This thesis revises the late medieval and early modern legislative foundation of public
welfare in England, and many parts of the English-speaking world, which was later known as
the old poor law. This thesis argues that the Elizabethan codification of legislation at the
threshold of the seventeenth century was part of a much more stable statutory system than has
hitherto been accepted. Examining the period between 1495 and 1572, this thesis charts the
legislative system that provided for the punishment of vagabondage, the regulation of
beggary and the relief of the poor. No study until now has questioned the statutory framework
as it was understood in the mid-nineteenth century. This revision demonstrates the
foundations of English statutory systems of poor relief to be a clear product of the
Reformation, with continuity of concept and practice from the 1530s through until the
Elizabethan codifications of 1598 and 1601. Similarly, this thesis demonstrates the
continuities and anomalies in the statutory regulations for the punishment of vagabondage,
and through a focus on beggary, refocuses scholarly attention on the specificity of these
statutes within their contemporary context, without the lens of the mid nineteenth-century
reformers whose histories of this period have influenced scholars for a century and a half.
Complementing this revision of the statutory regime for the punishment of vagabondage, the
regulation of beggary and the relief of the poor is a specific examination of the impact of
these statutes within the urban context through a study of the four county towns of York,
Norwich, Exeter and Bristol. This has the twofold purpose of determining whether the urban
experimentation model of statutory development, first outlined by E. M. Leonard in 1900,
can be maintained as a viable explanatory model for the development of specific statutory
mechanisms, and to what degree towns such as these followed statutory regulations. The
result of these explorations is a newfound appreciation of the intersection of various levels of government within Tudor England, which encompass the roles of legislation, urban officials
and even parishioners within the urban context. This thesis not only argues that local
government action needs to be understood within the contemporary statutory system and that
statutory regulation needs to be appreciated in relation to local activities, but also that there
was a greater degree of conformity with statutory regulations within four of the largest towns
in England between 1495 and 1572 than has been generally acknowledged. As such, this
thesis produces a dramatically new view of a systemically integrated polity in Tudor England.


Oil spills have the most important environmental impact in oceans and seas. In this article, oil absorption, which was explored from Sardar-e-Jangal oilfield in Caspian Sea by exfoliated graphite (EG), was investigated. Graphite was exfoliated through the reaction of graphite-CrO3 intercalation compounds with hydrogen peroxide. The obtained absorbent was characterized by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), RAMAN spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). Absorption capacity was investigated by response surface methodology (RSM) using design expert data analysis. EG absorbed oil sample from aqueous solution to a great extent as it was due to increasing total pore volume in its structure in comparison to the simple graphite. RSM model fitting and its validation was discussed. Identified parameters (weight of absorbent and oil) were investigated by RSM using Perturbation diagram, contour and 3D surface response plots and the maximum absorption ratio was 27.6 gram (g) oil/gram (g) absorbent. The finding presented herein indicated that EG was successfully used in oil removal from seawater due to its easy synthesis, low cost and high sorption performance.


Abstract: We propose an approach for measuring and analyzing the dynamics of standard aggregate wage growth of macro statistics with micro-data. Our method decomposes aggregate wage growth to the wage growth of job stayers and to various terms related to job and worker restructuring. This method produces explicit expressions with clear interpretations for the various restructuring components and therefore opens new opportunities for a deeper analysis of various micro-level mechanisms and their cyclicality. The methodology also allows us to study many topics simultaneously that have previously been studied in isolation. Using comprehensive longitudinal employer-employee data over an extended period of time, we study how job and worker restructuring influences aggregate wage growth and its cyclicality. We show that wage formation is significantly more flexible than suggested by the aggregate numbers, and we identify the microlevel mechanisms that explain the greater flexibility. This version: December 7, 2012


Purpose: School teachers play a critical role in providing nutrition information to students. Yet, in order for teachers to be a valuable source of nutrition information, they must be equipped with adequate knowledge to be able to convey accurate information to students. The purpose of this study was to assess nutrition-related knowledge and self-efficacy of teachers from a large urban school district in Los Angeles County. Methods: Using a convenience sample, 59 teachers from six elementary schools completed a one time only questionnaire assessing knowledge of food groups and self-efficacy to implement nutrition activities in the classroom. Differences in teachers' responses to questions on knowledge and self-efficacy by demographics were also assessed. Results: The overall mean nutrition knowledge and self-efficacy scores were 50.4% and 71.4% respectively. Differences in nutrition knowledge and self-efficacy by demographic characteristics were observed. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that teachers in our sample did not have adequate levels of nutrition knowledge, and may not have possessed the necessary skills to effectively deliver nutrition education to their students. Current efforts to train and educate teachers on nutrition are perhaps falling short of the level needed to effect change in students' dietary behaviors.


Copyright generally vests in the author, the human creator of the work. But because, at least until recently, most authors have been ill-equipped to commercialize and disseminate their works on their own, the author has granted rights to intermediaries to market her works. Since most authors are the weaker parties to publishing, production, or distribution contracts, the resulting deal may favor the interests of the intermediary to the detriment of the author's interests. Many national copyright laws have introduced a variety of corrective measures, from the very first copyright act, the 1710 British Statute of Anne, which instituted the author's reversion right (still in force, albeit much modified, in U.S. copyright law), to detailed limitations on the form and scope of grants found in many continental European copyright laws. Recently, the Netherlands and France have amended their copyright laws to reinforce author-protective provisions; the French reforms particularly envision the publishing contract in the digital environment. But many author contracts, especially in the digital environment, grant rights for multiple territories: how does the international dimension of these agreements affect the practical ability of individual countries to regulate authors' contracts with respect to exploitations occurring within their borders? If, on the one hand, "lawmakers tend to be provincial in developing copyright-contract rules, remaining focused on largely local parties and interests rather than on policies common to many jurisdictions," and, on the other, general principles of private international law leave to the parties the determination of the law applicable to their contract, may the parties simply avoid "provincial" protections of authors' economic interests by choosing (or the stronger party imposing) the law of a less author-interventionist jurisdiction to govern the full territorial extent of the transfer?This Article will first discuss two examples of reforms of copyright-contract law, then will consider the extent to which private international law rules may render these reforms largely ineffective for authors who grant rights for multiple territories. Finally, we will propose private international law approaches that preserve local author-protective contract restrictions without rendering the implementation of the international agreement unduly cumbersome or unpredictable. We recognize that our approach departs from classic, content-neutral, private international law rules, because it seeks to impose a particular outcome. But content-neutral choice of law rules are what create the problem that provoked this examination in the first place: the rule of "party autonomy," that directs courts to look to the law the parties choose for their contract enables the stronger party to avoid weaker party protections simply by submitting the contract to a less-constraining national law. The proposed rule remains within the general private international law (non substantive) framework because it in no way instructs States to adopt author-protective measures. It simply endeavors to ensure, if a State does determine to recalibrate the balance of power between authors and exploiters, that the contract not set the State's efforts to protect its resident authors to naught.


Higher Education is currently undergoing some of the most profound changes in its history. Against a backdrop of increasing marketization, rising levels of student debt and far greater fully online offerings, the higher education lecturer is grappling with new ways of working and high expectations of teaching quality. This 3 year qualitative study based in The Open University UK investigates the ways in which HE distance learning lecturers are approaching professional development and learning, identifying what type of learning may be most effective in creating and sustaining an online teaching identity. The study also examines ways in which resistance discourse is shaping these identities and practices revealing emerging re- conceptualisations of what it means to be an effective and well-motivated distance learning lecturer. The investigation uses a framework for identity analysis which analyses professional identity via the expression of hegemonies, phenomenological, narrative articulations of identity, and a post-modern, constructivist view of identity which is shaped by social interactions and communities of practice. It highlights the importance of personal agency in identity formation. The results revealed a number of insights into the ways in which a combination of resistance discourse, professional learning and reflections from student interactions are shaping new understandings of professional knowledge in this context.


The binary turbine system that employs steam as the primary working fluid has used R11 as the secondary working fluid, because R11 has good characteristics as a working fluid in power plants. However, substitute LBMs (low boiling-temperature mediums compared with water) are being developed because of the destruction of the ozone layer by CFCs. In this paper, modeling and experimental investigations into the dynamics of a directly combined binary turbine system using R123 instead of R11 are described. The system consists mainly of a steam- and an R123-turbine, an R123 vapor generator, and an AC generator. The dynamic behavior of the system is discussed from the viewpoint of the network theory. The components of the system are represented as two- or three-port elements of the network and the vapor flow rate and shaft torque are appropriated as the through variable, and the vapor pressure and rotational speed as the across variable. As a result, a very simple network model based on the dynamics of various turbine systems like this was derived. The validity of the model was proven through comparison with our experimental results, which are the frequency responses examined with respect to generator load changes. In addition, we demonstrate that the model is very effective in predicting the dynamic behavior and power generation mechanism of directly combined binary turbine systems.


