The trace element composition of individual fluid inclusions was investigated by using synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence for analysis and Monte Carlo simulations for quantification. To validate the input parameters of the Monte Carlo simulation code for the applied spectrometer, area scan measurements on synthetic standard reference glasses (NIST 612 and NIST 610) were performed. Results yielded an accuracy of generally better than 20 % for all elements with Z between 37 and 92 at a standard deviation of less than 7 %. The analytical procedure was then applied to synthetic inclusions in quartz: single point analysis yielded an accuracy between 10 and 30 % with a reproducibility of ± 20 % and a repeatability of ± 7 % for the elements Cu, Rb, Sn and Cs. Ten trace elements (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Nb, Sn, Sb, Cs) with concentrations between 2 and 10500 ppm were determined in fluid inclusions of hydrothermal quartz hosts from the Ehrenfriedersdorf Complex, Germany. Inclusions of three evolutionary stages of the Ehrenfriedersdorf Complex were studied. Vapour-rich inclusions of the pegmatite stage have low concentrations of all elements with Z > 20. Inclusions of the hydrothermal stage record progressive enrichment and differentia- tion in trace elements. Fluids of the early hydrothermal stage are enriched in Sn, Cu and As. Subsequently, they evolve to Fe-, Mn-, Zn- and Cs-rich fluids.


Image-based rendering techniques are used extensively in interactive electronic games. Most frequently image-based rendering appears in the form of texture mapping when a photograph or image is used to represent a complex object's appearance. Texture mapping has several significant limitations, the primary one being that only a single lighting condition is captured. If dynamic lighting is needed, texture mapping alone is insufficient. This report describes some existing techniques to solve this problem as well as a technique for image-based lighting developed at HP Labs. Our method, Polynomial Texture Mapping (PTM) uses biquadtatic polynomials at every texel to reconstruct surface appearances under varying lighting conditions. Unlike previous methods, PTMs can capture complex illumination effects such as selfshadowing and interreflections.Our method can be efficiently implemented on programmable graphics hardware which is common to most current and future electronic gaming platforms.


We comprehensively simulate and experimentally demonstrate a novel approach to generate tunable electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in a fully integrated silicon photonics circuit. It can also generate tunable fast and slow light. The circuit is a single ring resonator with two integrated tunable reflectors inside, which form an embedded Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity inside the ring cavity. The mode of the FP cavity can be controlled by tuning the reflections using integrated thermo-optic tuners. Under correct tuning conditions, the interaction of the FP mode and the ring resonance mode will generate a Fano resonance and an EIT response. The extinction ratio and bandwidth of the EIT can be tuned by controlling the reflectors. Measured group delay proves that both fast light and slow light can be generated under different tuning conditions. A maximum group delay of 1100 ps is observed because of EIT. Pulse advance around 1200 ps is also demonstrated.


Social studies education has had a turbulent history as one of the core subjects in the school curriculum. The fundamental content of the social studies curriculum – the study of human enterprise across space and time –however, has always been at the core of educational endeavors. It is generally accepted that the formal introduction of social studies to the school curriculum was instigated by the 1916 report of the National Education Association's Committee on Social Studies, which emphasized development of citizenship values as a core aim of history and social science education. Earlier commissions of the N.E.A. and American Historical Association heavily influenced the Committee on Social Studies recommendations. The roots of the contemporary social studies curriculum, therefore, can be traced to two distinct curriculum reform efforts: the introduction of academic history into the curriculum and citizenship education. There is widespread agreement that the aim of social studies is citizenship education, that is the preparation of young people so that they possess the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for active participation in society. This apparent consensus, however, has been described as almost meaningless because social studies educators continue to be at odds over curricular content as well as the conception of what it means to be a good citizen. Since its formal introduction into the school, social studies curriculum been the subject of numerous commission and blue-ribbon panel studies, ranging from the sixteen-volume report of the American Historical Association's Commission on Social Studies in the 1930s to the more recent movement for national curriculum standards. Separate and competing curriculum standards have been published for no less than seven areas of that are part of the social studies curriculum: United States and global history, economics, geography, civics, psychology, and social studies. Social studies curriculum is defined a lack of consensus and has been an ideological battleground with ongoing debates over its nature, purpose, and content. Historically there have been a diverse range of curricular programs that have been a prominent within social studies education at various times, including the life adjustment movement, progressive education, social reconstructionism, and nationalistic history. The debate over the nature, purpose, and content of the social studies curriculum continues today, with competing groups variously arguing for a social issues approach, the disciplinary study of history and geography, or action for social justice as the most appropriate framework for the social studies curriculum.


