating cells not only in the lasered eye, but also the contralateral unlasered eye in a quadrant specific manner. An additional experiment investigated the effect of treating rats with Glatiramer Acetate and found that it elevates levels of cell proliferation in the RPE of treated animals. Together, the data presented in this thesis demonstrate that the mature RPE is a dynamic heterogeneous epithelial cell layer.


In the context of the Entrepreneurial Universities and university third mission we want to examine to what extent university business support activities are becoming part of the day by day of the university as part of their current financial sources or is just a fashionable activity and the university will finally react against them due to cultural, managerial and organisational manners anchored in different principles to those required to turn a university into an entrepreneurial organisation. We analyse the case of the IDEAS Programme at the Polytechnic University of Valencia as a paradigmatic case in Spain and conclude that the process is imposing changes in several university structures that so far have been welcomed and are transforming the institution into a systemic organisation, linking the different activities related to business support at the university. The key result is represented by an increasing evolution in the number of university spin-off and business created with three key periods of time reflecting strategy changes.


Substantive Protection under Investment Treaties provides the first systematic analysis of the consequences of the substantive protections that investment treaties provide to foreign investors. It proposes a new framework for identifying and evaluating the costs and benefits of differing levels of investment treaty protection, and uses this framework to evaluate the levels of protection for foreign investors implied by different interpretations of the fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation provisions of investment treaties. The author examines the arguments and assumptions of both supporters and critics of investment treaties, seeks to test whether they are coherent and borne out by evidence, and concludes that the 'economic' justifications for investment treaty protections are much weaker than is generally assumed. As such, the 'economic' objectives of investment treaties are not necessarily in tension with other 'non-economic' objectives. These findings have important implications for the drafting and interpretation of investment treaties.


This research was designed to examine the alternatives available for increasing highway user revenue in Indiana, as well as how other states are handling these revenue problems. A questionnaire survey regarding current financing and taxation policies sent to the states, showed a definite need for increased highway revenues to meet escalating costs in most states. Many states indicated they are seriously studying a motor fuel tax which would, in some way, be indexed to inflation. A promising method of increasing revenues appears to be the adoption of an ad valorem tax, similar in nature to a sales tax, on motor fuel consumption. As a consequence of this research, three major alternative examples for increasing highway user revenue were examined. The first example included reproportioning of Indiana's registration and motor vehicle fees upward to compare with national averages. The second example involved increasing motor fuel revenues by a one-cent per gallon tax increase or adoption of a 20 percent ad valorem tax in lieu of the present motor fuel taxation structure. The final example combined an ad valorem tax with a reproportionment of user fees to national averages. Under conservative assumptions, this last example generated an additional 92 million dollars for highways or over twice the additional revenues generated by any of the other examples. Using the criterion of revenue generating capabilities and compatibility with methods an procedures presently utilized for collection of fuel taxes, a proposal including an appropriate ad valorem tax appears to be most beneficial.


Glycoprotein N acetylgalactosamine 3 beta galactosyltransferase 1 (C1GALT1; MIM:610555) mediates the transfer of Galactose (Gal) from UDP galactose to single O-linked GalNAc residues (Tn antigens) to form Core 1 structures on glycoproteins. C1GALT1 is active when in complex with the molecular chaperone C1GALT1C1 (aka COSMC; MIM:300611) which assists the folding and/or stability of C1GALT1. Defects in C1GALT1C1 causes somatic Tn polyagglutination syndrome (TNPS; MIM:300622), characterised by the polyagglutination of erythrocytes by naturally occurring anti Tn antibodies following exposure of the Tn antigen on their surface. Defects in C1GALT1C1 render C1GALT1 inactive and results in the accumula-tion of the incompletely glycosylated Tn antigen. The Tn antigen is tumour associated, found in a major-ity of human carcinomas, and is not normally expressed in peripheral tissues or blood cells (Crew al. 2008, et