The history, circumstances, clinical signs, post mortem lesions, morbidity, mortality and laboratory findings are described in an abortion storm in sheep that occurred in Mpumalanga, South Africa, associated with infection with Arcobacter skirrowii. Altogether, about 200 Suffolk Down ewes lost 60 lambs in late pregnancy or at term. Although only three foetuses were submitted for investigation, two had signs consistent with a diagnosis of A. skirrowii infection and the organism was isolated from the placentas of both specimens. No abortions had occurred in previous years, or have subsequently. There were no animal introductions prior to the outbreak that could have indicated a source of infection. One stillborn lamb submitted subsequently had lesions consistent with dystocia, and the history and circumstantial evidence indicated that dystocia had been a factor in several more losses. No ewes or rams had shown signs of diarrhoea or other diseases associated with A. skirrowii infection. Twenty-two faecal, preputial and vaginal swab specimens taken from six rams and 13 ewes after the abortion event were all negative for A. skirrowii. This is the first report of abortions in sheep associated with A. skirrowiiin South Africa. Because the genus Arcobacter is similar to Campylobacter, it is possible that infection has gone unrecognised in the past. Veterinarians and laboratories should take note and include this genus in the list of potential abortifacient organisms. The possible role of Arcobacter species in other diseases like enteritis and mastitis, as well as the potential role as a zoonosis, must be borne in mind.


Everyone, even the most die-hard defender of the established order recognizes that we face serious social and environmental problems. The news media regularly circulate the latest figures on the latest social problems. The country with the worst pollution, highest infant mortality, lowest life expectancy, epidemic rates of drug abuse, poverty, anti-social behaviour. But the mainstream media, popular debate and elite discussion treat these - at best- as a procession of seemingly unrelated and inexplicable facts and events. At worst the tendency is to suggest that whatever the problem - racism, obesity, unemployment, famine, war - that the people affected are in some way culpable. If in doubt, blame the victim. Either way, the context necessary to understand the problem and how it is caused is invariably missing. To paint in the context requires that we show how apparently isolated facts are linked causally to other social facts; that they are not so isolated after all.


The visual system simultaneously segregates between several objects presented in a visual scene. The neural code for encoding different objects or figures is not well understood. To study this question, we trained two monkeys to discriminate whether two elongated bars are either separate, thus generating two different figures, or connected, thus generating a single figure. Using voltage-sensitive dyes, we imaged at high spatial and temporal resolution V1 population responses evoked by the two bars, while keeping their local attributes similar among the two conditions. In the separate condition, unlike the connected condition, the population response to one bar is enhanced, whereas the response to the other is simultaneously suppressed. The response to the background remained unchanged between the two conditions. This divergent pattern developed ∼200 ms poststimulus onset and could discriminate well between the separate and connected single trials. The stimulus separation saliency and behavioral report were highly correlated with the differential response to the bars. In addition, the proximity and/or the specific location of the connectors seemed to have only a weak effect on this late activity pattern, further supporting the involvement of top-down influences. Additional neural codes were less informative about the separate and connected conditions, with much less consistency and discriminability compared with a response amplitude code. We suggest that V1 is involved in the encoding of each figure by different neuronal response amplitude, which can mediate their segregation and perception.


Seasonal wood transcriptomes of Norway spruce suggest mechanisms underlying specific aspects of gymnosperm wood biology, such as latewood formation, lignin biosynthesis, and tracheid longevity. Seasonal cues influence several aspects of the secondary growth of tree stems, including cambial activity, wood chemistry, and transition to latewood formation. We investigated seasonal changes in cambial activity, secondary cell wall formation, and tracheid cell death in woody tissues of Norway spruce (Picea abies) throughout one seasonal cycle. RNA sequencing was performed simultaneously in both the xylem and cambium/phloem tissues of the stem. Principal component analysis revealed gradual shifts in the transcriptomes that followed a chronological order throughout the season. A notable remodeling of the transcriptome was observed in the winter, with many genes having maximal expression during the coldest months of the year. A highly coexpressed set of monolignol biosynthesis genes showed high expression during the period of secondary cell wall formation as well as a second peak in midwinter. This midwinter peak in expression did not trigger lignin deposition, as determined by pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Coexpression consensus network analyses suggested the involvement of transcription factors belonging to the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2/LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES and MYELOBLASTOSIS-HOMEOBOX families in the seasonal control of secondary cell wall formation of tracheids. Interestingly, the lifetime of the latewood tracheids stretched beyond the winter dormancy period, correlating with a lack of cell death-related gene expression. Our transcriptomic analyses combined with phylogenetic and microscopic analyses also identified the cellulose and lignin biosynthetic genes and putative regulators for latewood formation and tracheid cell death in Norway spruce, providing a toolbox for further physiological and functional assays of these important phase transitions.


In 1996, Malaysia developed a national ICT policy intending to establish on-line community networks amongst all citizens as part of the agenda to prepare the nation to become a mainstream knowledge-based society and economy. As a country that has historically experienced uneasy tension between inter-ethnic social relationships, this research seeks to explore whether on-line social networking affects the forms of social capital and social integration found amongst diverse on-line ethnic communities (Malay, Chinese and Indian) in Malaysia. Six on-line communities were selected as case studies and the research was carried out in two stages. The first stage involved interviewing three different groups of participants: on-line community administrators, Government representatives and the general public; the second stage was a web-based survey of on-line participants. The findings suggest that the six selected on-line communities in this study show great potential for enhancing social networks and social capital across all members of different ethnicities. However, these are not significant enough to create social integration across all ethnic communities. Instead, three different trends of bonding and bridging social capital emerged across the six selected on-line communities. The first trend shows bridging social capital throughout both online and off-line activities in MalaysiaMAYA.com (social networking site), SARA (residential-based) and FamilyPlace.com (parenting and children). The second trend indicates that bridging networks were limited to on-line communication as seen in both residentially-based communities (USJ Subang Jaya and PJNet). In contrast, VirtualFriends.net (social networking site) only demonstrates bonding social capital developed in both on-line and off-line social networking. Considering these diverse patterns, it is argued that transferring bridging social capital from an on-line medium to an off-line medium is challenging. Factors of cultural capital such as language use and cultural and religious observations have been highlighted as significant in shaping community networking patterns. Overall, the issue of ethnic integration in the context of on-line communities in Malaysia remains, at best, a challenging factor for the formation of on-line/ off-line social capital.


[1] During the Cassini spacecraft flyby of Jupiter in late 2000/early 2001, the Ion and Neutral Camera (INCA, one of three sensors that make up the Cassini Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI)) obtained the first ever images of Jupiter's magnetosphere in energetic neutral atom (ENA) flux. These emissions are dominated by hydrogen atoms in the energy range from a few to 100 keV, emitted from the planet's exosphere and neutral gas tori near the inner Galilean satellites. Heavier ions (likely a mixture of oxygen and sulfur) comprise a significant fraction of the ENA flux, as well. Neutral atom energy spectra escaping the magnetosphere are computed from measurements made at about 145 RJ from the planet. From these spectra we show that there is significant emission of oxygen and/or sulfur atoms from the Jovian magnetosphere in the 0.1–1.0 MeV total energy range. We also show that ENA flux falls off approximately with the square of radial distance from Jupiter. In three separate energy channels, we find that during a period of about 80 days (mostly before closest approach), FR2 is constant to lowest order but do observe variations close to the statistical limit of our measurement. We estimate a source rate of ∼1026/s H in the 10–100 keV range and ∼5 × 1025/s O in the 100–1000 keV energy range.


In this paper, we introduce a new multiresolution watermarking method for digital images. The method is based on the discrete wavelet transform (DWT). Pseudo-random codes are added to the large coefficients at the high and middle frequency bands of the DWT of an image. It is shown that this method is more robust to proposed methods to some common image distortions, such as the wavelet transform based image compression, image rescaling/stretching and image halftoning. Moreover, the method is hierarchical.


This paper studies the legalization of 600,000 non-EU immigrants by the unexpectedly elected Spanish government following the terrorist attacks of 2004. By comparing non-EU to EU immigrants we first estimate that the policy did not lead to magnet effects. We then show that the policy change increased labor market opportunities for immigrants by allowing them to enter sectors of the economy with fewer informal employment. We rely on cross-province comparisons to document that payroll-tax revenues increased by around 4,000 euros per legalized immigrant, and the heterogeneous effect of the policy on various groups of workers. We provide a theoretical framework based on monopsonistic competition to guide our empirical work and interpret our findings. JEL Classification codes: F22, J31, J42, J,46, J61, R11.


This case study, which focuses on a student teacher and her cooperating teacher, reveals the differences in classroom management that are mainly associated with the distinct roles in teaching practice. An inductive qualitative analysis of video-recordings of classes taught by the student teacher and cooperating teacher was performed and interviews were conducted with both teachers. The results reveal that behaviour management is more difficult for the student teacher because it is influenced by factors connected with the role of the teacher. In instructional management, the student teacher can more easily draw from thorough lesson preparation or subject-matter knowledge. The findings of this study strengthen the need for the improved education of cooperating teachers to reflect on classroom management with student teachers.


