In recent years, the Confederate flag has become as much a news item as a Civil War relic. Intense public debates have erupted over Confederate flags flying atop state capitols, being incorporated into state flags, waving from dormitory windows, or adorning the T-shirts and jeans of public school children. To some, this piece of cloth is a symbol of white supremacy and enduring racial injustice, to others, it represents a rich Southern heritage and an essential link to a glorious past. Polarizing Americans, these "flag wars" reveal the profound - and still unhealed - schisms that have plagued the country since the Civil War. The Confederate Battle Flag is the first comprehensive history of this contested symbol. Transcending conventional partisanship, John Coski reveals the flag's origins as one of many banners unfurled on the battle-fields of the Civil War. He shows how it emerged as the preeminent representation of the Confederacy and was transformed into a cultural icon from Reconstruction on, becoming an aggressively racist symbol only after World War II and during the Civil Rights movement. We gain unique insight into the fine line between the flag's use as a historical emblem and as an invocation of the Confederate nation and all it stood for. Pursuing the flag's conflicting meanings, Coski suggests how this provocative artifact, which has been viewed with pride, fear, anger, nostalgia, and disgust, might ultimately provide Americans with the common ground of a shared and complex history.


Abstract Dosimetry problems inherently involve dose determinations among widely varying materials and densities, and may require complex, detailed investigations of the angular, spatial, and energy behavior of the applied radiation transporting throughout the simulation geometry. Traditionally, Monte Carlo codes have been implemented in solving these types of problems using voxelized geometries and phantoms. The motivation of this work is to investigate the discretization requirements for deterministic radiation transport simulations for these problems via direct solutions of the linear Boltzmann transport equation, focusing on the discrete ordinates (SN) method. The SN method can yield accurate global solutions, provided the inherent discretizations among the angular, spatial, and energy domains properly represent problem physics. In this paper, the SN approach is implemented using a three-dimensional (3-D) 60Co photon transport simulation to highlight the critical issues encountered in performing deterministic photon simulations in dosimetry problems. Calculations were performed using the PENTRAN parallel SN code to obtain a 3-D distribution of flux and dose computed using a collisional kerma approximation. For an acceptable result, we determined that a minimum angular Legendre-Chebychev quadrature of S32 with P3 anisotropy is required, with block-adaptive meshes on the order of 1 cm, even in air regions, implemented with an adaptive differencing scheme (implemented in the PENTRAN code) to yield optimal solution convergence. Also, photon cross-section libraries should be carefully evaluated for the problem studied; for our test problem, the BUGLE-96 photon library yielded the closest results to Monte Carlo (MCNP5) among those tested. Overall, this work details the levels of discretization involved in performing deterministic computations in dosimetry problems and will be useful in enabling future efforts to perform rapid deterministic computations of phantom doses.


Main themes : This course provides a comprehensive overview of the theory and practice of decision-making within the corporation. It is taught primarily through lectures, case studies and presentations. We will study important concepts in corporate finance, and develop skills for making corporate investment and financing decisions. The concepts and skills will be applied into practice through case studies.


This paper presents new approach for shrinkage compensation in Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) process to improve the accuracy of parts produced. By optimizing tools like Pattern search tool and Genetic algorithm available in MATLAB 2011. Shrinkage is compensated along X, Y, Z direction of the part produced. The scaling factor used in this compensation is calculated from shrinkage model (It is the empirical relation between percentage shrinkage and the machine manufacturer, Shrinkage model). Software is available in MATLAB 2011, automate the compensation process. Two case studies were presented to quantify the effectiveness of the developed compensation approach over the existing compensation method. From the comparison experiments, the ability of the proposed compensation method in improving the accuracy of laser sintered parts is established..


This is the first in a series of papers laying the foundations for a differential graded approach to derived differential geometry (and other geometries in characteristic zero). In this paper, we study theories of supercommutative algebras for which infinitely differentiable functions can be evaluated on elements. Such a theory is called a super Fermat theory. Any category of superspaces and smooth functions has an associated such theory. This includes both real and complex supermanifolds, as well as algebraic superschemes. In particular, there is a super Fermat theory of C-infinity superalgebras. C-infinity superalgebras are the appropriate notion of supercommutative algebras in the world of C-infinity rings, the latter being of central importance both to synthetic differential geometry and to all existing models of derived smooth manifolds. A super Fermat theory is a natural generalization of the concept of a Fermat theory introduced by E. Dubuc and A. Kock. We show that any Fermat theory admits a canonical superization, however not every super Fermat theory arises in this way. For a fixed super Fermat theory, we go on to study a special subcategory of algebras called near-point determined algebras, and derive many of their algebraic properties.


ATTRIBUTES AND COMPETENCIES FOR MANUFACTURING ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY GRADUATES Loni Serene Williamson School of Technology Master of Science The purpose of this study is to determine the required attributes and competencies required for a graduate from a manufacturing engineering technology baccalaureate program. A document called "Competencies of Manufacturing Engineering Technology Graduates" was compiled in October 2004. This document lists twelve attributes thought to be important for MET graduates: Leadership, Professionalism, Creativity and Problem Solving, Management, Materials, Processes, Quality, Systems, Design, Communication, Safety and Environmental Issues, and Global Awareness. Under each attribute is a list of five to seven competencies creating a total of seventy-three competencies for graduates of an MET baccalaureate program. This list of attributes and competencies was converted into a survey for the purpose of evaluation by two manufacturing groups: educators and industry representatives. Overall, educators and industry representatives rated the attributes and competencies as important. Ninety-nine percent of the combined educator's and industry representative's competency questions had a mean response of 3.50 and above. Therefore, the competencies are relevant for MET graduates. It was determined that educators did significantly differ from industry representatives for their ratings of the attributes, but educators did not significantly differ from industry representatives for their ratings of the competencies. Generally, industry representatives rated attributes less highly than educators; however, the pattern of responses was similar across educators and industry representatives. The rankings of each attribute section from those rated most important to those rated least important were as follows: Professionalism, Communication, Creativity and Problem Solving, Manufacturing Processes, Design, Safety and Environmental Issues, Quality, Materials, Leadership, Management, Manufacturing Systems, and Global Awareness. Current literature mentions aspects of manufacturing that are considered important and these include: global or international awareness, lean manufacturing, life long learning, and communication. This survey indicated that the Global Awareness section was rated the least important of any section. The lean manufacturing competency had an average ranking out of all seventy-three competencies. Communication has been an important concern for MET graduates since the earliest studies and the survey results suggest that communication continues to be highly valued. MET educational programs should provide many opportunities for students to improve their communication skills.


Much of the work of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the missions ending on February 13, 2020. Given the FSAP's focus on medium-term challenges and vulnerabilities, however, its findings and recommendations for strengthening policy and institutional frameworks remain pertinent. The report was updated to reflect key developments and policy changes since the mission work was completed. It also includes a risk analysis that quantifies the possible impact of the COVID-19 crisis on bank solvency.
Since the previous FSAP in 2015, the Norwegian authorities have taken welcome steps to strengthen the financial system. Regulatory capital requirements for banks were raised and actions were taken to bolster the weak capital position of insurers. Alongside other macroprudential measures, temporary borrower-based measures for residential mortgages were introduced, which seem to have had some moderating impact on segments of the housing market. The resolution framework was also strengthened, with the implementation of the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) and the designation of Finanstilsynet
(FSA) as the resolution authority.


ABSTRACT Background: Methods to support language generation by people with aphasia often include supplementary materials to provide content clues, thereby simultaneously helping both the speaker and listener understand communicative intents. Photographic images are one means of providing referents for keywords and creating a joint communication space. However, photograph use in conversation may not be intuitive for people with aphasia. They may lack experience capturing photographs to support conversations and may need instruction about referencing them to resolve communication breakdowns. Aims: The purpose of this study was to analyse the performance of individuals with aphasia as they observed, captured photographs of, and later participated in a conversation with a novel communication partner about a series of demonstrated wellness activities. Methods & Procedures: This multiple case study design included five adults with chronic aphasia. The experimental task included two phases—image capture and conversational interaction. Participants observed research team members performing wellness activities and took photographs, as desired, throughout the process. Each participant then engaged in a conversation about the observed wellness activities while having access to captured photographs. Outcomes & Results: Participants varied in number of photographs captured, spontaneous image use to support conversation, and success in relaying novel information to an unfamiliar partner. Participants who referenced photographs generated more content units with greater specificity than participants who did not reference photographs. Also, those referencing photographs talked more about the specified topic and made fewer off-topic or disability-related comments than those not referencing photographs. Conclusions: Overall, conversational interaction comparisons between participants who did and did not use photographs to support communication provide evidence that photograph capturing and referencing increases content specificity and facilitates topic maintenance by people with aphasia. Researchers need to explore further how photographic supports alter communicative efficiency and whether direct training about photograph capture and use is beneficial to adults with aphasia.


Cooperative research centres are a well-established organisational embodiment of the 'triple helix'. As complex inter-organisational structures they are subject to diverse management strategies. The imperatives that drive their strategic plans and their impact on partner organisations and the careers of the scientists who work within them are not well understood. We examine 370 participants' experience in Australian cooperative research centres and consider their effect on personnel and organisations in the public research system. We propose that a necessary part of management strategies is the negotiation and reconciliation of risk and reward for partner organisations and careers of participating scientists. Achieving a sustainable strategy carries implications for change within the partner organisations and for the endurance of CRCs as organisational arrangements. These emergent triple helix structures can be harbingers of change not just for the alternative institutional structures they present and the partner organisations, but also for the careers of scientists.