Aims There is increasing evidence that immune mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of heart failure (HF). The relationship between neopterin and the risk of HF has yet to be investigated on a large scale. We assessed the relationship between neopterin, a novel marker of monocyte activation, and risk of hospitalization for HF. Methods and results Among the subjects of Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy-Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction 22 trial, 3946 had neopterin levels measured at study entry, on average 7 days after acute coronary syndrome (ACS). We assessed the relationship between neopterin and hospitalization for HF, and for death or HF over 2 years mean follow-up in a post hoc analysis using Cox regression models. Unadjusted hospitalization rates for HF increased across quartiles of neopterin, from 0.66 to 3.97 per 100 person-years. Per 1SD increment in log (neopterin), the adjusted risk of HF increased by 34% [hazard ratio (HR) 1.34, CI 1.10-1.64; P = 0.004]. Even after excluding individuals with a prior history of HF or recurrent ischaemic events, the relationship between neopterin and HF hospitalization remained significant. When added to a multivariable Cox model of HF-risk containing traditional risk factors, C-reactive protein and brain natriuretic protein (BNP), the further addition of neopterin significantly improved the HF-risk prediction model by likelihood ratio test analysis (P = 0.005), C-statistic (increasing from 0.743 to 0.773; P = 0.027), integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) analysis (P = 0.001), but not net reclassification improvement (NRI) analysis (P = 0.406). Similar results were obtained for the endpoint of death or HF. Conclusion Neopterin levels are an independent predictor of HF hospitalization, and improve risk prediction over and above conventional biomarkers.


The emergence of a knowledge-based economy has been identified as a central trend in modern economies as a result of the increasingly important role of information technology and learning in economic performance. In recognition of this most governments throughout the developed world have responded with a series of policy initiatives since the late 1990's to either introduce or significantly increase information technology provision in schools to prepare students for life in the twenty first century. Ireland, with its growing reliance on the knowledge economy sector for employment and continued economic prosperity, developed its own policy initiative for computerizing the nations' schools known as"Schools IT 2000: A Policy Framework for the New Millennium". It was an ambitious programme with high expectations for the integration of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) in education. This paper examines two longitudinal educational ICT projects in Ireland in the first decade of the new millennium to query how far schools have travelled along the information superhighway and to ponder how well the catalytic capabilities of ICT have become embedded in the realities of classroom life and teachers pedagogic practices, with attendant implications for Ireland's economic development.


In this paper we introduce an application for tablet devices with Android operating system called The Music Puzzle.This work is part of an ongoing projectcalled The Soundparki?œUsing modern smartphones to create interactive listening experiences for hearing impaired. In the Soundpark, we intend to provide different experimental applications for interacting with sound. The aim of the presented study was to create interactive and game-inspired listening experiences for persons with hearing impairmens (and possibly using hearing aids or having cochlea implants). Audio-based programs constitute a significant part of the Android market, but the scopes of existing applications are limited. Modern smart devices open up new possibilities both in terms of usingexternal information as input and providing real-time audio feedback to the user, and the Music Puzzle has a novel approach that explores the new possibilities.


Building on the theory of interface automata by de Alfaro and Henzinger we design an interface language for Lynch's I/O automata, a popular formalism used in the development of distributed asynchronous systems, not addressed by previous interface research. We introduce an explicit separation of assumptions from guarantees not yet seen in other behavioral interface theories. Moreover we derive the composition operator systematically and formally, guaranteeing that the resulting compositions are always the weakest in the sense of assumptions, and the strongest in the sense of guarantees. We also present a method for solving systems of relativized behavioral inequalities as used in our setup and draw a formal correspondence between our work and interface automata.


Abstract The editors scan approximately 120 journals in all disciplines for reviews of serial publications. Journals published since July 2000 were monitored for this installment of Serials Review Index. Suggestions for journals to be included in future columns are welcome. Serials Review 2002; 28:232–239.