Objectives of the Study The aim of this study is to investigate the potential business value of XBRL for the main financial report receivers in Finland: Finnish Tax Administration, National board of Patents and Registration in Finland and Statistics Finland. The focus of the research is in XBRL adoption. Firstly, the current situation in these authorities regarding XBRL adoption was explored and any potential challenges in the current financial reporting process identified. Secondly, the leading European public authorities in XBRL adoption Netherlands Tax & Customs, National Bank of Belgium and Danish Business Authority – were studied and their best practices and achieved benefits concerning XBRL investigated. Academic Background and Methodology The thesis is qualitative in nature and exploratory in character. First, relevant literature on the characteristics of business value of IT is reviewed. Then, the theory basis is used as a background for choosing the themes with help of which to study the business value of IT in the specific case of XBRL for the Finnish report receivers. The academic background of the thesis comes mainly from literature concerning the business value of IT: the concepts of network effects as well as quality of information were seen relevant for the purpose of this thesis. These two concepts together with a summary of the existing research on XBRL form the theoretical part of this study. In addition, a number of previously used models and frameworks that have been used in the IT business value research are reviewed. Out of these models, the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework by Tornazky et al. (1990) has been chosen as the most suitable one for the purpose of this study. Qualitative data was gathered from XBRL experts in three Finnish case organizations that receive financial reports as well as three European case organizations from the same field. Findings and Conclusions The findings from the empirical part of the study were discussed using the TOE framework as a lense. The concepts of "Technology", "Organization" and "Environment" were used as explanative factors that may affect the adoption of XBRL in the Finnish case organizations. It was found that most of the potential business value resulting from the use of XBRL is related to better accessibility and understandability of the data. When the data is in a machine readable format, it is easier to disseminate and distribute among different government officials. No monetary or financial benefits from the use of XBRL were found in the research.


Context: Menopause is a crucial phase of the women fraternity which marks the end of reproductive age. Mostly it is physiological; however, certain conditions may lead to premature menopause. Menopause has an extensive spectrum of symptoms which are extremely bothersome. An effective, empathetic, and rational treatment strategy is necessary. Aim: The present study was carried out to appraise the treatment strategies to tackle menopausal problems in Acharya Vinoba Bhave Rural Hospital, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha – a tertiary care hospital in rural Vidarbha. Materials and Methods: This monocentric hospital-based qualitative study was carried out on 330 menopausal women. Data were collected from in-depth interview of the health-care professionals of obstetrics and gynecology department and patients. Results: Of 330 participants, the incidence of natural menopause was 90.96% (2016) and 85.36% (2017); surgical menopause was 09.03% (2016) and 14.63% (2017). There was no incidence of chemotherapy-induced and pelvic radiation-induced menopause during the study. Pharmacotherapy (85.45%) and surgery (19.09%) were the mainstay treatments. The most common route of drug administration was oral (92.20%), followed by intravaginal (15.60%), topical (09.57%), and injectables (0.35%). Pharmacotherapy was categorized into core therapy (84.75%), supportive therapy (47.52%), and alternative therapy (03.19%). Conclusion: The present study concludes that there is a decline in the use of hormone replacement therapy for the management of menopausal complaints. There is lack of awareness of the complexity of menopausal symptoms and available treatment strategies in this rural population, and therefore, it is recommended to organize various awareness camps, so that a prompt and most suitable treatment can be provided.