Prior to crashes, the stock index price time series is characterised by the Log-Periodic Power Law (LPPL) equation of the Johansen–Ledoit–Sornette (JLS) model, which leads to a critical point indicating a change to a new market regime. In this paper, we describe the hierarchical diamond lattice, upon which the JLS model is derived, using the diamond lattice operation D i and derive the recursion for the coefficients of the growth function in a diamond lattice rooted at the main root vertex r m . Further, to verify the adequacy of the JLS model, we analyse the model's residuals and propose its generalization, using the ARMA/GARCH error model. We determine the ARMA/GARCH orders using the extended autocorrelation function (EACF) method and compare the results with those of the Akaike and Bayesian Information Criteria. Using the data for 33 major world stock indices we show, that proposed generalization of the JLS model in general performs better in predicting the market regime changes and has also the ability to recognise false bubble identification, indicated by the JLS model.


The Wikipedia is a web-based encyclopedia, written and edited collaboratively by Internet users. The Wikipedia has an extremely open editorial policy that allows anybody, to create or modify articles. This has promoted a broad and detailed coverage of subjects, but also introduced problems relating to the quality of articles. The Wikipedia Recommender System (WRS) was developed to help users determine the credibility of articles based on feedback from other Wikipedia users. The WRS implements a collaborative filtering system with trust metrics, i.e., it provides a rating of articles which emphasizes feedback from recommenders that the user has agreed with in the past. This exposes the problem that most recommenders are not equally competent in all subject areas. The first WRS prototype did not include an evaluation of the areas of expertise of recommenders, so the trust metric used in the article ratings reflected the average competence of recommenders across all subject areas. We have now developed a new version of the WRS, which evaluates the expertise of recommenders within different subject areas. In order to do this, we need to identify a way to classify the subject area of all the articles in the Wikipedia. In this paper, we examine different ways to classify the subject area of Wikipedia article according to well established knowledge classification schemes. We identify a number of requirements that a classification scheme must meet in order to be useful in the context of the WRS and present an evaluation of four existing knowledge classification schemes with respect to these requirements. This evaluation helped us identify a classification scheme, which we have implemented in the current version of the Wikipedia Recommender System.


The ability to control the light-matter interaction in the deep subwavelength regime has fascinating consequences for material sciences and a range of photonics technologies. The statistical properties of emerging fields strongly depend on both the source of radiation and specific characteristics of the material system. Here we consider the coherence properties in the proximity of surfaces illuminated by strongly randomized optical fields and demonstrate that the spatial extent of near-field correlations depends on the density of defects in two-dimensional crystalline lattices. We also show that this effect can be used as an efficient elastic scattering method to characterize the density of defects in two-dimensional crystalline materials. Systematic experiments demonstrate the relationship between the spatial coherence length of scattered light and a characteristic length associated with structural disorder in graphene. The fact that one single layer of atoms can modify properties of electromagnetic radiation could lead to new means of controlling light at subwavelength scales and has implications for the emerging field of two-dimensional materials.


This paper attempts to provide a more complete reckoning of the costs of the Iraq War, using standard economic and accounting/ budgetary frameworks. As of December 30, 2005, total spending for combat and support operations in Iraq is $251bn, and the CBO's estimates put the projected total direct costs at around $500bn. These figures, however, greatly underestimate the War's true costs. We estimate a range of present and future costs, by including expenditures not in the $500bn CBO projection, such as lifetime healthcare and disability payments to returning veterans, replenishment of military hardware, and increased recruitment costs. We then make adjustments to reflect the social costs of the resources deployed, (e.g. reserve pay is less than the opportunity wage and disability pay is less than forgone earnings). Finally, we estimate the effects of the war on the overall performance of the economy. Even taking a conservative approach and assuming all US troops return by 2010, we believe the true costs exceed a trillion dollars. Using the CBO's projection of maintaining troops in Iraq through 2015, the true costs may exceed $2 trillion. In either case, the cost is much larger than the administration's original estimate of $50-$60bn. The costs estimated do not include those borne by other countries, either directly (military expenditures) or indirectly (the increased price of oil). Most importantly, we have not included the costs to Iraq, either in terms of destruction of infrastructure or the loss of lives. These would all clearly raise the costs significantly.


Femtosecond photoluminescence (PL) up-conversion studies in polychromatic mode and laser-power-dependence studies of the PL were carried out on colloidal solutions of CdSe quantum dots with diameters ranging from 2.4 to 4 nm. The main features of the spectra consist, in addition to the band-gap luminescence, of three bands, one 120-130 meV and another 30-40 meV at low energy to the band-gap luminescence, while the third lies 220-260 meV higher in energy. The first band is attributed to a positively charged biexciton and the second to a neutral biexciton, while the blue band is attributed to a neutral triexciton. These assignments are based on the energetics, the lifetimes, and the pump-power dependence of the various bands. The energetics and lifetimes are in good agreement with the theoretical studies present in literature.


Since the 1990s, there has been an increasing interest in the study of genres (Swales 1990). Recent research on the academic journal book review (BR) has shown that the BR in English is shaped according to a rhetorical structure that gives it genre status (Motta-Roth 1998). However, it is not known whether this rhetorical structure is shared by comparable texts in other languages. This chapter carried out an English-Spanish cross-linguistic study of the rhetorical structure of BRs on the basis of two comparable corpora of 20 BRs of literature in each language. The main results show that, despite sharing similar overall patterns of organization, the Spanish BRs of literature develop more descriptive moves and are less likely to end with criticism-loaded strategies.


Abstract. GPS radio occultation events observed between 24 July and 17 November 2008 by the IGOR occultation receiver aboard the TerraSAR-X satellite are processed and analyzed. The comparison of 15 327 refractivity profiles with collocated ECMWF data yield a mean bias between zero and −0.30 % at altitudes between 5 and 30 km. Standard deviations decrease from about 1.4 % at 5 km to about 0.6 % at 10 km altitude, however, increase significantly in the upper stratosphere. At low latitudes mean biases and standard deviations are larger, in particular in the lower troposphere. The results are consistent with 15 159 refractivity observations collected during the same time period by the BlackJack receiver aboard GRACE-A and processed by GFZ's operational processing system. The main difference between the two occultation instruments is the implementation of open-loop signal tracking in the IGOR (TerraSAR-X) receiver which improves the tropospheric penetration depth in terms of ray height by about 2 km compared to the conventional closed-loop data acquired by BlackJack (GRACE-A).


The introduction of PARP inhibitors as active agents to inhibit DNA repair was a revolution in cancer therapeutics. However, this approach only has shown results for a short duration in the majority of cases, due to secondary mutations and promoter gene methylation. Studies of patients with triple-negative breast cancer in particular, treated with PARP inhibitors show benefit from the agents for only a short time, until the tumor shows resistance and further the therapy fails. [1,2,3,4] We discuss a case report of a patient with Stage IV refractory and resistant BRCA1 mutated triple-negative breast cancer, who responded to a combinational therapy, consisting of a PARP inhibitor and an epigenetic modifier. The purpose of this case report is to show that combination treatment of epigenetic therapies and PARP inhibitors is synergistic and results in improved clinical outcomes. The patient in this case had already exhausted a PARP inhibitor, which was evident by the presence of excessive BRCA positive altered circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). The initial finding was 93% mutation allele fraction (MAF) of BRCA gene on liquid biopsy by Guardant360 laboratory. The liquid biopsy for ctDNA was repeated after two weeks of combination therapy, and showed complete disappearance (resolution of positive BRCA gene in ctDNA), reflecting a synergism by proposed modulation of resistance, as mechanism of action. The response reflects the epigenetic therapy as back-bone of treatment, as no other changes were made that could account for the response. To our knowledge, this is the first study of combinational therapies in a human. Our finding in this case could potentially change the standard of care in treating BRCA positive tumors, by providing a superior treatment to current standards. References 1. Veliparib Falls Short in Phase III NSCLC, TNBC Trials. (2017). Retrieved September 05, 2017, from http://www.onclive.com/web-exclusives/veliparib-falls-short-in-phase-iii-nsclc-tnbc-trials 2. Dziadkowiec, K. N., Gąsiorowska, E., Nowak-Markwitz, E., & Jankowska, A. (2016). PARP inhibitors: review of mechanisms of action and BRCA1/2 mutation targeting. Przeglaąd Menopauzalny = Menopause Review, 15(4), 215-219. http://doi.org/10.5114/pm.2016.65667 3. Livraghi, L., & Garber, J. E. (2015). PARP inhibitors in the management of breast cancer: current data and future prospects. BMC Medicine, 13(1). doi:10.1186/s12916-015-0425-1 4. Oshaughnessy, J., Schwartzberg, L., Danso, M. A., Miller, K. D., Rugo, H. S., et al. (2014). Phase III Study of Iniparib Plus Gemcitabine and Carboplatin Versus Gemcitabine and Carboplatin in Patients With Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 32(34), 3840-3847. doi:10.1200/jco.2014.55.2984 Citation Format: M.A. Nezami, Jessica Garner. Biological modulation of PARP inhibition in triple negative breast cancer: A case report of combinational approach implementing histone deacetylase inhibition with PARP inhibition in advanced breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2017 Oct 26-30; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2018;17(1 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-A25.