In criminal intelligence domain where solution discovery is often serendipitous,it demands techniques to provide transparent evidences of top-down and bottom-up analytical processes of analysts while sifting through or transforming sourced data to provide plausible explanation of the fact.Management and tracing of such security sensitive analytical information flow originated from tightly coupled visualizations into visual analytic system for criminal intelligence that triggers huge amount of analytical information on a single click,involves design and development challenges.In this research paper,we have introduced a system called "PROV" to capture,visualize and utilize analytical information named as analytic provenance by considering such challenges.A video demonstrating its features is available online at https://streamable.com/r8mlx.Prior to develop this system for criminal intelligence analysis,we conducted a systematic research to outline the requirements and technical challenges.We gathered such information from real police intelligence analysts through multiple sessions who are the end users of a large heterogeneous event-driven modular Analyst's User Interface (AUI) of the project VALCRI (Visual Analytics for Sensemaking in Criminal Intelligence),developed by using visual analytic technique.We have proposed a semantic analytic state composition technique to trigger new insight by schematizing captured reasoning states.To evaluate the system we carried out few subjective feedback sessions with the end-users of the project and found very positive feedback.We also have tested our event triggered analytic state capturing protocol with an external geospatial and temporal crime analysis system and found that our proposed technique works generically for both small and large complex visual analytic systems.


A curious seasonal anomaly found in finance is the turn of the month effect, where the daily mean return of stock market at the end of a month and beginning of a month is significantly higher than the average daily return of all the days of a month. There have been evidences that certain months in a year deliver significantly higher returns. Similar anomalies are found for week days also, where some days in a week deliver above average returns. Seasonal anomalies for researchers have been a subject of great interest and lot of literature is available worldwide. This paper examines presence of day of the month effect on ten stock markets, geographically located in different corners of the world. This paper is not intended to study only the anomalies and inefficiencies present in various world markets, it is intended to highlight the profit potential available to individual investors and professional fund managers. The date wise daily returns are calculated in percentage terms to make the phenomena easy to understand. The statistical significance of daily returns is tested with Z-Statistics, in total 310 hypotheses are tested in the research. We found day of the month effect present in all the stock markets tested across the world, some days in a month historically are found to have delivered significantly higher returns.


IEA Bioenergy This strategic report was prepared by Mr Neil Bird, Joanneum Research, Austria; Professor Annette Cowie, The National Centre for Rural Greenhouse Gas Research, Australia; Dr Francesco Cherubini, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway; and Dr Gerfried Jungmeier; Joanneum Research, Austria. The report addresses the key methodological aspects of life cycle assessment (LCA) with respect to greenhouse gas (GHG) balances of bioenergy systems. It includes results via case studies, for some important bioenergy supply chains in comparison to fossil energy systems. The purpose of the report is to produce an unbiased, authoritative statement aimed especially at practitioners, policy advisors, and policy makers.


The past twenty years witnessed a dramatic transformation in Arabic literature studies in the United States. In the early 1990s, the field was still almost exclusively a satellite of area studies and largely bound by Orientalist historical and epistemological paradigms. Graduate students—even those wishing to focus entirely on modern literature—were trained to competence in the entire span of the Arabic literary tradition starting with pre-Islamic times, and secondary research languages were still rooted in the philological tradition of classical scholarship. The standard requirement was German, with Spanish as a distant second for those interested in Andalusia, but rarely French, say, or Italian or Russian. Other Middle Eastern languages were mainly conceived as primary-text languages rather than research languages. Philology, traditional literary history, and New Criticism formed the methodological boundaries of research. "Theory"—even when it purported to speak of the world outside Europe—was something that was generated by departments of English and comparative literature on the other side of campus, and crossings were rare and complicated in both the disciplinary and the institutional sense. Of course, one branch of "theory"—postcolonial studies—made its way into area studies much faster than the more eclectic offshoots of continental philosophy, for obvious reasons. From nationalism studies to subaltern studies, from Benedict Anderson to Gayatri Spivak, the wave of postcolonial critical theory that swept through U.S. academia in the 1980s and 1990s sparked an uprising in area studies at large and particularly in the literature disciplines. One of the first casualties of this uprising was the old historical paradigm itself: narratives of rise and fall, golden ages, and ages of decadence. Slowly but surely, scholars began to question the entire epistemological edifice through which Arabic literary history had been constructed by Orientalism. It was through the postcolonial theory of the 1980s that Arabic literature came to a broader rapprochement with poststructuralism: Foucault, Derrida, Ricoeur, Jameson, and White, to name a few of the major thinkers who began to transform the field in the late 1990s.


Translation of culture-bound terms is of special importance in translation theory and practice. The present study is an attempt to examine the procedures used in translating these terms in the English translations of the Holy Qur'an.  As  such,  English  equivalents  of  terms  related  to Practical laws of religion (Furū al-Dīn) in five English versions of the Qur'an are identified and the  translation  procedures  used  in  them  in  addition  to  the  frequency  of  occurrence  of  each procedure  have  been  examined.  The  study  reveals  that  literal  translation  is  not  only  the  most frequently used procedure but also the most appropriate one in translating such terms.


Sprints, Hackathons and Codefests are all names used for informal software developer meetings, especially popular in open source communities. These meetings, along side more traditional conferences, are a vital part of the international network of interactions between software developers working in bioinformatics and computational biology, and complement purely online interactions such as project mailing lists, online chat, web forums and more recently voice and video calls. This paper lays out how the events are organised and presents an overview on their achievements.


As of this writing in June 2016, the markets are predicting Venezuela to be on the brink of default. On June 1, 2016, the 6 month CDS contract traded at about 7000bps which translates into a likelihood of default of over 90%. Our interest in the Venezuelan crisis is that its outstanding sovereign bonds have a unique set of contractual features that, in combination with its near-default status, have created a natural experiment. This experiment has the potential to shed light on one of the long standing questions that sits at the intersection of the fields of law and finance, the question of the degree to which financial markets price contract terms. We find evidence to suggest that at least within the confines of a near-default scenario, the markets are highly sensitive to even small differences in contract language.


Tidal power is a growing industry in the world but particularly in the United Kingdom. Many companies have started the race to achieve a cheap and efficient tidal turbine design. For instance, Tidal Energy Limited has opted for an innovative design by incorporating three horizontal axis turbines in a triangular frame that will be lying on the seabed. This project is called "DeltaStream" and a test device will be placed in Ramsey Sound, in the Welsh coast.
The design of the project includes a yawing mechanism capable to turn the nacelle around the vertical axis in order for the turbines to face the tidal flow. This mechanism maximizes the power production as the tidal speed changes in direction every 6 hours. But it has another function. Due to the tidal speeds and the water density, the torque created in the rotor is very large. As Tidal Energy Ltd. has opted for an optimized blade design with no blade pitching mechanism, the only way to decrease the huge rotor torque in order to stop it is by the yawing of the nacelle away from the flow.
However, it is believed by the author of this thesis that the yawing mechanism can be improved in system redundancy terms, in relation with the important role that accomplishes in the overall turbine design. The present thesis is an analysis of the weakest points of the current yaw system design and an investigation in an alternative to be cheaper, simpler and improved in reliability terms.
The proposed design uses motors with reduction planetary gearboxes attached to the nacelle to drive the gear ring fixed on the tower structure. The new design is believed to be more reliable than the original due to the high level of redundancy. Nevertheless, it is not as cheap as expected due to a very expensive yaw brake system. In that point, the author recommends further investigation in the price reduction of that component without decreasing the level of brake fixation.


Navajo and other American Indian children are most affected by overweight and obesity in comparison to their US counterparts, and schools have become a focal setting for prevention interventions. The study applied an ecological and a cultural framework to analyze the various factors that influence the food choices available to students and the impact of these choices on childhood obesity. The overall purpose of this descriptive study was to examine and describe how schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are contributing to the diets of Navajo students since the passage of the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010. National data have shown that schools have not always supported a healthy food environment, and with no current data about the food environment of schools serving Navajo students, this study was designed to collect data from multiple sources that included survey questions with quantitative and qualitative questions, conversations with participants, and observations. As a baseline study, the results of this study addressed a number of areas. Overall, school lunches were meeting the nutrition standards by providing healthy food options, while a few schools also offered unhealthy foods through a la carte food options. Participants offered mixed views about students' nutrition behaviors. One on hand, students were making healthy food choices, but there were also concerns about food waste of nourishing foods. Further, students' access to unhealthy foods often displaced healthful food choices. From a policy and policy implementation perspective, there are areas where schools are doing well, and other areas that still need additional work. Schools have an opportunity to incorporate strategies to enhance their food environment, including finding ways to further strengthen and integrate Navajo culture teachings and practices that will ultimately create a school environment that reflects the teachings of Hozho', as well as restoring Hozho' in health and wellness within Navajo children.


Abstract. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of electronic and visual ear tags in animal traceability, and to investigate the effect of placement site on ear-tag retention in Akkaraman lambs under rural conditions. A total of 380 lambs were identified with electronic and visual ear tags. Electronic and visual ear tags displayed 98.9 and 98.7 % readability at the end of 7 months, and 98.0 and 98.0 % readability at the end of the first year after tagging, respectively. Regarding the placement site, it was observed that there was more loss in ear tags placed on the mid-point part of the ear than the first-quarter part from the head side, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Breakages and electronic failures were not recorded during this study. In conclusion, electronic and visual ear tags demonstrated similar on-farm efficiency for the identification of Akkaraman lambs and fulfilled the minimum efficiency of 98 % required by the International Committee for Animal Recording (ICAR) for an official animal identification device at the end of the first year after tagging. Based on the findings of the study, placement of the ear tag in a cranial position and near the base of the ear would be advised.