Salt formation has extensively been studied as a strategy to improve drug solubility but it has not been explored as a strategy to improve mechanical properties. A better understanding of which factors of the solid state can have an influence in the mechanical properties of pharmaceutical powders can help to optimise and reduce cost of tablet manufacturing. The aim of this study was to form different series of amine salts of flurbiprofen, gemfibrozil and diclofenac and to establish predictive relationships between architectural characteristics and physicochemical and mechanical properties of the salts. For this purpose, three different carboxylic acid drugs were selected: flurbiprofen, gemfibrozil and diclofenac, similar in size but varying in flexibility and shape and three different series of counterions were also chosen: one with increasing bulk and no hydroxyl groups to limit the hydrogen bonding potential; a second one with increasing number of hydroxyl groups and finally a third series, related to the latter in number of hydroxyl groups but with different molecular shape and flexibility. Physico-chemical characterization was performed (DSC, TGA, solubility, intrinsic dissolution rate, particle size, true density) and mechanical properties measured using a compaction replicator. Strained molecular conformations produce weaker compacts as they have higher energy than preferred conformations that usually lie close to energy minimums and oppose plastic deformation. It was observed that slip planes, which correspond to regions of weakest interaction between the planes, were associated with improved plasticity and stronger compacts. Apart from hydrogen bonds, profuse van der Waals forces can result in ineffective slip planes. Salts displaying two-dimensional densely hydrogen bonded layers produced stronger compacts than salts showing one-dimensional networks of non-bonded columns, probably by reducing the attachment energy between layers. When hydrogen bonds are created intramolecularly, it is possible that the mechanical properties are compromised as they do not contribute so much to create twodimensional densely bonded layers and they can force molecules into strained conformations. Some types of hydrogen bonding network may be associated with improved mechanical properties, such as type II, or R (10) 3 4 using graph-set notation, versus type III, or R (12) 4 8 , columns. This work clearly demonstrates the potential of investigating crystal structure-mechanical property relationship in pharmaceutical materials.


Ideas about green cities have been around for centuries, however it seems that these ideas have been sidetracked by a strange mixture of opposites: neoclassical economics and town planning regulations. On the one hand contemporary economics has divorced itself from ecology and on the other, town planning regulation, originally based on garden city ideas, has helped to facilitate cities where 'nature' is idealised, 'packaged and confined to parks and gardens. This paper suggests there needs to be a creative tension between the economic and ecological dimensions if a city is to emerge.

If a vision for Greener City is going to be realised then we need to place this quest within the historical context of those who have struggled with this tension, from writers such as Morris, Ruskin, Howard, Geddes, Mumford, Jacobs, Schneider and McHarg. This lineage has attempted to resolve the contradictions of the industrial city- how to be human and green- or the need for an 'organic" process that sees nature and the city as indivisible. But it seems the modern city (ecosystem), particularly those based on the sprawl based model of Los Angeles , are neither human nor green, and seem to be heading towards collapse ecologically, economically and socially.

The contemporary urban ecology movement, which is now a dominant feature of present urban discussions around the world (at both a professional and activist level) is part of this historical lineage in trying to resolve these issues, but now the stakes are much higher.

Thus it is important to examine our attitudes to the city and how they are influenced by urban philosophers such as those listed above. But often we have been influenced by anti-urban writers who leading urban greening programs that become tokenistic and excuses for people to try and hide urban problems rather than solve them, eg urban sprawl, traffic and waste water.

In this paper we will then show how the tension in these traditions has influenced urban form and the potential for greening, before providing some insights from contemporary physics, ecological economics and ecological design as a basis for the way forward.


A simple model for estimating the hydrograph at the outlet of a reach crossing a flood-prone area is investigated. The first part of the model involves routing of the inflow hydrograph through an ideal reach with infinite vertical extension of the walls. The second part routes the flow which determines a two-dimensional flooding (outbank flow) through a linear reservoir whose storage coefficient is linked with geometric features of the flood plain. The model was applied to various geometric configurations representative of real areas in Central Italy. Its calibration and validation were carried out by comparison of the results of a diffusion hydrodynamic model. The hydrodynamic model incorporates two-dimensional overland flow and one-dimensional open channel flow. The two models were in substantial agreement, as revealed by similar shape characteristics of the corresponding hydrographs and by the values of the peak runoff error which were lower than 15% of the maximum outbank flow. Model validity was also confirmed by a comparison of its results with observed outflow hydrographs.