We analyze comparative advantages/disadvantages of small and large banks in improving household sentiment regarding financial conditions. We match sentiment data from the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers with local banking market data from 2000-2014. Surprisingly, the evidence suggests that large rather than small banks have significant comparative advantages in boosting household sentiment. Findings are robust to instrumental variables and other econometric methods. Additional analyses are consistent with both scale economies and superior safety of large banks as channels behind the main findings. These channels appear to more than offset stronger relationships with and greater trust in small banks.


For about a decade, photometric calibration has been identified as a potential limitation of current and future imaging surveys. Uncertainties on the relative (band to band) flux scale are currently the dominant contribution to the systematic error budget affecting SNIa distances. Non-uniformities of the imager response may introduce spurious correlations in the LSS analyses, via the photometric redshifts. In this talk, I review the lessons learnt from the analysis of the CFHTLS survey, and I discuss related topics of the LSST-DESC roadmap.


MicroRNA detection is a valuable method for determining cell identity. Molecular beacons are elegant sensors that can transform intracellular microRNA concentration into a fluorescence intensity. While target binding enhances beacon fluorescence, the degree of enhancement is insufficient for demanding applications. Addition of specialty nucleases can allow target recycling and amplify the signal, but this process complicates the assay. We develop and characterize a novel class of beacons susceptible to the endogenous nuclease Argonaute-2 (Ago2). After purifying the complex via co-immunoprecipitation, microRNA:Ago2 cleavage (miRACle) beacons undergo site- and sequence-specific cleavage, and show a 13-fold fluorescence enhancement distinct over traditional beacons. The system can be adapted to any microRNA sequence, and can cleave nuclease resistant, non-RNA bases, potentially allowing miRACle beacons to be designed for cells without interference from non-specific nucleases.


The genome of a Siberian boy who died 24,000 years ago offers clues to the identity of the people who first settled the Americas. The complete nuclear genome, the oldest sequenced to date from a modern human, shows close ties to those of today9s Native Americans. But the boy apparently descended from people who had lived in Europe or western Asia. The finding suggests that about a third of the ancestry of today9s Native Americans can be traced to "western Eurasia," with the other two-thirds coming from eastern Asia.


Autonomous control of a robotic manipulator mounted on a submersible autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) is simulated with various strategies employing combinations of feedback and feedforward control. Feedforward compensation of the manipulator motion is accomplished using a model of the system kinematics and dynamics. Hydrodynamic effects including drag, buoyancy, and added mass, as well as the reaction of the vehicle, are all compensated. Effective manipulator position control is accomplished through stabilization of the vehicle orientation and system barycenter. Stabilization of the vehicle position using feedback and/or feedforward control is also considered for comparison. Compensation of the hydrodynamic effects while stabilizing the vehicle orientation and allowing vehicle translation resulted in a significant reduction in power consumption. Although experimental verification of the results is required, the improvement in efficiency may be beneficial for submersible vehicles operating in extremely remote conditions or extraterrestrial environments such as the oceans of Jupiter's moon, Europa.


This paper emphasizes language contact situations in general as an origin of hybrid features of writtenness. Furthermore it stresses the necessity of taking into account the medial-conceptional differences between languages of distance (prototypically written) and languages of proximity (prototypically spoken) when analyzing language contact data and language change. Two forms of contact are distinguished here: contact affecting language as a whole and contact affecting written discourse. As is shown by the example of Faroese-Danish bilingualism on the Faroe Islands, these forms may interact and interfere with each other, producing varied results.


Fuzzy interpolative reasoning has been extensively studied due to its ability to enhance the robustness of fuzzy systems and to reduce system complexity. However, during the interpolation process, it is possible that multiple object values for a common variable are inferred which may lead to inconsistency in interpolated results. Such inconsistencies may result from defective interpolated rules or incorrect interpolative transformations. This paper presents a novel approach for identification and correction of defective rules in transformations, thereby removing the inconsistencies. In particular, an assumption-based truth maintenance system (ATMS) is used to record dependencies between reasoning results and interpolated rules, while the underlying technique that the general diagnostic engine (GDE) employs for fault localization is adapted to isolate possible faulty interpolated rules and their associated interpolative transformations. From this, an algorithm is introduced to allow for the modification of the original linear interpolation to become first-order piecewise linear. The approach is applied to a carefully chosen practical problem to illustrate the potential in strengthening the power of interpolative reasoning.


In this paper I outline the drawbacks with the two main behavioural approaches to animal behaviour problems and argue that each alone is insufficient to underpin a field of clinical animal behaviour. Applied ethology offers an interest in an animal's spontaneous behaviour in natural contexts, understood within an ecological and evolutionary framework but lacks an awareness of mechanisms that can be manipulated to modify the behaviour of individual animals. Behaviourism in the form of Applied Behavior Analysis offers a toolkit of techniques for modifying the behaviour of individual animals, but has seldom been applied to non-human species, and often overlooks phylogenetic aspects of behaviour. Notwithstanding the historical animosities between the two fields of animal behaviour they are philosophically highly compatible — both being empiricist schools stemming ultimately from Darwin's insights. Though each individually is incomplete, I argue that an integrated approach that synthesizes the strengths of each holds great promise in helping the many animals who need our assistance to survive and thrive in human-dominated environments.


CPH:DOX in partnership with the Marche du Film presented three works in progress, earlier launched at CPH:FORUM – the co-production platform dedicated to facilitate development and financing of highly creative and visually strong film projects.

Three feature film projects were presented:

Ray & Liz

Director: Richard Billingham
Producer: Jacqui Davies, Jacqui Davies ltd. (UK)
Running time: 90 minutes
Expected Release: 2017

On the outskirts of Birmingham and the margins of society the Billingham family perform extreme rituals and break cultural taboos as they muddle through a life decided by factors beyond their control. At times shocking and laced with an unsettling humour, three-interlinking episodes unfold as a powerful evocation of Richard Billingham's personal experience of growing up in a Black Country council flat.

On Sceeen Off Record

Director: Rami Farah
Producers: Signe Byrge Sorensen, Final Cut for Real (Denmark), Lyana Saleh, OSOR (France)
Running time: 70 min & 55 min
Expected release: Nov. 2017

In September 2012, Yadan crosses the Syrian-Jordanian border on foot, with a hard drive full of dreams and nightmares. Since day one, he has been filming the Syrian uprisings that started in Daraa with four of his friends. The destinies of these five Syrian activists were shaped by the Syrian revolution as it went from being a non-violent movement, to a militarized and an Islamized conflict, to a vicious civil war. They were the local reporters on the ground. We have seen their images on our news programs. This film will go behind the scene and investigate these images and the narratives they became part of on TV-screens in both the Arab world and the West. This film aims to make us rethink their stories and the media machine they became a part of.

Amateurs in Space

Director: Max Kestner
Producer: Sigrid Dyekjaer PGA, Danish Documentary (Denmark)
Running time: 75+
Expected release: 2016
Sales Agent: Salma Abdalla / Autlook Filmsales

Amateurs in Space is the story about two friends, Peter and Kristian, and their shared boyhood dream of traveling into space in their own home-built space rocket. If they succeed, the two Danish men will write themselves into history as the world's first amateurs in space. But the two enthusiasts must realize that rocket science is the least of their problems.


A wide range of research, including Scribner's cultural psychology, work by Rogoff and Lave on daily and situated cognition, and the notion of funds of knowledge (Moll & Gonzalez, 2004), has demonstrated that all people have cultural intelligence which allows them to address and resolve many problems in daily life. In the same vein, the study of successful educational actions within the framework of the INCLUD-ED project reveals that more types of intelligence must be included in schools if educators are to respond suc- cessfully to the educational demands of highly heterogeneous classrooms. Using two case studies of community-based educational projects in Spain, this article shows how it is essen- tial to recognize the cultural intelligence of all students in order to connect learning in class- rooms with life outside school and thus provide meaning and a context for school knowl- edge.


Can we move beyond simply networking creative individuals to establishing diverse communities of practice for innovation through discursive methods. Furthermore, can we digitise their creativity activities within an integrative socio-cultural collaborative technology platform that could then support distributed innovation. First, we consider the complexity of creative cultures from the perspective of design innovation, including how to nurture creativity activities in what we call Creative Gardens. Specifically, how they could grow, diverge, and combine, being cultivated to nurture emergent, disruptive, collaborative innovation. Then, we consider the digitisation of Creative Gardens from the perspective of digital culture. Specifically, the tenets of Creative Gardens as dynamic and innovative communities. This includes considering the challenges and opportunities around digitisation, the influences around the connectivity with knowledge cultivation, and the potential for distributed innovation as collective intelligence to utilise diverse expertise. We conclude be considering the importance of the issues and questions raised, and their potential for the future.


In the essays, "Of Atheism" and "Of Superstition", Francis Bacon presents a strong argument supporting the idea of faith. As is characteristic of most of Bacon's essays, he approaches each subject in the most scientific of methods, dealing first with the most basic ideas and following through logically into more complex thoughts. Bacon possesses the unique style of basing his essay on a certain view point, while in reality supporting the opposite view point.


Incarceration rates are increasing almost everywhere and, while women and girls make up only a small percentage of the overall prison population, there has been a significant increase in their representation – especially over the past 20 years (Carlton and Segrave, 2013). Despite the fact that societies are locking women up at increasingly high rates, the fundamental understandings regarding prison reform are based on a male norm, and do not meet the needs of female offenders (Walmsley, 2016). This article outlines the findings from the first stage of a grassroots action research project conducted with a support group for women of lived prison experience, based in Adelaide, South Australia, to investigate radio production as a means for supporting women in their transition to life outside of prison. The research found that empowerment manifested itself in a number of distinct ways, through both processes and the products of the project. Through the production of radio, women of prison experience recognised their own expertise and took ownership of their stories, while the radio products educated the wider public and validated the participants' experiences.