Abstract In this paper, an acceleration scheme for the red-black response matrix iteration is proposed. The proposed method is easily applied not only to newly developed codes but also to existing ones; cross-section sets are input by multiplying by a scaling factor, without requiring any code modification. The proposed method is called the cross-section scaling acceleration (CSA) method and is applicable to accelerate inner iteration of the response matrix calculation of second-order partial differential equations (e.g., diffusion, simplified PN, and PN). An eigenvalue analysis of the proposed method was carried out for one-group homogeneous problems. The analysis showed that the maximum eigenvalue of the red-black response matrix strongly depends on the scaling factor, and that the convergence of iteration becomes faster when an appropriate scaling factor is used. In the derivation of the response matrix, it was found that the CSA method is viewed as an alternative form of the acceleration method proposed by Lewis and Palmiotti. Although their method requires modifications of the response matrix, application of the CSA method is much easier. The CSA method was used for three test problems that cover a wide range of applications: a simple one-group, one-dimensional problem; a multigroup pressurized water reactor (PWR) assembly problem; and a more realistic multigroup PWR quarter-core problem. The calculation results of the test problems showed that the number of iterations can be reduced from 30 to 80% by utilizing the CSA method.


Linked Data is proclaimed as the Semantic Web done right. The Semantic Web is an incomplete dream so far, but a homogeneous revolutionary platform as a network of Blockchains could be the solution to this not optimal reality. This research paper introduces some initial hints and ideas about how a futuristic Internet that might be composed and powered by Blockchains networks would be constructed and designed to interconnect data and meaning, thus allow reasoning. An industrial application where Blockchain and Linked Data fits perfectly as a Supply Chain management system is also researched.


CONTEXT
The decline over the past decade in the percentage of physicians providing care to charity and Medicaid patients has been attributed to both financial pressure and the changing practice environment. Policymakers should be concerned about these trends, since private physicians are a major source of medical care for low-income persons. This study examines how changes in physicians' practice income, ownership, and size affect their decisions to stop or start treating charity care and Medicaid patients.

METHODS
This study uses panel data from four rounds of the Community Tracking Study Physician Survey. The dependent variables are the likelihood of physicians' (1) dropping charity care, (2) starting to provide charity care, (3) no longer accepting new Medicaid patients, and (4) starting to accept new Medicaid patients. The primary independent variables are changes in physicians' practice income, ownership, and practice type/size. Multivariate analysis controls for the effects of other physician practice characteristics, health policies, and health care market factors.

FINDINGS
A decline in physicians' income increased the likelihood that a physician would stop accepting new Medicaid patients but had no effect on his or her decision to provide charity care. Those physicians who switched from being owners to employees or from small to larger practices were more likely to drop charity care and to start accepting Medicaid patients, and physicians who made the opposite practice changes did the reverse.

CONCLUSIONS
Changes in their income and practice arrangements make physicians less willing to accept Medicaid and uninsured patients. Moreover, physicians moving into different practice arrangements treat charity and Medicaid patients as substitutes rather than as similar types of patients. To reverse these trends, policymakers should consider raising Medicaid reimbursement rates and subsidizing organizations that encourage private physicians to provide charity care.


It is generally unknown how to formally determine whether different neural networks have a similar behaviour. This question intimately relates to the problem of finding a suitable similarity measure to identify bounds on the input-output response distances of neural networks, which has several interesting theoretical and computational implications. For example, it can allow one to speed up the learning processes by restricting the network parameter space, or to test the robustness of a network with respect to parameter variation. In this paper we develop a procedure that allows to compare neural structures among them. In particular, we consider dynamic networks composed of neural units characterised by non-linear differential equations, described in terms of autonomous continuous dynamic systems. The comparison is established by importing and adapting from the formal verification setting the concept of δ−approximate bisimulations techniques for non-linear systems. We have positively tested the proposed approach over continuous time recurrent neural networks (CTRNNs).


Managing wireless sensor networks in an energy-efficient manner is no mean feat. Management requests and responses create additional traffic in addition to the data issuing from the network's actual sensing application. Effective management therefore requires balancing the need for detailed oversight of the network against the energy consumption of the management system itself. This paper explores whether sending the management data and the sensing data together rather than separately can reduce the management system's energy footprint. From the results of our experiment using BMAC and DYMO on MICAz motes running on TinyOS, we find that our approach does indeed substantially reduce the communication costs of the management system. We discuss different models for cooperation between the management system and the sensing application and estimate the potential trade-off between the number of packet transmissions and the delay of management data. To put the theoretical results into practice, we present a management framework for monitoring wireless sensor networks that is independent of the actual sensing application. This framework allows fine-grained control over the latency tolerated for management requests for the sake of reduced energy consumption. Measurements based on a prototype implementation of the framework in an experimental setup show that up to 61% of the energy previously needed for management requests can be saved.