The present paper offers an alternative way of estimating the mean expected cost of raw materials so as to improve the estimation of the expected total productcost without expanding beyond the framework of measuring and controlling the efficiency of the business. Apart from the estimation methodology proposed, the paper also focuses on the implications of the variance between expected and actual raw materials cost. In this respect, the paper is potentially interesting for managers because it offers new information that can help their decision making process in three different ways: first, it may help managers to redefine the targets of their business; second, it offers managers the insights that could help them take the required corrective actions; and third, it helps managers to better analyze the raw-materials variances in a way that the prevailing estimated cost is both realistic and effective.


PURPOSE
To reconstruct the transcriptional profile of the human adult retina and the genomic map of the genes expressed in this tissue.

METHODS
Original software was used for the retrieval and analysis of records from UniGene (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/UniGene/) pertaining to selected cDNA libraries from adult human retina.

RESULTS
The 4974 genes reported so far to be expressed in retina were included in a catalog available on the Internet. For each entry, an estimation of the level of expression of the corresponding gene in the retina was provided. A high-resolution genomic map of the human retina was built up by inclusion of 3152 genes showing a precise and unique map assignment. The correspondence was established between 53 gene-orphan retinal diseases and clusters of genes expressed in the retina.

CONCLUSIONS
The in silico reconstruction of the transcriptional profile of the adult human retina provides preliminary information on the pattern of genomic expression in this tissue. The chromosomal location of many retinal genes, combined with their expression data, should speed up the identification of genes involved in retinal diseases.


We transformed an upper-division physics course using a variety of elements, including homework help sessions, tutorials, clicker questions with peer instruction, and explicit learning goals. Overall, the course transformations improved student learning, as measured by our conceptual assessment. Since these transformations were multi-faceted, we would like to understand the impact of individual course elements. Attendance at tutorials and homework help sessions was optional, and occurred outside the class environment. In order to identify the impact of these optional out-of-class sessions, given self-selection effects in student attendance, we performed a multiple regression analysis. Even when background variables are taken into account, tutorial attendance is positively correlated with student conceptual understanding of the material - though not with performance on course exams. Other elements that increase student time-on-task, such as homework help sessions and lectures, do not achieve the same impacts.


Can a complex site, such as an urban park, be better understood through a game? Might this playful preparation be useful for design? In response to such questions, this paper discusses a practical project that structured design-oriented site research as a de-velopment, implementation and deployment of a locative mobile game in which designers learn by racing colonies of virtual organisms. The analysis of this experiment demonstrates that this approach can support creativity and provide benefits compatible with goals of ecological design.


Today the automotive industry is faced with the demand to build light fuel-efficient vehicles while optimizing its crashworthiness and stiffness. A wide variety of new metallic and polymeric materials have been introduced to account for these increased requirements. Numerical analysis can significantly support this process if the analysis is really predictive. Within the numerical model a correct characterization of the material behaviour – including elasto-viscoplastic behaviour and failure - is substantial. The particular behaviour of each material group must be covered by the material model. The user material model MF GenYld+CrachFEM allows for a modular combination of phenomenological models (yield locus, strain hardening, damage evolution, criteria for fracture initiation) to give an adequate representation of technical materials. This material model can be linked to LS-DYNA when using the explicit-dynamic time integration scheme. This paper gives an overview on the material characterization of ultra high strength steels (with focus on failure prediction), non-reinforced polymers (with focus on anisotropic hardening of polymers), and structural foams (with focus on compressibility and stress dependent damage evolution) with respect to crash simulation. It will be shown that a comprehensive material model - including damage and failure behaviour - enables a predictive simulation without iterative calibration of material parameters. A testing programme has been done for each material group in order to allow a fitting of the parameters of the material model first. In a second step different component tests have been carried out, which were part of a systematic procedure to validate the appropriate predictions of the crash behaviour with LS-Dyna and user material MF_GenYld+CrachFEM for each material group.


Abstract. The paper presents an experiment demonstrating a novel and successful application of delay- and disruption-tolerant networking (DTN) technology for automatic data transfer in a karst cave early warning and measuring system. The experiment took place inside the Postojna Cave in Slovenia, which is open to tourists. Several automatic meteorological measuring stations are set up inside the cave, as an adjunct to the surveillance infrastructure; the regular data transfer provided by the DTN technology allows the surveillance system to take on the role of an early warning system (EWS). One of the stations is set up alongside the railway tracks, which allows the tourist to travel inside the cave by train. The experiment was carried out by placing a DTN "data mule" (a DTN-enabled computer with WiFi connection) on the train and by upgrading the meteorological station with a DTN-enabled WiFi transmission system. When the data mule is in the wireless drive-by mode, it collects measurement data from the station over a period of several seconds as the train without stopping passes the stationary equipment, and delivers data at the final train station by the cave entrance. This paper describes an overview of the experimental equipment and organization allowing the use of a DTN system for data collection and an EWS inside karst caves where there is regular traffic of tourists and researchers.