Abstract. The early Eocene (56 to 48 million years ago) is inferred to have
been the most recent time that Earth's atmospheric CO2 concentrations
exceeded 1000 ppm. Global mean temperatures were also substantially warmer
than those of the present day. As such, the study of early Eocene climate provides insight
into how a super-warm Earth system behaves and offers an opportunity to
evaluate climate models under conditions of high greenhouse gas forcing. The
Deep Time Model Intercomparison Project (DeepMIP) is a systematic
model–model and model–data intercomparison of three early Paleogene time
slices: latest Paleocene, Paleocene–Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) and early
Eocene climatic optimum (EECO). A previous article outlined the model
experimental design for climate model simulations. In this article, we
outline the methodologies to be used for the compilation and analysis of
climate proxy data, primarily proxies for temperature and CO2. This
paper establishes the protocols for a concerted and coordinated effort to
compile the climate proxy records across a wide geographic range. The
resulting climate "atlas" will be used to constrain and evaluate climate
models for the three selected time intervals and provide insights into the
mechanisms that control these warm climate states. We provide version 0.1 of
this database, in anticipation that this will be expanded in subsequent
publications.


In virtually all sectors of society, people are using data to improve what they do. Everyone, it seems, is interested in data, and is searching for best strategies to draw on its power. The stakes are high in the civil legal aid community, where strengthened advocacy can enable people to preserve their homes, their relationships with their children, their life savings, their physical and emotional well-being, and even their freedom.

Yet, in the civil legal aid community, awareness of the power of data is just beginning to take root. Traditionally, civil legal aid has been thinly funded, with little infrastructure or capacity for tracking data, and little consensus in the field as to what data should be tracked. Insofar as data is tracked, the focus in legal aid has traditionally been on "outputs": the kinds of details that include the number of cases handled or the nature of lawyering tasks performed. Only in recent years have leaders in the community begun to urge focusing increased attention on "outcomes" and the larger impacts those results may have in our society.

The value of outcomes data lies in its potential to enable legal aid programs to understand the impacts achieved through their work, to improve the quality of their work, and to help explain the value of their work to the public. Better data on outcomes, collected carefully and deliberately, is essential to accomplishing the goals of advocates, organizations, and clients, and to determining whether those goals are in fact being achieved. Intentional pursuit of outcomes data also prompts a valuable consideration of the views of clients and of those who work with them in the social services sector about what defines success for clients.

If a mantra exists in some places for using outcomes data to understand, improve, and explain civil legal aid, it is not yet pervasive in the legal aid community in New York City or in the national civil legal aid community. Among civil legal aid providers and funders who are enthusiastic about outcomes tracking, there is little consensus on best strategies and models. And, there are continuing concerns about the burdens of collecting data, the risks of over-relying on data, the limited practical value of data, and more. To some extent, the lack of consensus suggests room for progress: everyone we spoke with saw value in providers, funders, and client communities learn about the priorities for each constituency and working together.

In this article, we build on a series of interviews with leaders in the provider and funder communities to offer a snapshot of current perspectives on working with outcomes data. We also rely on insights provided by a panel of expert advisors (researchers, legal aid providers, experts in the use of data) and obtained through a review of the literature. We describe the conversations that are happening on the ground today about the leading issues in outcomes tracking, including the arguments for and against certain models and strategies, and the opportunities for moving forward with best practices.

In a first set of recommendations, we identify options for unlocking the power of outcomes tracking through practices that civil legal aid programs can pursue today, and that some providers and funders are already pursuing. First, we gather and endorse suggestions for simply using outcomes data effectively. Second, we urge connecting basic outcomes findings to "big goals:" specific, mission-related, achievements that are important to clients, for example, client safety, stability, family integrity, and more. Third, we recommend combining outcomes data with other data to understand and explain the importance of the work of legal aid programs. Fourth, we recommend increasing the level of communication between funders and providers, both to increase the value of data collected and reduce the burdens inherent in collecting it.

In a second set of recommendations, we highlight the importance of pursuing solutions to harder challenges in tracking outcomes. Our recommendations include developing systems for tracking "systemic advocacy," securing feedback from clients and from other service recipients about outcomes they achieve, generating better court data on litigant outcomes, and developing systems to track outcomes for clients who are referred elsewhere for services for their multiple legal needs.

In a third set of recommendations, we underline the importance of preserving the integrity of outcomes data at all times. We recommend that providers adopt a culture that supports the exercise of care in gathering, organizing, and analyzing data. Second, we recommend that programs take steps to manage the challenge of "causation" - the fact that multiple factors may contribute to winning and losing cases, and that an over-reliance on data can sometimes mislead audiences, or produce skewed incentives. More fundamentally, we encourage a consideration of multiple research strategies, including randomized controlled trials, as part of a larger message in support of using outcomes data while being mindful of the complexities that surround it.

As the civil legal aid community works to draw on that power, this article seeks to introduce the hard questions, capture the leading edge discussion about the answers, and explain, explore, and recommend best practices as a means of strengthening the funding and the provision of civil legal aid.


The efficiency of photovoltaic panels decreases as the panels' temperature increases, which results in deduction of electricity generation. In order to reduce this effect, different cooling methods were proposed and investigated. This paper reviews the previous work on cooling PV cells and concludes that the cost-effectiveness, design feasibility and minimal energy consumption are the important design consideration for cooling systems. Based on these considerations, this paper reports a passive cooling method that utilizes rainwater as cooling media and a gas expansion device to distribute the rainwater. The gas is thermally expanded from receiving solar radiation as such the amount of water it pushes to flow over the PV cells is proportional with the solar radiation it received. The paper reports a design and simulation of such a system for a domestic house application. In the paper, a relationship of the gas chamber size, solar radiation and gas expansion volume was established for evaluation with respect to the variation of gas temperature and the amount of rainwater used for cooling. A heat transfer model was used to evaluate the performance of the cells by cooling with this passive device. The results show that on a design day, the passive cooling system reduces the temperature of the cells and increases electrical efficiency of the PV panel by 8.3%. The payback period of this system is <14 years.


Compile-time code transformations which expose instruction-level parallelism (ILP) typically take into account the constraints imposed by all execution scenarios in the program. However, there are additional opportunities to increase ILP along some execution sequences if the constraints from alternative execution sequences can be ignored. Traditionally, profile information has been used to identify important execution sequences for aggressive compiler optimization and scheduling. The paper presents a set of static program analysis heuristics used in the IMPACT compiler to identify execution sequences for aggressive optimization. The authors show that the static program analysis heuristics identify execution sequences without hazardous conditions that tend to prohibit compiler optimizations. As a result, the static program analysis approach often achieves optimization results comparable to profile information in spite of its inferior branch prediction accuracies. This observation makes a strong case for using static program analysis with or without profile information to facilitate aggressive compiler optimization and scheduling.<<ETX>>


With an ever-expanding focus on reading and mathematics, many elementary schools have chosen to reduce time previously reserved for social studies. Elementary teachers who understand both the relevance of social studies content and the effectiveness of interdisciplinary teaching regularly incorporate applicable history-based children's tradebooks in their curricula. Locating developmentally appropriate books is simple. Teaching history using children's literature can be effective. It can be counterproductive, however, if the selected book is replete with historical misrepresentations. Teaching historical thinking in elementary school is problematic no matter what the teaching tool, and there are few methodological roadmaps for elementary teachers. Here, I first suggest ways for teachers to nurture elementary students' historical thinking using anecdotes from everyday activities and literature with themes germane to history and multiculturalism. Then, I suggest ways for elementary educators to locate and develop engaging, age-appropriate, and historically accurate curricular supplements. Using literature on Christopher Columbus as a reference point to facilitate young students' historical thinking, I propose an interdisciplinary approach, discipline-specific historical literacy strategies, and history-themed authentic assessments.


Copyright holders have long argued that they are suffering substantial commercial damage as a result of unauthorised sharing or distribution of their copyright works. There has been a considerable lobby by rights holders worldwide, which has resulted in a host of new legislation as well as court cases. Except for one or two headline cases in the United States this lobby has failed to make any impact on the problem.

Until the Digital Economy Act 2010, because of technology and the existing law, copyright owners have had limited legal protection against the infringement of their rights. The Digital Economy Act attempted to redress some of that balance but failed to provide copyright owners with the ability to achieve recompense for damage sustained or to protect, in a timely manner, their rights so as to avoid commercial damage.

Technology and the internet have and are developing at a pace far faster than can be accommodated by the law and/or the existing business models of copyright owners. Internet users, even the non-technically illiterate, have a view, which some would consider lawless, that promotes and encourages the abuse of the traditional property rights expressed in copyright.

Existing laws of privacy, telecommunications and common law decisions regarding third party responsibility have meant that those sharing copyright works can easily circumvent and defeat any attempt by copyright owners to enforce their rights. The Digital Economy Act was meant to redress the balance; however, the demands of privacy and proportionality have removed all possibility of rightsholders taking legal action. The proposed method of implementation also means that the limited courses of action provided under the Digital Economy Act are beyond the financial means of all but the largest rightsholder organisations.