To the Editor: We read with interest the article by Cohen et al on the costeffectiveness of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drugeluting stents versus coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) for patients with 3-vessel or left main coronary artery disease. This is a timely article considering the current economic challenges. However, we believe that some additional points must be made with regard to this article. First, the economic analysis was about US healthcare system costs. A more encompassing and comprehensive analysis would have been from a societal perspective. Although CABG patients are less productive and may have greater needs in the immediate postoperative period, recurrent angina in PCI patients likely contributes to increased late societal costs. Second, although the EuroQOL 5-dimension questionnaire is traditionally used in cost-effectiveness analysis because of the ease of converting scores into utilities, one must be cognizant that this is a generic health status assessment. When disease-specific measures are not included in economic analyses, important factors such as persistent or recurrent angina in the PCI population can be missed. In fact, the authors have previously shown that, at as early as 6 months, CABG patients have greater functioning capacity and freedom from angina compared with PCI patients. Algorithms that convert the Seattle Angina Questionnaire into EuroQOL 5-dimension questionnaire utilities have been developed to capture these important disease-specific symptoms. We believe that EuroQOL 5-dimension questionnaire utility scores may have been similar between the CABG and PCI patients because of a lack of disease-specific measures such as angina. Finally, as the investigators in the trial have previously stated, secondary prevention in the CABG group was suboptimal compared with the PCI group, with significantly fewer patients receiving antiplatelet therapy and statins. Secondary prevention represents a critical and truly cost-effective measure that was often missing in the CABG group. The article by Cohen et al adds important insights into the costeffectiveness of 2 important revascularization strategies in this patient population. However, we feel that the aforementioned points must be considered. Disclosures None.


. We study metanetworks arising in genotype and phenotype spaces, in the context of a model population of Boolean graphs evolved under selection for short dynamical attractors. We define the adjacency matrix of a graph as its genotype, which gets mutated in the course of evolution, while its phenotype is its set of dynamical attractors. Metanetworks in the genotype and phenotype spaces are formed, respectively, by genetic proximity and by phenotypic similarity, the latter weighted by the sizes of the basins of attraction of the shared attractors. We find that evolved populations of Boolean graphs form tree-like giant clusters in genotype space, while random populations of Boolean graphs are typically so far removed from each other genetically that they cannot form a metanetwork. In phenotype space, the metanetworks of evolved populations are super robust both under the elimination of weak connections and random removal of nodes. in


In the last decade, the development of the liver grafting in childs, has pointed out the efficacy of this modality as the treatment of several inborns errors of metabolism. Due to the technical limitations of the orthotopic liver transplantation, new modalities have been sought. Among them, liver cells transplantation represent the most attractive. Different studies have confirmed the efficacy of liver cell grafting in the treatment of several experimental models of hepatophathy: acute liver failure experimental cirrhosis and models of enzyme deficiency. These results have established the bases for the future clinical application of this technique in childs. As well as other forms of isolated cell transplantation; liver cell grafting could provide a good model for cryopreservation, immunological manipulation and genetic engineering.