The article highlights brief theoretical aspects of the origin of distance learning tracing the experience of foreign counties as well as Ukraine's practice in this regard. The paper outlines practical and social aspects of distance education; definition of what successful distance learning should look like; effective solution to the problem of implementing distance or blended learning by the academic staff of the Precarpathian national University. The necessity of engaging both teachers and students in integrating innovative digital technologies in academic process of education institutions to ensure a quality level of practical classes, creating favorable conditions for self-realization and professional development of future primary school teachers is substantiated. Major accent is placed on the efficiency of the use of particular digital tools like Kahoot, Mentimeter, Pear Deck and Flipgrid for innovative organization of education environment, creative presentation of theoretical information, consolidating students' knowledge, practical skills and abilities, formative and summative assessment of learning outcomes, development of students' competences within certain courses, as well as systematic professional self-improvement. It was found out that among the difficulties most often faced by the education institutions in working with students was identified as follows: providing equal access to online or blended education under the condition of Coronavirus pandemic in rural, mountain and low-income communities, etc. The authors proved the quality of introduction and application of distance learning at the Pedagogy Faculty of the PNU in the process of teaching/studying the academic courses of the language and literature cycle can be assessed by means of the mentioned in the research digital instruments. This will contribute to the practical orientation of the educational process, active participation of each student in the learning process, increasing motivation and engagement in all forms of cooperation in the education environment.


IZA DP No. 14258 APRIL 2021 Measuring National Life Satisfaction with Music National life satisfaction is an important way to measure societal well-being and since 2011 has been used to judge the effectiveness of government policy across the world. However, there is a paucity of historical data making limiting long-run comparisons with other data. We construct a new measure based on the emotional content of music. We first trained a machine learning model using 191 different audio features embedded within music and use this model to construct a long-run Music Valence Index derived from chart-topping songs. This index correlates strongly and significantly with survey-based life satisfaction and outperforms an equivalent text-based measure. Our results have implications for the role of music in society, and validate a new use of music as a long-run measure of public sentiment. JEL Classification: C8, N3, N4, O1, D6


Gixhari B., Pavelkova M., Ismaili H., Vrapi H., Jaupi A., Smýkal P. (2014): Genetic diversity of Albanian pea (Pisum sativum L.) landraces assessed by morphological traits and molecular markers. Czech J. Genet. Plant Breed., 50: 177–184. In order to investigate the genetic diversity present in the pea germplasm stored in the Albanian genebank, we analyzed 28 local pea genotypes of Albanian origins for 23 quantitative morphological traits, as well as 14 retrotransposonbased insertion polymorphism (RBIP) molecular markers. The study of morphological characters carried out during three growing seasons (2010, 2011 and 2012) had the objective of characterization of traits useful in breeding pro grams. RBIP marker analysis revealed the genetic similarity in range from 0.06 to 0.45. ANOVA, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis was used to visualize the association among different traits. Most of the quantita tive morphological traits showed significant differences. PCA and cluster analysis (Ward's method) carried out for morphological traits divided the local pea genotypes into three clusters. Finally, the study identified the agronomicaly important traits which will facilitate the maintenance and agronomic evaluation of the collections.


Monthly means, seasonal variances, and trends of a global climatology boundary layer height (BLH) over West Africa are presented based on 36 years (1979 - 2014) of six-hourly ERA-Interim reanalysis. In this region, we found that there is a link between the West Africa Monsoon (WAM) and the monthly means of BLH where largest values of BLH variances are developed in the tropics close to the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). High temperatures and sufficient moisture are also available close this area. Seasonal trend magnitudes vary from -20 to 20 m per decade during the period 1979 - 2014 and characterize by negative trend over east of the Sahara region. Trends are only included in the analysis, if their probability exceeds the 95% significance level. Case study of diurnal variation was done during the African monsoon multidisciplinary analyses Special Observing Period 3 (AMMA SOP3) experiment (August 2006). We found that the lower boundary-layer appears around 875 hPa in the monsoon layer where the wind decreases at midday in interac-tion through exchange processes with air originating from above the boundary layer. In the same time, the dust in Saharan Air Layer (SAL) seems to modify the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) thermodynamic attributes by altering the shortwave and longwave radiative budget.