This paper will examine the technological issues, existing related laws, and cases which have a direct impact on the application of those laws, and the changes, both legal and technological, which are due to come into effect during 2011/12.

Consideration will be given to the different methods of unauthorised distribution of copyright material using the internet. This will be related to technological developments and avoidance or 'cloaking' techniques. The paper will then analyse recent international and English case law which has highlighted the impossibility of rightsholders controlling and stopping such unauthorised distribution. In addition, the paper will consider the impact that the acts of 'rogue elements' of the internet community and the legal profession have had in frustrating the enforcement of a rights holder's property rights.

Finally, the paper will consider if it is possible, even with the implementation of IPV6, for the conflict of protection of interests in privacy and property rights to be resolved by legislative means or if the rights holders need to examine and pursue an alternate business model.


A common theme in probability theory is the approximation of complicated probability distributions by simpler ones, the central limit theorem being a classical example. Stein's method is a tool which makes this possible in a wide variety of situations. Traditional approaches, for example using Fourier analysis, become awkward to carry through in situations in which dependence plays an important part, whereas Stein's method can often still be applied to great effect. In addition, the method delivers estimates for the error in the approximation, and not just a proof of convergence. Nor is there in principle any restriction on the distribution to be approximated; it can equally well be normal, or Poisson, or that of the whole path of a random process, though the techniques have so far been worked out in much more detail for the classical approximation theorems. This volume of lecture notes provides a detailed introduction to the theory and application of Stein's method, in a form suitable for graduate students who want to acquaint themselves with the method. It includes chapters treating normal, Poisson and compound Poisson approximation, approximation by Poisson processes, and approximation by an arbitrary distribution, written by experts in the different fields. The lectures take the reader from the very basics of Stein's method to the limits of current knowledge.


It is today commonly acknowledged that rape is a weapon of war. This consensus
has been achieved in significant part through the efforts of feminist scholars and
activists. Yet the consensus hides a multiplicity of ways in which weapons of war
might function. This thesis uncovers and critically explores that variety.
First, it turns to questions of what makes a form of inquiry specifically feminist,
the better to understand the foundations for claims about rape as a weapon of
war. Having offered a critique of existing divisions of empiricist, standpoint and
postmodern feminisms (and of the distinction between feminism and gender
theory), the thesis proposes a view of feminism as critical explanation: as at once
explanatory, political and ethical inquiry. These view is expanded on through a
framework of modes of critical explanation: styles of reasoning that provide
analytical wagers, narrative scripts and normative orientations for feminist
inquiry.
Second, the thesis explores three such modes of critical explanation in relation to
wartime sexual violence. It argues that the modes of instrumentality, unreason
and mythology implicitly structure feminist claims about war rape. Each is
examined in turn, with particular attention to how the forms of explanation
mirror debates found in war studies and in social theory more generally. Each
mode is clarified and expanded on, resulting in sets of propositions for each mode
and in a clearer sense of where modes contradict each other and where they may
combine.
Third, this meta-theoretical and theoretical framework is applied to the specific
case of atrocity in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Working through
several kinds of empirical material (studies of sexual violence, histories of conflict
in the Great Lakes, data on economic dimensions of violence and testimony from
combatants and ex-combatants on the topic of sexual violence), the thesis shows
how 'the rape capital of the world' is best understood in terms of themes derived
from the modes of unreason and mythology. It explores retaliatory atrocity,
extractive sexual violence and fragmented sexual aggression as three situated
dynamics of violence. This part thus critiques a narrowly instrumentalist idea of
wartime sexual violence as a strategy of profiteering, whilst also attending to how
economic dimensions matter in the war complex as a whole.
The conclusion draws out consequences for further work, especially in relation to
a comparative project for the critical explanation of wartime sexual violence.


Abstract. The Middle Miocene Climatic Transition (MMCT, approximately 14 Ma) is a key period in Cenozoic cooling and cryospheric expansion. Despite being well documented in isotopic record, the causes of the MMCT are still a matter of debate. Among various hypotheses, some authors suggested that it was due the final closure of the eastern Tethys seaway and subsequent oceanic circulation reorganisation. The aim of the present study is to quantify the impact of varying Tethys seaway depths on middle Miocene ocean and climate, in order to better understand its role in the MMCT. We present four sensitivity experiments with a fully coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model. Our results indicate the presence of a warm and salty water source in the northern Indian Ocean when the eastern Tethys is deep open (4000 or 1000 m), which corresponds to the Tethyan Indian Saline Water (TISW) described on the basis of isotopic studies. This water source is absent in the experiments with shallow (250 m) and closed Tethys seaway, inducing strong changes in the latitudinal density gradient and ultimately the reinforcement of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Moreover, when the Tethys seaway is shallow or closed, there is a westward water flow in the Gibraltar Strait that strengthens the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) compared to the experiments with deep-open Tethys seaway. Our results therefore suggest that the shoaling and final closure of the eastern Tethys seaway played a major role in the oceanic circulation reorganisation during the middle Miocene. The results presented here provide new constraints on the timing of the Tethys seaway closure and particularly indicate that, prior to 14 Ma, a deep-open Tethys seaway should have allowed the formation of TISW. Moreover, whereas the final closure of this seaway likely played a major role in the reorganisation of oceanic circulation, we suggest that it was not the main driver of the global cooling and Antarctica ice-sheet expansion during the MMCT. Here we propose that the initiation of the MMCT was caused by an atmospheric pCO2 drawdown and that the oceanic changes due to the Tethys seaway closure amplified the response of global climate and East Antarctic Ice Sheet.


As the incumbent, William Howard Taft was the presumptive Republican nominee for President in 1912, but he faced a challenge from Theodore Roosevelt, his old friend and predecessor in the White House. Roosevelt enjoyed enormous personal popularity. Moreover, with that growing portion of the public - including many Republicans - whose sympathies were progressive, Roosevelt's views on several key issues had shifted sharply away from the traditional positions that remained bedrock for Taft and the conservative core of the party. Taft, however, controlled the party machinery and thus in most states the selection of delegates to the Republican national convention, making it impossible for Roosevelt to acquire the party's presidential nomination by conventional means. The only hope for Roosevelt lay in the popular primaries that had by 1912 taken hold in about a dozen states. His campaign rested on the theory that if he could show overwhelming support in the primary states, the political superiority of his prospects to Taft's would be obvious, and as a result the Republican organization would back him rather than Taft. The first step of the Roosevelt Republican nomination plan worked, but the second failed. He ran away with the vast majority of the primary states (including Taft's home state of Ohio), campaigning on the mix of progressive themes that he labeled "the New Nationalism," including a graduated income tax, expanded government control of big business through regulation rather than antitrust enforcement, direct primaries and election of Senators, initiative and referendum, women's suffrage, labor law reform, a "scientific" high tariff, and recall of judicial decisions. Roosevelt drew a total of 1,157,397 votes, to 761,716 for Taft and 351,043 for Robert La Follette, the progressive senator from Wisconsin. Taft nevertheless marshaled the party regulars and prevailed at the Republican national convention in June 1912. In response, Roosevelt and many of his supporters bolted to form the National Progressive Party (aka the Bull Moose Party). The Bull Moose forces, with less than five months to prepare for a national election, struggled with the problems shared by every national third party movement in the United States - lack of local political organization, lack of candidates for Congress and local and state offices in general, and (most importantly for Roosevelt) lack of established slates of presidential electors. Possible solutions varied from state to state, depending on local regulations and political conditions. In some states where Roosevelt was especially strong, progressives proposed to simply co-opt part or all of the local Republican organization, including Republican presidential electors, for the Bull Moose. Kansas was one such state, and after a majority of the certified Republican candidates for elector declared that given the opportunity they would vote for Roosevelt, Taft supporters went to court. The case eventually involved three members of the Supreme Court of the United States, in one way or another. Their responses speak to the precarious position of courts involved in resolving electoral disputes.


BACKGROUND
Despite a lack of medical evidence to support its therapeutic efficacy, the use of herbal medicine has increased considerably. Ginseng, one of the most widely used herbs, is hypothesized to play a role in carbohydrate metabolism and diabetes mellitus. We therefore undertook a preliminary short-term clinical study to assess whether American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L) affects postprandial glycemia in humans.

DESIGN
On 4 separate occasions, 10 nondiabetic subjects (mean [+/-SD] age, 34+/-7 years; mean [+/-SD] body mass index [BMI], 25.6 +/- 3 kg/m2) and 9 subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (mean [+/-SD] age, 62 +/- 7 years; mean [+/-SD] BMI, 29 +/- 5 kg/m2; mean [+/-SD] glycosylated hemoglobin A1c, 0.08+/-0.005) were randomized to receive 3-g ginseng or placebo capsules, either 40 minutes before or together with a 25-g oral glucose challenge. The placebo capsules contained com flour, in which the quantity of carbohydrate and appearance matched the ginseng capsules. A capillary blood sample was taken fasting and then at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 (only for subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus ) minutes after the glucose challenge.