The Berlin declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities has resulted in a strong impetus in the discussion on business models, and in particular the model of open access. A business model is defined as just the organisation of property. Consequently, business models for scientific information are discussed on the premise that any such business model should primarily produce added value for the scientific process next to commercial value for the research institution or intermediary acting as publisher. Furthermore, any business model should be sustainable. Scientific information is thus considered an integral part of the scientific process. It is not an end product but an intermediary product subject to scientific scrutiny. The final goal is to integrate the information into the scientific process. To this end, scientific information should be widely available for selection by the user as common property. Two basic business models emerge: one with the focus on added value as selection by the user known as the 'subscription model'; and another one with the focus on wide availability known as the 'open access' model. Both in the subscription model as in the open access model it is the scientific community that invests. In the subscription model scientific information is more considered as external to the scientific process in a consumer type model, while in the open access model scientific information is more seen as internal, as necessary acquisition costs for the scientific process. In the subscription model there is less incentive for broad availability of information whereas in the open access model there is less incentive to develop and maintain added value services to facilitate the selection by the reader. The organisation of property is a condition sine qua non. Although common property, the information is owned by the author claiming this property by the act of publication. Core to this claim of property is peer review being therefore core to any business model. The author is interested in protecting his moral rights against plagiarism; the publisher is interested in protecting the added value against commercial abuse. It is suggested that open access repositories could boost if repository management would guarantee protection of the moral rights of the author. In this way, the protection to the two main infringements could be split over different stakeholders. This would also allow separating the responsibility for availability coupled with peer review as a basic service from added value services coupled to selection at an optional charge. In the end, any business model has to fulfill the basic idea that scientific information is not there just for the record as a commodity, but is there to be used in research and teaching: scientific information has no value in itself.


We construct a graph expansion from a semigroup with a given generating set, thereby generalizing the graph expansion for groups introduced by Margolis and Meakin. We then describe structural properties of this expansion. The semigroup graph expansion is itself a semigroup and there is a map onto the original semigroup. This construction preserves many features of the original semigroup including the presence of idempotent/periodic elements, maximal group images (if the initial semigroup is E-dense), finiteness, and finite subgroup structure. We provide necessary and sufficient graphical criteria to determine if elements are idempotent, regular, periodic, or related by Green's relations. We also examine the relationship between the semigroup graph expansion and other expansions, namely the Birget and Rhodes right prefix expansion and the monoid graph expansion. If S is a Σ-generated semigroup, its graph expansion is generally not Σ-generated. For this reason, we introduce a second construction, the path expansion of a semigroup. We show that it is a Σ-generated subsemigroup of the semigroup graph expansion. The semigroup path expansion possesses most of the properties of the semigroup graph expansion. Additionally, we show that the path expansion construction plays an analogous role with respect to the right prefix expansion of semigroups that the group graph expansion plays with respect to the right prefix expansion of groups.


AAPG Memoir 109 is designed as a practical guide for students and professionals to learn the fundamentals of microscopic examination of sandstones, mudrocks, and associated rocks. With more than 1100 color illustrations, it covers the identification of grains, textures, and structures of clastic terrigenous rocks as well as their diagenetic alteration (compaction, cementation, dissolution, and replacement) and porosity reduction or enhancement. It also provides classification diagrams for formal description of those rocks and their porosity. Although the majority of the outcrop and subsurface examples come from the United States (35 states and Puerto Rico), there are representative photographs from 32 other countries, including many from the offshore areas. The foldout birefringence chart and an included DVD with Powerpoint files of all of the petrographic images provide additional aids for instructors and students.


Plant posture can play a key role in the health of aquatic vegetation, by setting drag, controlling light availability, and mediating the exchange of nutrients and oxygen. We study the flow‐induced reconfiguration of buoyant, flexible aquatic vegetation through a combination of laboratory flume experiments and theoretical modeling. The laboratory experiments measure drag and posture for model blades that span the natural range for seagrass stiffness and buoyancy. The theoretical model calculates plant posture based on a force balance that includes posture‐dependent drag and the restoring forces due to vegetation stiffness and buoyancy. When the hydrodynamic forcing is small compared to the restoring forces, the model blades remain upright and the quadratic law, Fx ∝ U2, predicts the drag well (Fx is drag, U is velocity). When the hydrodynamic forcing exceeds the restoring forces, the blades are pushed over by the flow, and the quadratic drag law no longer applies. The model successfully predicts when this transition occurs. The model also predicts that when the dominant restoring mechanism is blade stiffness, reconfiguration leads to the scaling Fx ∝ U4/3. When the dominant restoring mechanism is blade buoyancy, reconfiguration can lead to a sub‐linear increase in drag with velocity, i.e., Fx ∝ Ua with a < 1. Laboratory measurements confirm both these predictions. The model also predicts drag and posture successfully for natural systems ranging from seagrasses to marine macroalgae of more complex morphology.