It has been suggested that the socially parasitic butterfly Maculinea alcon detects ant odours before ovipositing on initial larval food plants near colonies of its obligate ant host Myrmica ruginodis. It has also been suggested that overcrowding on food plants near M. ruginodis is avoided by an ability to detect high egg loads, resulting in a switch to selecting plants near less suitable ant species. If confirmed, this hypothesis (H1) would have serious implications for the application of current population models aimed at the conservation of endangered Maculinea species, which are based on the null hypothesis (H0) that females randomly select food plants whose flower buds are at a precise phenological stage, making oviposition independent of ants. If H1 were wrong, practical management based upon its assumptions could lead to the extinction of protected populations. We present data for the five European species of Maculinea which show that (i) each oviposits on a phenologically restricted flower–bud stage, which accounts for the apparent host–ant–mediated niche separation in sympatric populations of Maculinea nausithous and Maculinea teleius, (ii) there is no temporal shift in oviposition by Maculinea arion in relation to host ant distribution or egg density, and (iii) oviposition patterns in 13 populations of M.alcon's closest relative, Maculinea rebeli, conform to H0 not H1 predictions. It is concluded that conservation measures should continue to be based on H0.


Introduction Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is usually described between 50 and 70 years, and is diagnosed using clinical criteria, supported by the midbrain-to-pons ratio. It has not been frequently described in those over 75. Aims and Methods In a UK district general hospital (DGH) providing care for 340,000 people, 24 patients aged 75 and over were diagnosed with PSP over four years. Their records were reviewed retrospectively. Results Almost all patients presented to other specialties, and had up to 15 A&E visits in preceding years, often with falls. Many had several hospital admissions in the months preceding diagnosis. Previous health care professionals that were frequently consulted for PSP symptoms include ophthalmologists, physiotherapists, and speech and language therapists; other key specialties include ENT, gastroenterology, orthopaedics, and falls clinics. This was always without diagnosis. Midbrain-to-pons ratios averaged 0.49. PSP-P subtype appeared common. Discussion Patients present to many different specialties, and awareness is low. PSP may be more common in the elderly than previously suspected.


Apricot kernel shells are naturally available source of biomass with potential for conversion to clean energy through a thermo-chemical process such as pyrolysis. To facilitate further process development, an advanced mathematical model which represents the process kinetics is developed and validated on the thermal decomposition studies using simultaneous thermal analysis, over a temperature range of 30-900 °C, at four heating rates of 5, 10, 15 and 20 °C min, under argon atmosphere. Model-free analysis and numerically developed methods were utilized for determination of effective activation energies, pre-exponential factors and the fractional contribution. A novel approach is introduced in order to determine actual pseudo-components of studied biomass that are included in its composition. The comparative study of the obtained kinetic results was also presented. The results obtained strongly indicated that the pseudo-component reaction modelling method could be employed to predict the experimental devolatilization rate and biomass composition with a high likelihood of success.


BACKGROUND: Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) is a potentially life-threatening underdiagnosed disease. Headache is a common but nonspecific finding in CVT. Other features such as ocular finding can assist to correct diagnosis, but their frequency in CVT has not been previously evaluated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the ocular symptoms and signs in CVT and their association with outcome. METHODS: The demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological, and outcome data were collected and analyzed from patients referred to a tertiary hospital during 6 years. Based on delay from symptom onset to hospital admission, mode of onset was categorized as acute (<2 days), subacute (2–14 days), or chronic (>14 days). RESULTS: Fifty-three patients were identified with a mean age of 33.7 years (17–60 years). Ocular symptoms and signs were the most frequent clinical presentations (77.4%) following headache (83%). Papilledema and diplopia were the main findings in chronic CVTs (P = 0.003 and 0.002, respectively). Proptosis was significantly associated with thrombosis in cavernous sinus (P = 0.00). Otherwise, there was no relationship between any specific ocular findings and the type or number of thrombosed sinus or hemorrhagic infarction. Mortality rate and recurrence in our patients were 3.8% and 5.7%. Absence of proptosis and vision loss was associated with favorable outcome (P = 0.001 and 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSION: Ocular features were among the most common presentation of CVT in every three phases of CVT and could be the sole finding of CVT. Patients who do not have vision loss and proptosis might have a better outcome in CVT.


Abstract One of the goals of the Ed.D. in Leadership and Professional Practice at Trevecca Nazarene University is for candidates to be reflective practitioners. Since the inception of the program in 1999, written reflections as an instructional strategy has been encouraged by the administration and used by several professors. This focus is supported by the conceptual framework that informs all courses and programs in the School of Education and includes the national standards adopted by INTASC (Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium) which calls for teacher education candidates to be reflective practitioners who plan, implement, and evaluate effectively. This standard is applied to all programs, including those at the master's and doctoral levels. Research by Ballantyne and Packer (1995) in Studies in Continuing Education reported that the analysis of journal entries by 13 students enrolled in education doctoral programs confirmed the usefulness of journals in reflecting on and connecting academic learning and experience.


Background: Asymptomatic Bacteriuria (ASB) has been demonstrated to have the adverse maternal and pregnancy outcomes precisely pyelonephritis, low birth weight, preterm premature rupture of membranes and preterm labour. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of ASB and antibiotic sensitivity pattern among women attending antenatal clinic at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Northern Tanzania. Methodology: We conducted analytical cross sectional study involving women attending antenatal clinic at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre between October and December 2016. All women who met the inclusion criteria and gave their informed consent were invited to participate. Interviews using a questionnaire were conducted to collect sociodemographic and obstetric information while urine samples were collected for laboratory processing. Results: The prevalence of ASB among pregnant women in this study was 8.9%. The organism isolated from the urine sample according to the frequency of occurrence was Escherichia coli (50%), Streptococcus pyogenes (19%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (15%), group B Streptococcus (8%) and group A Streptococcus and Proteus mirabilis (4%) respectively. The rate of antibiotic sensitivity among gram negative bacteria ranged from 100% among Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis to ceftriaxone while ampicillin was shown to have no sensitivity to Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis. Among the gram positive bacteria, erythromycin was shown to have sensitivity to group A Streptococcus but no sensitivity to group B Streptococcus. Conclusion: The prevalence of ASB of 8.9% among pregnant women and the wide array of organisms isolated in this population warrant the development of protocols for routine ASB screening and treatment.


Haemocytes of the stonefly Dinocras cephalotes have been characterized by light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), adherence to a plastic surface, and phagocytosis of latex particles. Haemocytes appear to consist of at least two cell populations: granulocytes and plasmatocytes, which can be distinguished by morphological and functional criteria. Morphologically, granulocytes are rounded and vesiculated, while plasmatocytes have an irregular shape, with many filopodia, and a slightly vesiculated content. Culturing haemocytes "in vitro" resulted in the spreading onto the surface of an adherent population (plasmatocytes), and in a loosely attached population (granulocytes). Phagocytosis assay showed the capacity of D. cephalotes plas- matocytes to engulf exogenous particles. Haemocytes of adults and nymphs of D. cephalotes were also analysed by flow cytometry and compared with those of Perla grandis, another species of Perlidae. We observed a slight difference in haemocyte morphology among nymphs and adults, and a shift of cell popula- tions was also detected.


Graphene-based nanomaterials have been widely utilized to fabricate various biosensors for environmental monitoring, food safety, and biomedical diagnostics. The combination of aptamers with graphene for creating biofunctional nanocomposites improved the sensitivity and selectivity of fabricated biosensors due to the unique molecular recognition and biocompatibility of aptamers. In this review, we highlight recent advances in the design, fabrication, and biomedical sensing application of graphene-based aptasensors within the last five years (2013-current). The typical studies on the biomedical fluorescence, colorimetric, electrochemical, electrochemiluminescence, photoelectrochemical, electronic, and force-based sensing of DNA, proteins, enzymes, small molecules, ions, and others are demonstrated and discussed in detail. More attention is paid to a few key points such as the conjugation of aptamers with graphene materials, the fabrication strategies of sensor architectures, and the importance of aptamers on improving the sensing performances. It is expected that this work will provide preliminary and useful guidance for readers to understand the fabrication of graphene-based biosensors and the corresponding sensing mechanisms in one way, and in another way will be helpful to develop novel high performance aptasensors for biological analysis and detection.

publisher-specific, author manuscript: http://rsc.li/journals-terms-of-use


This work presents thermochemical data for possible gas phase intermediate species in an industrial rutile chlorinator. An algorithm developed for previous work is employed to ensure that all possible species are considered, reducing the number of important species neglected. Thermochemical data and enthalpies of formation are calculated for 22 new species using density functional theory, post Hartree-Fock coupled cluster calculations, and statistical mechanics. Equilibrium calculations are performed to identify whether any Ti/C intermediates are likely to be important to the high temperature industrial process. These new species are not present at high concentration in the exit stream. It is therefore likely that the two chemical processes do not interact. Rather, the Cl₂ rapidly reacts with the solid TiO₂ to form TiCl₄ and O₂. The latter then reacts with the solid C to form CO and CO₂ and provide the heat. Data for all the new species is provided as Supporting Information. Finally, a new methodology for data collaboration is investigated in which the data is made openly accessible using the resource description framework. Example scripts are provided to demonstrate how to query and retrieve the data automatically.