RESULTS
In nondiabetic subjects, no differences were found in postprandial glycemia between placebo and ginseng when administered together with the glucose challenge. When ginseng was taken 40 minutes before the glucose challenge, significant reductions were observed (P<.05). In subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus, the same was true whether capsules were taken before or together with the glucose challenge (P<.05). Reductions in area under the glycemic curve were 18%+/-31% for nondiabetic subjects and 19+/-22% and 22+/-17% for subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus administered before or together with the glucose challenge, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
American ginseng attenuated postprandial glycemia in both study groups. For nondiabetic subjects, to prevent unintended hypoglycemia it may be important that the American ginseng be taken with the meal.


[Abstract]: This paper reports the findings of a sociolinguistic study which examined the language attitudes, acculturation strategies of the Dinka-speaking community in a regional Australian settlement. The paper is positioned in the context of language policy and planning both on the macro (official national) and micro (community-based) levels.

This project is set in a highly unique multilingual setting with sharp differences in the structure, corpus, status, and power features of each language represented. The Sudanese community, mainly from Southern Sudan, represents 4 separate Dinka language groups with 4 separate dialects: Dinka Bhar Al Gazel, Dinka Bor, Neur and Dinka Ngok. The majority of Dinka in Toowoomba are from the Dinka Bor group, but they are highly multilingual and use Arabic, Acholi and Kiswahili as local lingue france. These 'low-status' codes are in sharp contrast with the 'powerful' host language, English. Given these sharp differences and the complexity of multilinguality, it is crucial to explore whether 'status-seeking behaviour' (Ager, 2001) will shape the future of the less prestigious languages.

The regional Australian context is significant from two main perspectives. Firstly, there is increased policy focus on refugee settlement in regional and rural areas as they offer the 'highest degree of community support' (DIMIA, 2003 p. 27). The government recommends that 'humanitarian entrants settle in regional areas to enhance their prospects of early employment and help meet regional economies' demand for semi-skilled workers' (DIMIA, 2003 p. 27). With this long-term strategic plan, the settlement of refugees in regional areas will be a high research priority from policy perspectives. Secondly, the regional context (as opposed to major urban) is a strong factor in language shift studies. It is well documented in the literature that regional and rural communities have different language maintenance shift patterns due to the demographic characteristics.

The paper, firstly, gives a brief overview of current immigration, language and settlement policies in Australia. Then, the paper reports the survey data collected from 67 Dinka speakers in 8 schools and the main findings of the interview data conducted in 10 households. Attitudes and motivations for the maintenance for the Dinka language will be discussed and contrasted with attitudes to Arabic and Kiswahili as well as the the explicit desires of the community to exit the refugee identity and fit-into the mainstream Australian community. Findings of this study are applicable to other communities and have strong implications for building better links between macro- and micro-level language planning.


ABSTRACT The main tenet of the Expressive Writing procedure is that by disclosing stress related emotions and thoughts in writing, one may experience improved physical and psychological health. The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the differentiated effect of two Expressive Writing tasks on female freshmen: the classic task and the classic task enhanced with REBT. Our results indicate that both tasks succeed to significantly reduce levels of depression, nevertheless, only the classic task enhanced with REBT is able to enhance other aspects of the affective life as well. On the other hand, neither task is able to induce significant increases in positive affect. KEYWORDS: emotional disclosure, expressive writing, REBT. (ProQuest: ... denotes formula omitted.) INTRODUCTION Like it or not, stress in its various manifestations and effects, is a real presence in our life. Since it is one of the most important factors for both maintaining and impairing human functioning (Selye, 1976), one could say that it is both a friend and an enemy. If one handles stress adaptively, it could be used in one's own advantage (for example, stress turned into an incentive for further adaptive actions). On the other hand, the literature abounds in well-documented evidence regarding the effects of maladaptive management of intense (traumatic) short- or long-term stressors, moderate long-term distress, or even cumulative minor stressors. These different forms of stress may all seriously impair different aspects of functioning (cognitive, behavioral, physiological, emotional, social, etc.) (Aldwin, 2007; McEwen, 1998; Spiegel, 1999). Obviously, stress bothers us and impairs our functioning most when it becomes our 'enemy'. Maladaptive reactions to stress (on either level of its manifestation), "can disrupt virtually all aspects of our lives" (Pennebaker, 2007, p. xiii). In time, by recalibrating or readjusting specific coping mechanisms, one may overcome the negative effects of stress. Sadly, the number of those who fail doing so is increasing; the percentage of individuals complaining of and being diagnosed with pathological levels of mental and emotional disorders is constantly growing (Green Paper, 2005). Emotions: shared and disclosed The expression and sharing of one's emotions after confronting stressful events is an innate, natural need of most individuals (Rime, 2007). Anthropology has recounted that for ages, humans (especially Westerners, but not exclusively) have appealed to this form of relief both in normal and ritualistic contexts (secular or religious, private or public) with the specific purpose of healing (different forms of symbolic healing, for more see Davis-Floyd, 1992; Georges, 2007). In most Western cultures, confession-like forms of disclosure have a long history both in folk understanding and much recently for specialists as well. At different periods of time, one of the major roles of confessional disclosure was that of facilitating self-knowledge (...), either for being able to compare behavior in order to overcome defects (e.g., Stoics), or for exposing hidden thoughts and sins, thus attaining relief (e.g., Christian fate) (for more see Georges, 2007). Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. James 5:16 Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 Later, when confession became mandatory in most Christian religious systems, the 'treatment' of sins via confession got embedded in depth in folkunderstanding as well (Georges, 2007). Early forms of psychotherapy borrowed the function of self-disclosure, slowly altering the primarily religious purposes into more medical ones (Georges, 2007). Since "with few exceptions, the medium by which people come to alter their self-perceptions is language" (Pennebaker & Graybeal, 2001, p. …


Much debate surrounding teacher quality has focused on students' standardized test scores, but recent federal and state initiatives have emphasized the use of multiple measures to evaluate teacher quality, including classroom observations. In this study, we explore differences across school districts in the relationship between student achievement outcomes and the observed quality of teachers' instruction. Using data from 298 elementary mathematics teachers in five urban US districts, we examine relationships between teachers' performance on the Mathematical Quality of Instruction observation instrument and their students' scores on both state standardized and researcher-developed tests. We find that these relationships differ across school districts. We explore the extent to which differences in skills and expectations for students across tests may explain this variability. An improved understanding of the relationship between classroom observations and student tests may help districts to better support teachers in developing their instructional effectiveness.


India is one among the ten fastest growing economies in the world but suffers in terms of literacy contributing to 34% of the world's illiterate population. In India English is the primary language for government, business and education along with Hindi. The Indian system of education is primarily divided into two categories, the government and the private sector. 29% of the students in India are from the private sector. The rest are from the government schools, which are predominantly for the rural population. But the condition of government schools in India is pathetic in terms of Infrastructure. Other than two or three states all the other Indian states have very poor educational statistics. More children are enrolled in the government schools than ever before but the quality of education in these schools has considerably sunk to very low levels. This paper explains the current Indian Education System and why it has to be improved. This paper discusses the history of Indian education system and the changes it has undergone and the consequences that led for shaping the current education sector in India. And this paper also discusses the results and outputs of both the private and public education system in India, which leads to the thesis for designing a Built Environment that intensifies a Child's all round development. The primary goal is to design a built-environment that enhances Children's all round development.


What is the relationship between music and dance? Specifically, when choreographers interpret music with movement, what in the music are they responding to? When faced with ambiguities in the music, such as conflicting meters, how do choreographers choose which paths to pursue? With the aim of addressing these questions, fourteen professional choreographers from Europe, Brazil, and the United States were recruited to participate in a survey. This included a) general questions about how they use music when choreographing, and b) specific questions concerning four short musical tracks taken from the second movement of Maurice Ravel ́s String Quartet in F Major. Regarding the general questions, responses revealed that choreographers have very different approaches to incorporating music in their working methods. Nevertheless, regarding the specific questions, answers v showed striking consistency in how individual musical passages would be interpreted. In a second, exploratory study, aimed at achieving ecological validity, five student choreographers (undergraduate and graduate students at the University of New Mexico) were asked to create and perform a solo dance to the complete second movement of Ravel ́s String Quartet. These performances were videotaped, and each video was analyzed (somewhat following Hodgins, 1992) for rhythmic, dynamic, textural, structural, and articulative qualities. The music was then analyzed along similar dimensions, and the results were compared. Musically ambiguous passages (e.g. those with conflicting meters) were of special interest, as they demonstrate the variety of interpretations that choreographers have, and presumably that listeners do too.


The aim of the present study was to evaluate T-cadherin expression at the early developmental stages of the mouse embryo. Using in situ hybridization and immunofluorescent staining of whole embryos in combination with confocal microscopy, we found that T-cadherin expression is detected in the developing brain, starting with the E8.75 stage, and in the heart, starting with the E11.5 stage. These data suggest a possible involvement of T-cadherin in the formation of blood vessels during embryogenesis.