The work describes a biofilm-based soluble sulphate reduction system, which can treat up to 1600 ppm of soluble sulphate within 3.5 hours of incubation to discharge level under ambient condition using a well-characterized sulphate-reducing bacterial (SRB) consortium. This system ensures the treatment of 1509 litres of sulphate solution in 24 hours using a 220-litre bioreactor. Performance of the system during series operation was compromised, indicating the presence of inhibitor in solution at a toxic level. A single unit bioreactor would be the ideal configuration for this consortium. Modified designs of bioreactors were tested for optimization of the process using response surface method‐ ology (RSM), where the system could function optimally at an initial sulphate concen‐ tration of 1250 ppm with a flow rate of 1.8 litre/hour. The time course of sulphate reduction yielded a parabolic profile (with coefficient of determination r 2 = 0.99 and p value < 0.05). The rate of sulphate reduction was found to be independent of seasonal variation as well as the specific design characteristic.


Abstract. The dynamical evolution of the flood response to landscape-climate feedbacks is evaluated in a joint nonlinear statistical-dynamical approach. For that purpose, a spatiotemporal sensitivity analysis is conducted on hydrological data from 1976–2008 over 804 catchments throughout Austria, and a general, data-independent nonlinear dynamical model is built linking floods with climate (via precipitation), landscape (via elevation) and their feedbacks. These involve nonlinear scale interactions, with landform evolution processes taking place at the millennial scale (slow dynamics), and climate adjusting in years to decades (fast dynamics). The results show that floods are more responsive to spatial (regional) than to temporal (decadal) variability. Catchments from dry lowlands and high wetlands exhibit similarity between the spatial and temporal sensitivities (spatiotemporal symmetry) and low landscape-climate codependence, suggesting they are not coevolving significantly. However, intermediate regions show differences between those sensitivities (symmetry breaks) and higher landscape-climate codependence, suggesting undergoing coevolution. The break of symmetry is an emergent behaviour from nonlinear feedbacks within the system. A new coevolution index is introduced relating spatiotemporal symmetry with relative characteristic celerities, which need to be taken into account in hydrological space-time trading. Coevolution is expressed here by the interplay between slow and fast dynamics, represented respectively by spatial and temporal characteristics. The dynamical model captures emerging features of the flood dynamics and nonlinear landscape-climate feedbacks, supporting the nonlinear statistical assessment of spatiotemporally asymmetric flood change. Moreover, it enables the dynamical estimation of flood changes in space and time from the given knowledge at different spatiotemporal conditions. This study ultimately brings to light emerging signatures of change in floods arising from nonlinear slow-fast feedbacks in the landscape-climate dynamics, and contributes towards a better understanding of spatiotemporal flood changes and underlying nonlinearly interacting drivers.


A significant number of children in Indonesia still suffer from multiple child malnutrition problems— stunting, underweight, and wasting. To overcome this issue, the Government of Indonesia has stipulated various regulations, policies, and programs on infant and young child feeding (IYCF), which promote the improvement of maternal and child nutrition. In addition, Indonesia has also committed to reaching the 2025 global nutrition targets adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2012. Despite these commitments, the Indonesia's Demographic Health Survey 2012 reported that only 42% of infants are exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life; and 63% of children aged 6–23 months are not fed appropriately based on the World Health Organization's IYCF recommendations. Without a deeper understanding of the barriers to improving IYCF practices, it will be hard for Indonesia to achieve its nutrition targets in the future. This study was designed to: 1. Identify barriers to political and public support for IYCF, particularly breastfeeding 2. Identify possible solutions to these barriers 3. Recognize channels of communication and points of engagement with opinion leaders.