In eukaryotes, nucleotide excision repair of DNA is a complex process that requires many polypeptides to perform dual incision and remove a segment of about 30 nucleotides containing the damage, followed by repair DNA synthesis to replace the excised segment. Nucleotide excision repair DNA synthesis is dependent on proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). To study gap-filling DNA synthesis during DNA nucleotide excision repair, UV-damaged DNA was first incubated with PCNA-depleted human cell extracts to create repair incisions. Purified DNA polymerase delta or epsilon, with DNA ligase, was then used to form the repair patch. DNA polymerase delta could perform repair synthesis and was strictly dependent on the presence of both PCNA and replication factor C, but gave rise to a very low proportion of complete, ligated circles. The presence of replication protein A (which is also required for nucleotide excision repair) did not alter this result, while addition of DNase IV increased the fraction of ligated products. DNA polymerase epsilon, on the other hand, could fill the repair patch in the absence of PCNA and replication factor C, and most of the products were ligated circles. Addition of replication protein A changed the situation dramatically, and synthesis by polymerase epsilon became dependent on both PCNA and replication factor C. A combination of DNA polymerase epsilon, PCNA, replication factor C, replication protein A, and DNA ligase I appears to be well-suited to the task of creating nucleotide excision repair patches.


Abstract Bivalves are the most common macrofauna present in marine sequences spanning the end-Triassic mass extinction and document the initial ecological response to the crisis. In the west-Tethyan Kössen Basin, marine bivalves occur within distinctive low diversity episodic shell beds at the time of initial crisis and &dgr;13C minimum, and continue for 1 m (<∼20 kyr) upward into the peak extinction phase devoid of macrofauna. The paleoecology, shell mineralogy, and paleobiogeographic context of these well-preserved bivalves suggest they are part of eurytopic opportunistic paleocommunities flourishing in a time of crisis and are consistent with some, but not all, of the paleoenvironmental scenarios hypothesized in the context of synchronous volcanic activity. The best model-to-data fit is found for an ocean acidification scenario, which predicts an increased extinction risk for taxa with thick calcareous skeletons and aragonite mineralogy due to reduced CaCO3 saturation of seawater for a period of <20 kyr. Other kill mechanisms, such as climatic change and reduced salinity in nearshore marine settings, are less well supported but not fully incompatible with our data and might have acted in concert with ocean acidification.


This paper presents a study investigating the impact of space design on behaviour and creative outcome of team work in learning environments. A dedicated space was especially designed and equipped to facilitate creativity during collaboration. A student course in engineering design was held both in conventional classroom settings and in the newly designed space. The observations and measurements made relating to the two environments are shown and discussed in the paper. The results indicate noteworthy differences that can help to positively influence learning and creativity in future lectures.


The government of Tanzania, with the support of a wide range of donors is implementing Local Government Reform Programmes. The three municipal councils of Ilala, Temeke and Kinondoni are among the Local government institutions in the 1st phase of the programme. The programme is one of the decentralized measures to improve service delivery at the local level, which includes management of the environment. The programmes are aimed at replacing the former control and command system of central government with a decentralized system that allocates authority and responsibility to local authorities.

The study is concerned with the process of the implementation of the National Environment Policy (NEP) in the decentralised Local Government Councils in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It analyses whether the shift of central government power to decentralised government units at the municipal level results, in successful implementation of public policies, especially the National Environment Policy.

The study is a comparative, case-oriented one in which Ilala; Kinondoni and Temeke municipalities are the cases. Qualitative approach of doing social research was employed in which interviews were conducted in the data collection phase.

In examining the implementation of NEP, both top-down and bottom-up approaches are used. In the top-down approach the analysis is presented by looking at the policy itself and examines the extent to which objectives of the National Environment policy are achieved/not
achieved across cases and possible explanations for the outcomes. In the bottom-up approach, the study examines the network of actors participating in service provision in the cases and asks about their goals, strategies, and activities in relation to environmental management
issues.

The main findings in the study are that linkages between decentralisation and implementation of the National Environment Policy are weak. This is because there is poor institutional structure, inappropriate legal framework and insufficient technical personnel. Local
government councils in Dar-es-Salaam have defined improvement of service delivery and management of environment as one of its developmental priorities. In the National Environment policy document, local councils are supposed to have environmental committees
from the municipal level to the village level. It is indicated in the study that although environmental committees exist in all the three municipal councils, environmental problems are increasing. The study found that this is due to poverty as people engage in activities like dynamite fishing, clearing mangrove forests for charcoal just to make a living.
Another finding is that in terms of implementation of the policy, the municipal councils employ rather the top-down as opposed to the bottom-up approach. However, the study is of the view that a combination of the two approaches could be the solution to the problems of achieving sustainable environment management.

The main conclusion reached in the study is that the municipal councils face some problems in the implementation of the National Environment policy. Their capacity to implement the policy is affected by various factors. These are policy resources, such as financial resources,
human resources and technology; understanding, and applicability of policy instruments, implementation structure, co-ordination and communication, the role of community participation, and the attitude of the local communities, as influenced by lack of culture of compliance to the laws.


On December 1727 an intriguing play called Double Falshood; Or, The Distrest Lovers was presented for production by Lewis Theobald, who had it published in January 1728 after a successful run at the TheatreRoyal, Drury Lane, London. The title page to the published version claims that the play was 'Written Originally by W.SHAKESPEARE'. Double Falsehood's plot is a version of the story of Cardenio found in Cervantes's Don Quixote (1605) as translated by Thomas Shelton, published in 1612 though in circulation earlier. Documentary records testify to the existence of a play, certainly performed in 1613, by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare, probably entitled The History of Cardenio and presumed to have been lost. The audience in 1727 would certainly have recognised stage situations and dramatic structures and patterns reminiscent of those in Shakespeare's canonical plays as well as many linguistic echoes. This intriguing complex textual and performance history is thoroughly explored and debated in this fully annotated edition, including the views of other major Shakespeare scholars. The illustrated introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the debates and opinions surrounding the play and the text is fully annotated with detailed commentary notes as in any Arden edition.


This article examines the institutionalisation of property rights by way of two case studies on biodiversity conservation in Albania and Romania. The analysis pays particular attention to local level negotiations which occur when local actors make use of concrete resources and engage in discussions about their appropriate use. In both Albania and Romania, national parks are the object of intense negotiations, as local people contest the associated restrictions on their property rights to agricultural land and forest. The outcomes of the negotiations are varied, reflecting the influence of locally specific contexts. These results indicate that legal acts alone do not institutionalise property rights, as those are negotiated simultaneously among various kinds of actors at multiple, interrelated levels. Institutionalisation works through local negotiations about concrete resource practices and their associated justifications.


Novel carbon hollow fiber membranes (CHFMs) have been, for the first time, prepared from cellulose precursors directly spun with a cellulose/(1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (EmimAc) + dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)) system. The spinning parameters such as air gap, dope and bore flow, bore fluid composition, and take-up speed are investigated by a factorial design method to screen hollow fiber precursors. All the precursors were carbonized using the same controlled protocol, and the prepared CHFMs show good performance that are above the Robeson upper bounds of CO2/CH4 and O2/N2. The best obtained CHFMs shows a CO2 permeability of 239 barrer and a CO2/CH4 selectivity of 186 from single gas permeation measurement. The CHFM shows attractive CO2/CH4 selectivities of 75 and 50 from 10% CO2/90% CH4 permeation tests at 25 °C with a feed pressure of 28 bar, and at 60 °C with 8 bar, respectively. Thus, the developed cellulose-based CHFMs show potential for gas separation.


This report provides descriptions and background information on Russian government organization and power, the Russian military's role, and U.S. policy toward Russia. Specific topics covered include Russian governmental structures and background, Vladimir Putin's rise to power, human rights concerns, opposition groups, the economy of Russia and the impact of sanctions, the foreign relations of Russia with other countries in Europe, NATO, the EU, China, Syria, and the U.S., the Ukraine conflict and Russian military aggression. U.S. policies toward Russia, U.S. sanctions on Russia, and cyber warfare.


Against a backdrop of vast income disparities across countries, this article develops a theory of how misperceptions of individuals' relative international income shape mass support for cross-national transfers in the developed world. It tests this theory using a real-stakes experiment implemented on a nationally representative survey in the United States. I find that participants underestimate their percentile rank in the global income distribution by 27 points on average and overestimate the global median income by a factor of 10. Respondents who were randomly assigned to information on the global income distribution supported higher spending on foreign aid and cuts in agricultural trade protections at larger rates. A behavioral measure validates these survey data—donations to charities abroad rise by 55% relative to the control group. These findings contribute to our understanding of subjective perceptions, preferences for cross-border redistribution, and the conditions under which information can shape opinion and behavior.


This paper studies how birth town migration networks affected long-run location decisions during historical US migration episodes. We develop a new method to estimate the strength of migration networks for each receiving and sending location. Our estimates imply that when one randomly chosen African American moved from a Southern birth town to a destination county, then 1.9 additional Black migrants made the same move on average. For White migrants from the Great Plains, the average is only 0.4. Networks were particularly important in connecting Black migrants with attractive employment opportunities and played a larger role in less costly moves. (JEL J15, J61, N32, N92, R23, Z13)


On January 31 2012 Indiana became the 23rd State in the US to adopt "right to work" legislation. This legislation prohibits agreements between trade unions and employers requiring membership of the trade union or payment of union dues or fees a condition of employment. Where there is no right to work legislation, employers and trade unions may agree not to hire anyone who is not a trade union member (similar to our closed shop agreements under s26 of the Labour Relations Act (66 of 1995) (the LRA).