Lake sediments in the Larsemann Hills contain a great diversity of biological and physical markers from which past environments can be inferred. In order to determine the timing of environmental changes it is essential to have accurate dating of sediments. We used radiometric (210Pb and 137Cs), radiocarbon (AMS 14C) and uranium series (238U) methods to date cores from eleven lakes. These were sampled on coastal to inland transects across the two main peninsulas, Broknes and Stornes, together with a single sample from the Bolingen Islands. Radiometric dating of recent sediments yielded 210Pb levels below acceptable detection limits. However, a relatively well-defined peak in 137Cs gave a date marker which corresponds to the fallout maximum from the atmospheric testing of atomic weapons in 1964/65. Radiocarbon (AMS 14C) measurements showed stratigraphical consistency in the age-depth sequences and undisturbed laminae in some cores provides evidence that the sediments have remained undisturbed by glacial action. In addition, freshwater surface sediments were found to be in near-equilibrium with modern 14CO2 and not influenced by radiocarbon contamination processes. This dating program, together with geomorphological records of ice flow directions and glacial sediments, indicates that parts of Broknes were ice-free throughout the Last Glacial Maximum and that some lakes have existed continuously since at least 44 ka bp. Attempts to date sediments older than 44 ka bp using 128U dating were inconclusive. However, supporting evidence for Broknes being ice-free is provided by an Optically Stimulated Luminescence date from a glaciofluvial deposit. In contrast, Stornes only became ice-free in the mid to late Holocene. This contrasting glacial history results from the Dålk Glacier which diverts ice around Broknes. Lakes on Broknes and some offshore islands therefore contain the oldest known lacustrine sediment records from eastern Antarctica, with the area providing an ice-free oasis and refuge for plants and animals throughout the Last Glacial Maximum. These sediments are therefore well placed to unravel a unique limnological sequence of environmental and climate changes in East Antarctica from the late Pleistocene to the present. This information may help better constrain models of current climate changes and ensure the adequate protection of these lakes and their catchments from the impacts of recent human occupation.


Since 2016 the World Bank has explored a wide range of country experiences in delivering better water supply and sanitation services. The analyses led to publication of three new global frameworks for designing water reforms: Policy, Institutional, and Regulatory Incentives, which looks at the broader sector enabling environment; Water Utility Turnaround Framework, which looks at utility-level reforms; and Maximizing Finance for Development, which looks at shifting the financing paradigm to reach the Sustainable Development Goals. The three frameworks—individually and as a compendium—set forth the key principles of a more holistic approach to reform that diverges from the traditional focus on infrastructure economics to a deeper understanding of the behavior of and between sector institutions and of the people within those institutions. Each country-specific reform path will gradually bring the sector to higher degrees of maturity with a strong focus on improving financial sustainability. This summary note integrates the three lines of work—utility reform, sector reform, and sector finance—for readers to understand the critical links between the three spheres. New contributions of this note are a Maturity Matrix for assessing where a country is in its reform process and where it wants to go and a Maturity Ladder that identifies typical actions to move from one stage of maturity to the next. Tools and references are also provided to help governments start on their reform path.


Agricultural activities are the main livelihood for about 70% of Tanzania9s population, with women being the main players. Crops need water (crop water requirements, CWRs) for their growth and production, which can either be rain-fed or irrigation sourced. However, climate change has affected the hydrological cycle, particularly water available for agricultural crops. Since impacts and consequently adaptation are site-specific, an assessment of the effects of climate change on maize water requirements in Kikafu sub-catchment was conducted using a crop simulation model, CROPWAT. Accordingly, climate scenarios were obtained from A2 emission scenario using three general circulation models (GCMs). These scenarios were downscaled at two site locations using the Long Ashton Research Station Weather Generator (LARS-WG) model. The baseline period for the change analysis was 1971–2000. The CWRs are projected to increase by 3.8% in the 2020s and 7.1% in the 2050s at the Moshi Airport and 19.9 and 22.4% at Lyamungu station, respectively. More impact is projected to be during 70–80 days of the development stage and the entire mid-season (81–140 days) whereby the temperature will be high but with low precipitation. With the increasing CWRs, better adaptation measures are increase crop diversification, restore soil organic matter and change cropping systems as established through the multi-criteria analysis.


Trends in climate variables important to winegrape production in the western United States include fewer frost days, longer growing seasons, and higher spring and growing season tem- peratures. These trends have been related to a steady increase in wine quality and a decrease in year-to-year variability. While the trends in climate have been linked to increasing sea surface tem- peratures in the eastern Pacific, it is unknown whether this is caused by climate change or may be part of natural oscillations in the Pacific. In this study, 15 climate variables important to winegrape production were analyzed for 10 wine regions over the western USA. The variables were stratified by phases of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), both separately and then in combination (modulation effect) to determine if there are any significant dif- ferences between teleconnections. 'Wine Spectator' vintage ratings for Cabernet Sauvignon wines from the Napa Valley were also stratified by the same method, and multivariate statistics were used to determine which variables are most important to wine quality. ENSO phase by itself was not found to be important to either climate variability in wine regions in the western USA or wine quality in Napa Valley, but the cold phase of the PDO was found to be associated with increased spring frosts and a shorter growing season that results in lower ratings relative to warm PDO. The combination of neutral ENSO conditions during the cold phase of the PDO was nearly always associated with low quality wine in the Napa Valley, which is a function of cold springs with increased frost risk, cool growing seasons, and ripening period rainfall (cold PDO), and above-average bloom and summer rainfall (neutral ENSO). Although climate trends toward generally warmer growing seasons with less frost risk have occurred, this research highlights the impact of climate variability on wine quality where, should the PDO return to a multi-decadal cold phase, wine growers in the Napa Valley and across the western USA will likely experience greater variability in wine quality.


In the horizon of the infinite. – We have left the land and have embarked! We have burned our bridges behind us – indeed, we have gone further and destroyed the land behind us! Now, little ship, look out! Beside you is the ocean: to be sure, it does not always roar, and at times it lies spread out like silk and gold and reveries of graciousness. But hours will come when you will realize that it is infinite and that there is nothing more awesome than infinity. Oh, the poor bird that felt free and now strikes the walls of this cage! Woe, when you feel homesick for the land as if it had offered more freedom – and there is no longer any 'land'!


The events of 9/11 had a profound impact on American society, but they had an even more lasting effect on Muslims living in the United States. Once practically invisible, they suddenly found themselves overexposed. By describing how Islam in America began as a strange cultural object and is gradually sinking into familiarity, "Finding Mecca in America" illuminates the growing relationship between Islam and American culture as Muslims find a homeland in America. Rich in ethnographic detail, the book is an up-close account of how Islam takes its American shape. In this book, Mucahit Bilici traces American Muslims' progress from outsiders to natives and from immigrants to citizens. Drawing on the philosophies of Simmel and Heidegger, Bilici develops a novel sociological approach and offers insights into the civil rights activities of Muslim Americans, their increasing efforts at interfaith dialogue, and the recent phenomenon of Muslim ethnic comedy. Theoretically sophisticated, "Finding Mecca in America" is both a portrait of American Islam and a groundbreaking study of what it means to feel at home.


In 1982, construction of the Zilwaukee Bridge in Michigan was disrupted when the launching truss failed to hold a precast concrete segment near Pier 11N, severely deflecting the cantilever and damaging the pier. The pier was salvaged by casting a new footing around the base of the pier columns, supported by reinforced concrete columns down to bedrock. Temporarily freezing the earth around and beneath the fractured footing helped stabilize the structure and holes were drilled through it for the new columns. The superstructure was jacked clear of the repaired pier columns so that new bearings could be placed, and finally it was lowered into proper place. Extensive instrumentation throughout this project allowed constant monitoring so that the repairs could be made safely.


Environmental oxygen availability certainly plays a key role in the evolution of polar marine life, as suggested by the physiological and biochemical strategies that the organisms have adopted to acquire, deliver and scavenge oxygen.
The psychrophilic Antarctic bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125 gives the opportunity to explore the cellular strategies adopted in vivo by cold-adapted microorganisms to cope with cold and high oxygen concentration. Within vertebrates, the dominant suborder Notothenioidei of the Southern Ocean is one of the most interesting models to study the evolutionary biological responses to extreme environment.
Hemoproteins of cold-adapted organisms are likely to fulfil important physiological roles, not only in delivering oxygen to cells, but also in protecting them from the nitrosative and oxidative stress.
This thesis will in particular focus on: (i) the structural and functional features of globins of the Antarctic marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas haloplanktis TAC125, (ii) the role of neuroglobin (Ngb) recently identified in the brain of Antarctic notothenioid fish.
The genome of the cold-adapted bacterium P. haloplanktis TAC125 contains multiple genes encoding three distinct monomeric hemoglobins (Hbs) exhibiting a 2/2 -helical fold (2/2Hb). One of these 2/2Hb (Ph-2/2HbO) has been over-expressed and characterised by spectroscopic analysis, kinetic measurements and computer simulation approaches (Howes et al., 2011; Giordano et al., 2011). The results indicate unique adaptive structural properties, that overall confer higher flexibility to the protein and may facilitate its functioning in the cold by providing greater freedom for the correct positioning of ligand(s). Similar to Ngb, the recombinant protein is hexacoordinated in the ferric and ferrous forms, and shows a strong dependence on pH (Howes et al., 2011; Giordano et al., 2011).
Polar fish are a suitable model to learn more about the function of globins in the brain, and especially about their role in species devoid of Hb and Myoglobin (Mb).
The finding that Antarctic icefishes retain the Ngb gene despite having lost Hb, and Mb in most species, suggests a crucial function. The function of Ngb needs to be ascertained, because it may have important implications in the physiology and pathology of the brain.
The first structural model of fish Ngb was described using molecular dynamics simulations. Specifically, Ngb genes from a colourless-blooded Antarctic icefish species (Chaenocephalus aceratus), and a related red-blooded species (Dissostichus mawsoni), were cloned, the recombinant proteins were expressed and purified, and then sequenced and analysed. Both Antarctic fish Ngbs are hexacoordinated, but have some peculiarities that differentiate them from mammalian counterparts: they have extensions in the N and C termini, interacting with the EF loop, and a gap in the alignment that changes the CD-region structure/dynamics, that has been found to play a key role in human Ngb.
The adaptive modifications to compensate for the effects of low temperature appear to primarily rely on a higher flexibility of key parts of the molecular structure and/or decreased overall stability. At all levels analysed, the functionally most crucial adaptation to permanently low temperatures apparently requires molecular flexibility to support cell functioning. Proteins are the major targets for the ensuing mechanisms of adaptation.