Robert C. Thomsen and Nanette L. Hale (eds), Canadian Environments: Essays in Culture, Politics and History (Brussels: Peter Lang Publishing Group, 2005), 316pp. Paper. £26.90. ISBN 90-5201-295-7. This volume arises out of the VII Triennial Conference of the Nordic Association of Canadian Studies (NACS) in Stockholm in 2002 entitled 'Old Environments - New Environments'. It contains 20 articles arranged in four parts: 'Old and New Environments Meet: Aboriginal Canada'; 'Canada in the Global Environment'; 'Natural(?) Environments'; and 'Visualising Environments'. [See also the review below of Britta Olinder (ed.), Literary Environments: Canada and the Old World, which covers the literary papers from the same conference.] Part I, 'Old and New Environments Meet: Aboriginal Canada', is prefaced by a brief synopsis of the evolution of Nunavut by Peter Irniq, Commissioner of Nunavut. Melissa Williams gives a descriptive narrative of past aboriginal participation in Canada's political institutions. Harmut Lutz recounts the disgraceful episode of the exhibiting of two families of Inuit from Labrador - one baptised, one 'heathen' - in Germany in the 1880s. Peter Dorrenbacher explains how some of the shortcomings of the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement have been rectified by the 2002 Agreement between le Gouvernement du Quebec and the Crees of Quebec. David Harding speculates that economic self-sufficiency for aboriginals may increase native integration into the Canadian society at large. Patrik Lannto compares native school policies in Canada and Sweden. Clarice Rudkowski, in a paper pre-edited by Elin Elgaard, presents the views of a native Labradorian Metis on the past and planned hydro developments of the Labrador Churchill River. Part II, 'Canada in the Global Environment', is prefaced by a short article by Mary Simon, Canada's Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs, arguing for the importance of international governance of the North in Canadian foreign policy. David Haglund gives a conceptual analysis of 'continentalism' and notes that, paradoxically, it may bring Canada and Europeans closer together if Canada has privileged access into the US. Rejean Pelletier gives a comparative study of minorities in the federated states of Canada, Spain and Switzerland. John Erik Fossum discusses three metaphors in their Canadian context - 'two scorpions in a bottle', 'eleven elephants in a maze', and 'the three equalities' - and notes how the Canadian debates on federalism have provided insights into the possibilities and limits of federalism as a way of life. …


Objective: To compare pressure-flow study on one hand with BWT, prostate volume, urine flow rate PVR and IPSS index in the other arm for diagnosis of BOO.
 Materials and methods: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out in 48 men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). International prostate symptom score was completed by the patient who then underwent free urine flow study. Pressure-Flow study was performed as per recommendations of International continence Society. Abrams-Griffiths nomogram and number were used to diagnose BOO. Patients with diabetes, neurovesical dysfunction, acute urinary retention, prior pelvic surgery and known prostate cancer were excluded. Suprapubic ultrasonography was performed independently by a consultant radiologist, who was blinded to findings of Pressure-Flow study. Prevoid bladder volume, postvoid residue (PVR), prostate volume and bladder wall thickness (BWT) were noted.
 Results: Based on objective evidence from Pressure-Flow study, 35 patients were obstructed, 13 were not. Multivariate analysis was performed using Backward Stepwise Logistic Regression Model. Bladder wall thickness, prostate volume and urine flow rate had statistically significant relationship with BOO. Their coefficients of correlation were +0.794, +0.084 and 0.393 respectively. Bladder outlet obstruction could be defined by using a mathematical formula as detailed in the text (Positive Predictive Value 96.97%). Post-void residue and IPSS index were statistically insignificant.
 Conclusion: In a select group of patients presenting with LUTS, it should be possible to diagnose BOO without the use of Pressure-Flow study.