Abstract To reveal the biology of AML, we compared gene-expression profiles between normal hematopoietic cells from 38 healthy donors and leukemic blasts (LBs) from 26 AML patients. We defined the comparison of LB and unselected BM as experiment 1, LB and CD34+ isolated from BM as experiment 2, LB and unselected PB as experiment 3, and LB and CD34+ isolated from PB as experiment 4. Then, protein–protein interaction network of DEGs was constructed to identify critical genes. Regulatory impact factors were used to identify critical transcription factors from the differential co-expression network constructed via reanalyzing the microarray profile from the perspective of differential co-expression. Gene ontology enrichment was performed to extract biological meaning. The comparison among the number of DEGs obtained in four experiments showed that cells did not tend to differentiation and CD34+ was more similar to cancer stem cells. Based on the results of protein–protein interaction network, CREBBP, F2RL1, MCM2, and TP53 were respectively the key genes in experiments 1, 2, 3, and 4. From gene ontology analysis, we found that immune response was the most common one in four stages. Our results might provide a platform for determining the pathology and therapy of AML.


A tephrostratigraphic record covering the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1–15 was established for the DEEP site record of Lake Ohrid (Macedonia and Albania). Major element analyses (energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy (WDS)) were carried out on juvenile fragments extracted from 12 tephra layers (OH-DP-0115 to OH-DP-2060). The geochemical analyses of the glass shards of all of these layers suggest an origin in the Italian volcanic provinces. They include the Y-3 (OH-DP-0115, 26.68–29.42 ka cal BP), the Campanian Ignimbrite–Y-5 (OH-DP-0169, 39.6± 0.1 ka), and the X6 (OH-DP-0404, 109± 2 ka) from the Campanian volcanoes, the P-11 of Pantelleria (OH-DP-0499, 133.5± 2 ka), the Vico B (OH-DP-0617, 162± 6 ka) from the Vico volcano, the Pozzolane Rosse (OH-DP-1817, 457± 2 ka) and the Tufo di Bagni Albule (OH-DP-2060, 527± 2 ka) from the Colli Albani volcanic district, and the Fall A (OH-DP2010, 496± 3 ka) from the Sabatini volcanic field. Furthermore, a comparison of the Ohrid record with tephrostratigraphic records of mid-distal archives related to the Mediterranean area allowed the recognition of the equivalents of other less known tephra layers, such as the TM24a–POP2 (OH-DP-0404, 102± 2 ka) recognized in the Lago Grande di Monticchio and the Sulmona Basin, the CF-V5–PRAD3225 (OH-DP-0624, ca. 163± 22 ka) identified in the Campo Felice Basin and the Adriatic Sea, the SC5 (OH-DP-1955, 493.1± 10.9 ka) recognized in the Mercure Basin, and the A11/12 (OH-DP-2017, 511± 6 ka) sampled at the Acerno Basin, whose specific volcanic sources are still poorly constrained. Additionally, one cryptotephra (OH-DP-0027) was identified by correlation of the potassium X-ray flourescence (XRF) intensities from the DEEP site with those from a short core of a previous study from Lake Ohrid. In these cores, a maximum in potassium is caused by glass shards, which were correlated with the Mercato tephra (8.43–8.63 ka cal BP) from Somma–Vesuvius. The tephrostratigraphic work presented here allows, for the first time, the extension of a consistent part of the Middle Pleistocene tephrostratigraphy of Italian volcanoes as far as the Balkans. The establishment of the tephrostratigraphic framework for the Lake Ohrid record provides important, independent tie points for the age–depth model of the DEEP site sequence, which is a prerequisite for palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. Furthermore, this age–depth model will help to improve and re-evaluate the chronology of other, both undated and dated tephra layers from other records. Thus, the Lake Ohrid record may potentially become the template for the central Mediterranean tephrostratigraphy, especially for the hitherto poorly known and explored lower Middle Pleistocene period. Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 2152 N. Leicher et al.: DEEP site record from Lake Ohrid (Macedonia and Albania)


I present an environment for which both outside and inside money are essential as means of payment. The key model feature is that there is imperfect monitoring of issuers of inside money. I use a random-matching model of money where some agents have private trading histories and others have trading histories that can be publicly observed only after a lag. I show via an example that for lags that are neither too long nor too short, there exist allocations that use both types of money that cannot be duplicated when only one type is used. Inside money provides liquidity that increases the frequency of trades, but incentive constraints restrict the amount of output that can be traded. Outside money is immune to such constraints and can trade for higher levels of output.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate safety and accuracy of lateral pin placement for the use of a Leipzig stifle distractor (LSD) and to assess improvements in visualization and treatment of the lateral meniscus in the canine stifle.

STUDY DESIGN
Ex vivo cadaveric study.

SAMPLE POPULATION
Paired canine cadaveric hind limbs (n = 10).

METHODS
Pins for the LSD were placed from lateral to medial in the distal femur and proximal tibia. Safety and accuracy of lateral pin placement were evaluated via anatomical dissection, computed tomography (CT), and arthroscopy. In every case, distraction of the lateral compartment of the femorotibial joint space was evaluated arthroscopically, and the meniscus was probed. Afterward, the limbs were assigned to 1 of 2 groups, and a partial meniscectomy was attempted with or without distraction. Stifles were disarticulated to evaluate the meniscectomy and iatrogenic cartilage damage.

RESULTS
Computed tomography revealed some variation in pin placement, although sufficient distraction was achieved for all stifle joints. No damage to the surrounding structures was observed during anatomical dissection, CT, or arthroscopy. Disarticulation provided evidence that using an LSD allowed for complete caudal horn meniscectomies and less articular cartilage damage than when meniscectomy was attempted with manual distraction.

CONCLUSION
Lateral placement of an LSD proved to be safe and effective for the distraction of the lateral femorotibial joint space and the examination and treatment of the lateral meniscus in dogs weighing 18-42 kg.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Canine lateral meniscus pathology, although rare, leads to severe pain. A laterally placed LSD improves arthroscopic evaluation and treatment of this pathology.


International, national, and subnational laws and policies call for rapidly decarbonizing energy systems around the globe. This effort relies heavily on renewable electricity and calls for a transition that is: (i) flexible enough to accommodate existing and new electricity end uses and users; (ii) resilient in response to climate change and other threats to electricity infrastructure; (iii) cost-effective in comparison to alternatives; and (iv) just in the face of energy systems that are often the result of—or the cause of—procedural, distributive, and historical injustices. Acknowledging the intertwined roles of technology and policy, this work provides a cross-disciplinary review of how microgrids may contribute to renewable electricity systems that are flexible, resilient, cost-effective, and just (including illustrative examples from Korea, California, New York, the European Union, and elsewhere). Following this review of generalized microgrid characteristics, we more closely examine the role and potential of microgrids in two United States jurisdictions that have adopted 100% renewable electricity standards (Hawai'i and Puerto Rico), and which are actively developing regulatory regimes putatively designed to enable renewable microgrids. Collectively, this review shows that although microgrids have the potential to support the transition to 100% renewable electricity in a variety of ways, the emerging policy structures require substantial further development to operationalize that potential. We conclude that unresolved fundamental policy tensions arise from justice considerations, such as how to distribute the benefits and burdens of microgrid infrastructure, rather than from technical questions about microgrid topologies and operating characteristics. Nonetheless, technical and quantitative future research will be necessary to assist regulators as they develop microgrid policies. In particular, there is a need to develop socio–techno–economic analyses of cost-effectiveness, which consider a broad range of potential benefits and costs.


E-commerce is far more common in large firms than in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result SMEs risk competitive disadvantages. A growing body of research has attended to this problem but few studies examine the adoption of e-commerce from a broader contextual perspective. To be able to understand SMEs adoption of e-commerce it is desirable to study their contextual preconditions, approaches and effects. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the theory building in the e-commerce area by forming a conceptual framework over SMEs adoption of e-commerce: the ECA (Electronic Commerce Adoption) framework. A central starting point for the study is Pettigrews (1985) contextual framework for strategic changes. The analysis dimensions in Pettigrews framework content, context and process are adapted to adoption of e-commerce. Thus, the ECA framework consists of analysis models that focus on a) the content, b) the context and c) the process of e-commerce adoption in SMEs. Further, the ECA framework includes an analysis model over the interplay between content, context and process and a typology over adoption situations. The SME in its role as a supplier is the unit of analysis. The study uses an abductive approach where results from previous studies in areas such as e-commerce, information systems and decision making are used as sources for forming the ECA framework. The ECA framework is then applied to the collection, interpretation and analyze of empirical data from the case studies of two small and one medium-sized enterprise. The case studies lead to the identification of additional elements that are added to the analysis models.One contribution from the study is the typology over adoption situations. The typology, which builds on studies of Junghagen (1998) and Engsbo et al. (2001), divides the adoption of e-commerce in SMEs into five categories of adoption situations: proactive adoption situations, adaptive adoption situations, pragmatic adoption situations, forced adoption situations and enabled adoption situations. An adoption situation describes what is being adopted (content), why (context) and how (process). Another contribution is the so called adoption guides. These are contextual conditions whose states indicate if a SME will adopt e-commerce or not and if so, which adoption situation they are likely to find themselves in. The adoption guides are: the relative dependence on individual customers, the degree of customer pressure, the strategic needs of e-commerce, the information complexity and, the CEOs extent of aversion towards risk taking. Consequently two major conclusions from this study are that SMEs e-commerce adoption can be divided into five different adoption situations and a small number of contextual conditions here called adoption guides determine which of them a SME tend to go through. The typology enables organizations that educate SMEs or support their development of e-commerce to design their efforts more efficiently and researchers to diversify the studied population. As the study is theory building the contributions and conclusions are propositions that need to be tested empirically in future studies.