Objective: To compare the accuracy measures of the random glucose test and the 50-g glucose challenge test as screening tests for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Research Design And Methods: In this prospective cohort study, pregnant women without preexisting diabetes in two perinatal centers in the Ebonyi State underwent a random glucose test and a 50-g glucose challenge test between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation. If one of the screening tests exceeded predefined threshold values, the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed within 1 week. Furthermore, the OGTT was performed in a random sample of women in whom both screening tests were normal. GDM was considered present when the OGTT (reference test) exceeded predefined threshold values. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the performance of the two screening tests. The results were corrected for verification bias. Results: We included 1,301 women. The OGTT was performed in 322 women. After correction for verification bias, the random glucose test showed an area under the ROC curve of 0.69 (95% CI 0.61– 0.78), whereas the glucose challenge test had an area under the curve of 0.88 (0.83– 0.93). There was a significant difference in area under the curve of the two tests of 0.19 (0.11– 0.27) in favor of the 50-g glucose challenge test. Conclusions: In screening for GDM, the 50-g glucose challenge test is more useful than the random glucose test.


This Perspective article highlights some of the traditional and non-traditional analytical tools that are presently used to characterize aqueous inorganic nanoscale clusters and polyoxometalate ions. The techniques discussed in this article include nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), dynamic and phase analysis light scattering (DLS and PALS), Raman spectroscopy, and quantum mechanical computations (QMC). For each method we briefly describe how it functions and illustrate how these techniques are used to study cluster species in the solid state and in solution through several representative case studies. In addition to highlighting the utility of these techniques, we also discuss limitations of each approach and measures that can be applied to circumvent such limits as it pertains to aqueous inorganic cluster characterization.


This work describes the development of a simulation tool which allows the simulation of the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), the transmission and the vehicle dynamics. It is a control oriented simulation tool, designed in order to perform both off-line (Software In the Loop) and on-line (Hardware In the Loop) simulation. In the first case the simulation tool can be used in order to optimize Engine Control Unit strategies (as far as regard, for example, the fuel consumption or the performance of the engine), while in the second case it can be used in order to test the control system.

In recent years the use of HIL simulations has proved to be very useful in developing and testing of control systems. Hardware In the Loop simulation is a technology where the actual vehicles, engines or other components are replaced by a real time simulation, based on a mathematical model and running in a real time processor. The processor reads ECU (Engine Control Unit) output signals which would normally feed the actuators and, by using mathematical models, provides the signals which would be produced by the actual sensors.

The simulation tool, fully designed within Simulink, includes the possibility to simulate the only engine, the transmission and vehicle dynamics and the engine along with the vehicle and transmission dynamics, allowing in this case to evaluate the performance and the operating conditions of the Internal Combustion Engine, once it is installed on a given vehicle. Furthermore the simulation tool includes different level of complexity, since it is possible to use, for example, either a zero-dimensional or a one-dimensional model of the intake system (in this case only for off-line application, because of the higher computational effort).

Given these preliminary remarks, an important goal of this work is the development of a simulation environment that can be easily adapted to different engine types (single- or multi-cylinder, four-stroke or two-stroke, diesel or gasoline) and transmission architecture without reprogramming. Also, the same simulation tool can be rapidly configured both for off-line and real-time application. The Matlab-Simulink environment has been adopted to achieve such objectives, since its graphical programming interface allows building flexible and reconfigurable models, and real-time simulation is possible with standard, off-the-shelf software and hardware platforms (such as dSPACE systems).


We analyse a general equilibrium model in which there is both adverse selection of and moral hazard by banks. The regulator has two tools at her disposal to combat these problems - she can audit banks to learn their type prior to giving them a licence, and she can impose capital adequacy requirements. When the regulator has a strong reputation for screening she uses capital requirements to combat moral hazard problems. For less competent regulators, capital requirements substitute for screening ability. In this case the banking system exhibits multiple equilibria so that crises of confidence in the banking system can occur. We also show that in either case, a system of deposit insurance funded through general taxation will be welfare-improving and will allow capital requirements to be eased.


Macrophages from mice bearing large D1-DMBA-3 mammary tumors have a decreased capacity to kill tumor targets. This effect is due to an impaired ability to produce nitric oxide (NO) in response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. Here we report that the DA-3 tumor cell line, derived from the in vivo adenocarcinoma D1-DMBA-3, produces a factor that inhibits both NO production/release and cytotoxicity of LPS-activated peritoneal exudate macrophages (PEM). However, other complex macrophage functions such as phagocytosis, superoxide production, mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity, and synthesis of proteins were not reduced by this factor. The NO inhibitor has been found to be lipid in nature. Lipid extracts from DA-3 cell culture supernatants were purified by repeated silica gel column chromatography. The active molecule was unambiguously characterized as phosphatidyl serine (PS) by fast atom bombardment tandem mass spectrometry. Preliminary results indicate a lack of induced NO synthase (iNOS) activity in the lysates of LPS-activated PEM pretreated with PS. The ubiquity of PS in the inner leaflet of biological membranes and its NO inhibitory property, suggest that this phospholipid may be one of the long elusive molecules responsible for regulating physiological levels of NO in the host and hence preventing cellular dysfunction and/or tissue damage. Furthermore, the possible overexpression and shedding of PS by DA-3 tumor cells may represent a novel mechanism to impair macrophage cytotoxicity, a host function that contributes to the protection against developing neoplasms.


Social media allows people in the disaster area to communicate disaster information, to the people outside the disaster area, more quickly and accurately. Unfortunately, there are limited researches that examine the use of Twitter by people in the disaster sites. This study aims to explore the use of Twitter by users in the disaster-affected areas. We use the feature of twitter geolocation, to separate information from inside and outside the disaster site. This research gives depiction about communication behavior of people in the affected disaster area, through social media. The result showed that people in disaster location use twitter to give first-hand report, coordinate rescue effort, provide help and express grief. In addition, by focusing on the affected area, Twitter used by lay people is usually found rather than other users. From the segment of time, the researcher finds a number of tweets that will increase each day. Users will share more information the days after rather, than the day of disaster. In practical term, this research explores the used of social media by the victims of disaster, which can encourage effective communication to people or group outside the location; theoretically, this research gives more detail understanding about shared information from the people in the disaster place.


Physician-leaders are needed to address the widening gap in health disparities in an increasingly complex health care system. To be effective leaders, physicians need specific training; yet despite its importance, leadership training is rarely addressed during graduate medical education. As a result, most physician leadership training occurs after residency training. To address this gap in medical education, in 2004 the authors developed the Pediatric Leadership for the Underserved (PLUS) program at the University of California, San Francisco. The PLUS program incorporates leadership development into the framework of standard clinical training by providing specific sessions in personal leadership development and in related skills such as team building, negotiation, and conflict management. Leadership training is explicitly tied to clinical experiences to maximize relevance and opportunities for "real-time" application of new skills and knowledge. In addition, the curriculum includes sessions to develop and implement a three-year longitudinal child health project. Trainees are organized into advising groups to provide structured faculty and peer-peer advising. Key lessons learned in the implementation include the importance of having a skill-based, rather than a topic-based curriculum, and of exposing trainees to concrete examples of the many career paths of physician-leaders. Early outcomes from 2004 to 2009 include program evaluation data, trainee accomplishments, and postgraduate careers. This paper aims to inform other training programs about the development and feasibility of a residency program that incorporates leadership and underserved medicine curricula into the framework of standard clinical training.


A significant challenge to make learning techniques more suitable for general purpose use in AI is to move beyond i) complete supervision, ii) low dimensional data and iii) a single label per instance. Solving this challenge would allow making predictions for high dimensional large dataset with multiple (but possibly incomplete) labelings. While other work has addressed each of these problems separately, in this paper we show how to address them together, namely the problem of semi-supervised dimension reduction for multi-labeled classification, SSDR-MC. To our knowledge this is the first paper that attempts to address all challenges together. In this work, we study a novel joint learning framework which performs optimization for dimension reduction and multi-label inference in semi-supervised setting. The experimental results validate the performance of our approach, and demonstrate the effectiveness of connecting dimension reduction and learning.