Metagenomic technique was employed to characterize the seasonal dynamics of activated sludge (AS) communities in a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) over 4 years. The results indicated that contrary to Eukaryota (mainly Rotifera and Nematoda), abundances of Bacteria and Archaea (mainly Euryarchaeota) were significantly higher in winter than summer. Two-way analysis of variance and canonical correspondence analysis revealed that many functionally important genera followed strong seasonal variation patterns driven by temperature and salinity gradients; among them, two nitrifying bacteria, Nitrospira and Nitrosomonas, displayed much higher abundances in summer, whereas phosphate-removing genus Tetrasphaera, denitrifier Paracoccus and potential human faecal bacteria, i.e. Bifidobacterium, Dorea and Ruminococcus, showed significantly higher abundances in winter. Particularly, occurrence of dual variation patterns beyond explanation merely by seasonality indicated that multivariables (e.g. dissolved oxygen, sludge retention time, nutrients) participated in shaping AS community structure. However, SEED subsystems annotation showed that functional categories in AS showed no significant difference between summer and winter, indicating that compared with its microbial components, the functional profiles of AS were much more stable. Taken together, our study provides novel insights into the microbial community variations in AS and discloses their correlations with influential factors in WWTPs.


Reading is one of English language skills considered more important in this modern world, so reading gets more emphasize than other skills. Although receiving more attention than other language skills in English classroom, the result of students' reading comprehension achievement is still far from expectation. To help students comprehend English reading texts and have better achievement in reading skill, reciprocal teaching method can be an alternative to offer. The reciprocal teaching method as an instructional activity that takes place in the form of dialogue, which is structured by the use of four steps: predicting, clarifying, question generating, and summarizing. Students learn to use four strategies to increase their understanding of the text being read. This method is useful for improving students' reading effectiveness, in addition to help students better remember what they read. This paper highlights the reciprocal teaching method and its use as an alternative to improve students' reading comprehension achievement.


This thesis is divided into two main parts. In the first a multi-component framework for usability is outlined. The components - guessability, learnability, experienced user performance, system potential, and re-usability - describe how users' performance on a task changes with experience, and each is associated with a different part of a learning curve. Definitions of the components are offered, as are examples of where each may be particularly important. The potential advantages of the framework are then discussed. An experimental methodology and criteria based analysis method for quantifying the components of usability is proposed. This is demonstrated in the evaluation of a video cassette recorder. Non-experimental alternatives to this methodology are also considered.

The second part of the thesis is about the issue of consistency. A distinction between two types of consistency - set compatibility and rule compatibility - is proposed. Set compatibility is concerned with inter-task associations, whilst rule compatibility concerns the prior association of tasks and action-rules. Predictions are made about the effects of each type of consistency on the various components of usability, and these are tested in the context of a study of the invocation of menu commands. Results indicated that rule compatibility had the greater effect on early interactions, whilst set compatibility was more salient later on. A series of further studies is then reported, the aim of which was to investigate whether these effects were general across types and levels of interface, and other levels of task. Results mainly, but not entirely, indicated that they were.

Data from a more `ecologically valid' usability evaluation was re-analysed, to investigate whether the effects of consistency are important outside of artificial and tightly controlled experiments. Apparently they are - almost half of the difficulties encountered during users' early interactions with a commercially available word processor could be attributed to either set or rule incompatibilities.


Weapons and ammunition explosions at government depots, in particular at military stockpiles across the world, highlight the risks posed by inadequately managed and poorly stored weapons stockpiles. In Africa, the physical risks posed by these stockpiles, and the explosions that occur as a result of them, have left many communities suffering injury and death.
While there have been a number of legal and political initiatives adopted to assist African governments in better managing and securing their stockpiles, there are still a range of challenges that contribute to continued explosions occurring on the continent.
This paper identifies explosions that have occurred in both Mozambique and Tanzania and assesses the need for African governments to implement and promote more effective stockpile management systems, so as to prevent the occurrence of future risks and explosions.