We use the Business Roundtable's challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC's) 2010 proxy access rule as a natural experiment to measure the value of shareholder proxy access. We find that firms that would have been most vulnerable to proxy access, as measured by institutional ownership and activist institutional ownership, lost value on October 4, 2010, when the SEC unexpectedly announced that it would delay implementation of the rule in response to the Business Roundtable's challenge. We examine intraday returns and find that the loss of value occurred just after the SEC's announcement on October 4. We find similar results for July 22, 2011, when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of the Business Roundtable. These findings are consistent with the view that financial markets placed a positive value on shareholder access, as implemented in the SEC's 2010


A lamination of a graph embedded on a surface is a collection of pairwise disjoint non‐contractible simple closed curves drawn on the graph. In the case when the surface is a sphere with three punctures (a.k.a. a pair of pants), we first identify the lamination space of a graph embedded on that surface as a lattice polytope, then we characterize the polytopes that arise as the lamination space of some graph on a pair of pants. This characterizes the image of a simplified variant of the spectral map for the vector bundle Laplacian for a flat connection on a pair of pants. The proof uses a graph exploration technique akin to the peeling of planar maps.


We consider generalizations of juggling Markov chains introduced by Ayyer, Bouttier, Corteel and Nunzi. We first study multispecies generalizations of all the finite models therein, namely the MJMC, the add-drop and the annihilation models. We then consider the case of several jugglers exchanging balls. In all cases, we give explicit product formulas for the stationary probability and closed-form expressions for the normalization factor if known.


With the Lippman-Schwinger equation, dyadic Green's functions, and the vector coherent transfer function method, an electromagnetic theory of a waveguide multilayered optical memory is first developed for the static case, from which a theory describing a conventional multilayered optical memory with bits stored as a refractive index change is also derived. In addition, the formulas for readout signals and cross talk are given, and some problems of numerical calculations are discussed. The theories can be used effectively for optimum design of a multilayered optical memory with bits stored as a refractive index change.


A theory which describes a local structure and global properties of a diblock copolymer melt has been developed in the framework of the one-loop self-consistent approximation. We have derived expressions for the sizes of a single diblock macromolecule and its parts. Two different behaviors of single macromolecule conformations in the disordered melt have been obtained depending on the asymmetry of chains and morphologies occurring in ordered states after the order-disorder transition (ODT). In the nearly symmetric melt, 0.35 < f ≤ 0.5 (f is a composition), the blocks of both types shrink a little initially as the temperature decreases and then, at some temperature, they begin to swell. In strongly asymmetric melts, f < 0.35, the block of a macromolecule which consists of the monomers of minority type shrinks monotonically, while the other block monotonically swells. We have found nearly Gaussian behavior of the individual blocks and stretching near the chemical bond joining the blocks. Near the ODT the chains are stretched with a magnitude which is of the order of a few percent of their Gaussian sizes. We have calculated the peak position in the scattering curve as a function of the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter, composition and degree of polymerization. Less then 5% change in the size of copolymer molecules lead to a 25% shift of the scattering peak in comparison to the Gaussian limit. We have found a good quantitative agreement of our theoretical results with the experimental neutron scattering data.


Sewability of a fabric depends on the fabric low-stress mechanical properties, sewing thread properties and the sewing machine settings. This paper investigates the sewability of denim fabrics stitched with air-jet textured sewing thread. It was found that the fabric formability is dependent on the fabric weight. Fabric formability was higher for the heavyweight fabrics and lower for the lightweight fabrics. The overall bending rigidity was the lowest for the denim with the lowest formability and weight. Polyester air-jet textured sewing threads resulted in higher seam efficiency and seam pucker, but lower needle cutting index compared to Polyester/Viscose air-jet textured sewing thread. In weft direction the seam efficiency was higher, whereas in warp direction the needle cutting index was higher for all the fabrics.


This work speaks about the historical memory as a collective memory and a special case uses, Matilda Burgos's process of the Mental hospital of La Castaneda in the Mexico City, to illustrate her offer of construction of citizenships. Hereby memory and citizenship stay in this text articulated to the processes of writing and of reading document that does the historiography. Therefore the text answers to all the questions of workshop but it focuses especially in the following one: How does it emerge the memory inside a text? When you read any document inside or out of your discipline, do you consider it to be an object of memory? Explain your positive or negative experience especially. Do you read differently a text that you consider to be interdisciplinary or extradisciplinary?


Recently, downtown shopping areas have faced a number of challenges, which have undermined their vitality and viability. Some scholars argue that the coincidence of long-term shifts in policies, demographic recomposition and mobility increase and medium- and short-term impacts of changes in business and consumers' behavior has had negative impact on the economic performance of city center shopping areas. There is an increasing interest in retail vacancy in city centers as it reflects the declining performance of the shopping areas.Retail vacancy is a complex and extensive problem. It is associated with numerous issues such as neglect and under-utilization of space, and is often considered undesirable. Vacancy can lead to decay and dilapidation of the area, but also attracts crime and can thereby result in disadvantaged neighborhoods. In addition, vacancy is also undesirable in the context of a sustainable and efficient use of space. Due to the fact that retail vacancy affects not only economic performance of retailers, but also the area itself, the public space, and, therefore has a spatial characteristics, local and regional authorities are involved in the process of addressing the issue.The thesis aims at identifying different policy arrangements for addressing retail vacancy in Antwerpen province (Belgium) and analyzing their transferability to the institutional settings of the Gelderland province (the Netherlands). This research contributes to the existing academic literature on the retail vacancy by filling the existing gap and giving insights in policy arrangements and institutional environment of the issue in international comparative perspective.


Experiments were conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of yellow-seeded rapeseed meal (YRSM). In the first experiment nutrient retention was recorded by 48 Arbor Acres-broiler chickens (28-d old) to determine AMEn (nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy), coefficient of apparent protein digestibility based on ileal digesta nitrogen, excreta nitrogen and uric acid nitrogen. The second experiment was carried out with 304 Arbor Acres-broiler chickens to compare effects of SBM (soybean meal) and YRSM on performance, carcass and digestive tract status. In the control treatment, SBM was replaced by graded levels of YRSM at 15, 22.5 and 30% of diet. Digestibility of YRSM protein was significantly lower (p 0.001) between ileal and excreta digestibility of protein based on uric acid. AMEn as a fraction of gross energy was 0.54 in SBM and 0.45 in YRSM. With the exception of 30% YRSM, other YRSM treatments resulted in major effects on length and weight of the gastrointestinal tract. The results of this study have shown no adverse effect on performance as well as protein digestibility and energy value in response to replacement of SBM by YRSM with the exception of 22.5 and 30% YRSM.


As more offshore wind parks are commissioned, the focus will inevitably shift from a planning, construction and warranty focus to an operation, maintenance and investment payback focus. In this latter case, both short-term risks associated with wind turbine component assemblies, and longterm risks related to structural integrity of the support structure, are highly important. This research focuses on the role of condition monitoring to lower costs associated with short-term reliability and long-term asset integrity. This enables comparative estimates of life cycle costs and reduction in uncertainty, both of which are of value to investors.


Planetesimals are believed to be formed by the coagulation of dust grains in the protoplanetary disk turbulence. However, the bouncing and fragmentation barriers have not been completely solved, particularly for silicate dust. To circumvent these barriers, the turbulent clustering of dust particles must be properly treated. According to the minimum-mass solar nebula (MMSN) model, the Mach number of the turbulence ranges from M rms ≃ 0.01–0.32, and thus the turbulence is often regarded as essentially incompressible. However, it has not been quantitatively investigated whether the incompressible limit is adequate for protoplanetary disk simulations. We therefore compare in this study the motions of inertial particles in direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of the Navier–Stokes equation between weakly compressible turbulence and incompressible turbulence. In the DNSs of compressible turbulence, we use an external force to set the total dissipation and the dilatational-to-solenoidal dissipation ratio. The DNSs reveal that despite the small Mach number M rms( ≲ 0.3), the compressible turbulence field notably differs from the incompressible field in terms of the density fluctuations, pressure fluctuations, and shocklet generation, depending on the ratio of the dilatational forcing. However, we quantitatively confirmed that these effects on the particle collision statistics are weak and that the motion of inertial particles in weakly compressible turbulence is dominated by the solenoidal velocity components. Therefore we can conclude that the incompressible assumption is appropriate for an investigation of the dust coagulation process in protoplanetary disk turbulence, as assumed in the MMSN model.


The effects of nano-reinforcements on the material characteristics of thermoset nanocomposites in relation to their different morphological structures are not yet well understood. This study investigates the effects of untreated halloysite (HNT) and vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS)–treated halloysite nanotubes (s-HNT) on the morphological and materials characteristics of highly crosslinked unsaturated polyester (UPE) nanocomposites. The grafting of the VTMS coupling agent on the halloysite surface was performed using the sol-gel process. Nanocomposites based on different weight percentages (1 wt % to 9 wt %) of HNT or s-HNT were prepared via high shear disperser, followed by the ultrasonication technique.

The morphological structures and dispersion of halloysite particles in the UPE matrix were examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and wide-angle and small-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS and SAXS). Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to determine the molecular structures and indicate the vibrational states of the chemical bonds obtained after curing. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was applied to detect the thermal stability, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) spectra were applied to measure the glass transition temperature (Tg) in heating mode. The viscoelastic properties—the storage modulus (E), loss modulus (E˝) and tan (δ)—were measured using dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA).

Mechanical properties viz. tensile strength, Young's modulus, elongation at break, flexural strength and modulus of the developed materials were determined. The elastic modulus was predicted using different mathematical models—the Halpin-Tsai, Smallwood-Einstein, Kerner, and Guth and Gold models—in order to further understand the correlation between the mechanical properties and the morphology.

The tribological performance of neat UPE and different nanocomposite systems was also explored. Wear resistance was evaluated using block-on-ring (BOR) configuration against a stainless steel counterpart under dry sliding conditions with different operating parameters. The topography analysis of worn surfaces was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis to determine the wear mechanisms occurring in such materials.

The micromechanism of plastic deformation of neat UPE and its nanocomposite systems was characterised under impact loading conditions. The impact strength and total energy were performed with a falling-weight impact tester at different temperatures (-20 °C, +20 °C and +60 °C). The morphologies of tensile-fractured surfaces and impacted-fractured surfaces of unfilled UPE and UPE filled with HNT and s-HNT nanocomposites were identified to delineate their fracture modes.

The fracture toughness measurements represented by the critical stress intensity factor (KIc) and critical strain energy release rate (GIc) were calculated based on linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) and two different geometries tested under two different loading conditions: a single-edge notch (SEN) specimen under three-point bending (SEN-3PB) and a compact tension (CT) specimen under tension. The crack initiation and propagation phenomenon were simulated using a traction-separation cohesive element method via ABAQUS finite element (FE) software. The SEM observations were used to identify the roles of HNT and s-HNT particles in toughening mechanisms and initiating plastic deformation in the nanocomposites.

The results showed that the surface of s-HNT was rougher than the untreated HNT particles due to the presence of multiple interfacial bonding sites on the silanised surface, which induced better adhesion and load transfer among the interface regions. A more well-dispersed structure with less skewed-like aggregates was observed in the UPE/s-HNT over the UPE/HNT composites. The incorporation of HNT or s-HNT particles into the UPE nanocomposites changed their crystalline structure, indicating a high degree of nanotube orientation.

The FT-IR spectra of the s-HNT powder exhibited that the Si-O-Si absorption band occurred in the region of 701 to 1,085 cm-1 wavenumbers. No significant change in the thermal stability of the nanocomposites was observed with the use of silane-treated nanoparticles. The effect of HNT or s-HNT on the Tg values was relatively insignificant, while they slightly reduced with increasing halloysite concentrations. This was likely because coupling of halloysite to the polymer through adsorption and hydrogen bonding led to strengthening the interface and reducing the Tg values.

All material properties—such as tensile and flexural strength, impact strength and fracture toughness—except wear resistance, exhibited a steady-state increasing trend with the incorporation of up to 5 wt% HNT or s-HNT into the UPE resin. The 3% HNT/UPE or 3% s-HNT/UPE nanocomposites were found to obtain the highest values of these properties supported with uniformly dispersed particles. It was also proven that the computational results of damage zone and unstable crack propagation validated by the cohesive element method were convergent with the experimental data.

Compared to the HNT, the addition of the same content of s-HNT particles indicated slightly higher strength and toughness owing to the well-dispersed silanised particles and the enhanced interfacial adhesion thereof on initiating/participating in plastic deformation in the nanocomposites. Further increase of halloysite, irrespective of whether they were untreated or silane-treated, showed gradual decreases in most material properties associated with the presence of large clusters in the UPE nanocomposites.

The SEM observations of the fracture surfaces showed brittle fast fracture for neat UPE and coarser surfaces with different energy dissipation mechanisms for the nanocomposites. With the introduction of untreated halloysite, zone shielding and shear yielding mechanisms with the presence of full particle debonding —which activates void expansion and matrix shear deformation— were observed and suggested to be responsible for the toughness improvement in the the UPE/HNT nanocomposites. In addition, other major mechanisms—massive shear banding, crack deflection and local plastic deformation—occurred around the crack initiation zone, while river line patterns, a tail-like structure and the formation of microcracks mechanisms were observed in the UPE/s-HNT nanocomposites.


This thesis is a contribution to the ethical justification for clinical research with children. A research subject's participation in a trial is usually justified, in part, by informed consent. Informed consent helps to uphold the moral principle of respect for persons. But children's limited ability to make informed choices gives rise to a problem. It is unclear what, if anything, justifies their participation in research.
Some research ethicists propose to resolve this problem by appealing to social utility, proxy consent, arguments explaining why it is permissible to expose children to some harm, and an argument concerning the appropriate balance between research harms and benefits. I argue that each of these is a necessary part of the justification for research with children, but that the argument concerning harms and benefits is under-developed. It relies on the concept of minimal risk, but minimal risk is inadequately justified.
I propose an interpretation of minimal risk. I defend the idea that minimal risk should be interpreted according to the risks of daily life. I reject the most prominent defense of daily life, which claims that daily risks are morally relevant because they replace, rather than add to, the risks a child would ordinarily face. Instead, I propose that these risks are part of a reasonable trade-off between personal safety and our ability to pursue meaningful lives. I then examine whose daily life should be captured in the concept of minimal risk. I reject arguments that minimal risk should refer to healthy children or the subjects of the research (including healthy and sick children) and propose instead that the referent should be children who are not unduly burdened by their lives. I argue that children are not unduly burdened when they fare well and defend the idea that children fare well when they possess sufficiently high degrees of the substantive goods of childhood. I conclude by analyzing a controversial case study using my interpretation of minimal risk. I draw on this case to argue that my interpretation offers clear guidance for research ethics review and contributes to a determination that is more plausible than its rivals.


Author(s): Park, Youngmin | Advisor(s): Warschauer, Mark | Abstract: Sentence processing skills contribute to successful L2 reading, and require understanding and manipulation of the order and interdependence of words within a sentence. Acknowledging that this syntactic awareness is significant but challenging in language development, a small number of researchers have explored whether modified text format increases reading abilities by raising syntactic awareness. This mixed within- and between-subjects study aims to examine whether phrase-segmented format, supported by visual-syntactic text formatting technology, scaffolds rapid and accurate L2 reading. Three groups of college students from the U.S. (NES and ESL) and Korea (EFL) read eight passages (4 block-formatted vs. 4 phrase-segmented) and answered four types of comprehension questions (topic, vocabulary, information, and inference-making). This study also investigates whether the format effect on rapid and accurate reading varies depending on L2 students' working memory capacity. This study revealed three main findings. First, text format type did not generally affect reading speed in any language group, but the group difference between ESL and NES students narrowed in the phrase-segmented versus the block condition. Second, the positive impact of the phrase-segmented format on comprehension was found among the L2 groups but not the NES group. Group differences in comprehension were mostly associated with the block condition rather than the phrase-segmented format, except for the persistent difference between EFL and NES groups across format. The third finding was that the phrase-segmented format did not influence the reading speed of L2 students with low working memory; however, it assisted them in making inferences and possibly expanding vocabulary. Although syntactic cues are only part of a multifaceted L2 reading process, these findings provide support for the phrase-segmented format as a helpful resource to promote L2 reading comprehension without hindering reading speed. This study additionally demonstrated that reading phrase-segmented text may scaffold inference by alleviating working memory overload.


Extracted from text ... The Community Reinvestment Bill Will it help to realise the right to adequate housing? Collette Herzenberg S outh Africa faces an enor- mous challenge of poverty, inequality and homelessness. A large proportion of our popula- tion lives in poor socio-economic conditions, with inadequate housing and without the financial resources to improve their existing housing. Low- and medium-income earners face financial exclusions by the finance sector due to their eco- nomic status and to the areas in which they live. First, they do not enjoy access to affordable credit and adequate banking facilities, particularly in townships and rural areas. Second, ..


Group decision making is part of every organizational life. It is a type of participatory process in which multiple decision makers acting collectively, analyze problems, consider and evaluate several alternatives, and select from among the alternatives a solution. In such a situation, an important issue is the level of agreement or consensus achieved among the group of decision makers before obtaining the solution. In the beginning, consensus was meant as a full and unanimous agreement. Regrettably, this stringent concept of consensus in many cases is a utopia. As a result, and from a pragmatic point of view, it makes more sense to speak about a degree of consensus and, here, the theory of fuzzy sets has delivered new tools for the analysis of such imprecise phenomena like consensus. Given the significance of reaching an accepted solution by all the decision makers, consensus is a major aim of group decision making problems and, in such a way, it has obtained a great attention in the literature. However, there still exist several dares which have to be tackled by the researchers. The purpose of this paper is to bring out several issues that represent challenges that have to be faced.


The perceived quality of a multimedia stream can be estimated with good accuracy with a parametric no-reference opinion model taking codec, total coded bitrate, packet loss rate, and buffering events as input. A rebuffering event in a multimedia stream severely reduces the perceived quality with up to 1.5 MOS units for a QCIF video. High packet loss rates can reduce the quality with as much as 2.5 MOS units. The effect of these two degradation types has been combined in a non-linear way together with information about codec and coded bitrate to form a parametric no-reference objective opinion model. The model shows good performance with RMSE of 0.33 and correlation coefficient of 0.93.