OBJECTIVES
To study the relative efficacy of three different treatment for chronic low back pain (CLBP). Two preplanned comparisons were made: (a) Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) combined with trunk strengthening exercises (TSE) vs. SMT combined with trunk stretching exercises, and (b) SMT combined with TSE vs. nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) therapy combined with TSE.

STUDY DESIGN
Interdisciplinary, prospective, observer-blinded, randomized clinical trial with a 1-yr follow-up period. The trial evaluated therapies in combination only and was not designed to test the individual treatment components.

SETTING
Primary contact, college out-patient clinic.

PATIENTS
In total, 174 patients aged 20-60 yr were admitted to the study.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Patient-rated low back pain, disability, and functional health status at 5 and 11 wk.

INTERVENTIONS
Five weeks of SMT or NSAID therapy in combination with supervised trunk exercise, followed by and additional 6 wk of supervised exercise alone.

RESULTS
Individual group comparisons after 5 and 11 wk of intervention on all three main outcome measures did not reveal any clear clinically important or statistically significant differences. There seemed to be a sustained reduction in medication use at the 1-yr follow-up. in the SMT/TSE group. Continuance of exercise during the follow-up year, regardless of type, was associated with a better outcome.

CONCLUSION
Each of the three therapeutic regimens was associated with similar and clinically important improvement over time that was considered superior to the expected natural history of long-standing CLBP. For the management of CLBP, trunk exercise in combination with SMT or NSAID therapy seemed to be beneficial and worthwhile. The magnitude of nonspecific therapeutic (placebo) effects, cost-effectiveness and relative risks of side effects associated with these types of therapy need to be addressed in future studies.


Abstract It is widely recognized that substance abuse increases the general risk of delinquency and violent offenses in particular. Substance-related disorders are the primary cause of offenders being sentenced to mandatory treatment in forensic psychiatry. However, instead of a mono-causal link between addiction and violence, additional risk factors must be assumed. The current study examined the relations between psychopathy, empathy and general personality traits and their role in statistically predicting violent crimes of substance-abusing offenders. The sample consisted of 164 male and female forensic inpatients with substance-related disorders. They were administered the German versions of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI-R), the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI-R) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (SPF). The psychopathy factor Impulsive Antisociality (IA) emerged as a positive statistical predictor of violent offenses, while Fearless Dominance (FD) served as a negative predictor. The Big Five factors and empathy domains failed to statistically predict violence, despite showing significant correlations with the psychopathy factors. Hence, substance-abusing violent offenders display a distinct pattern of personality characteristics with IA being associated with high Neuroticism, low Agreeableness and low Conscientiousness, as well as high Personal Distress and low Perspective Taking. IA therefore reflects a maladaptive trait that is overrepresented in forensic settings.


This article explores the neglected issue of the over-representation in the child protection system of children from ethnic, cultural, religious, racial, and linguistic minorities. It focuses on the accommodation of children's diverse backgrounds within the s31(2) threshold and s1 "best interests" stages of intervention under the Children Act 1989. Firstly, it introduces the ethnic child protection penalty as a new tool for capturing the complex nature of over-representation of these children. Secondly, it proposes a framework for understanding the judicial approach in higher court decisions on the current extent and nature of accommodation. Thirdly, it employs the penalty concept to help explain why case law analysis reveals difficulties with the current factor-based approach, whereas empirical research suggests generally satisfactory accommodation in practice. It concludes by proposing a contextualised framework for decision-making in relation to child protection.


Deformable image registration, contour propagation and dose mapping have become common, possibly essential tools for modern image-guided radiation therapy. Historically, these tools have been largely developed at academic medical centers and used in a rather limited and well controlled fashion. Today these tools are now available to the radiotherapy community at large, both as stand-alone applications and as integrated components of both treatment planning and treatment delivery systems. Unfortunately, the details of how these tools work and their limitations are not generally documented or described by the vendors that provide them. Although "it looks right", determining that unphysical deformations may have occurred is crucial. Because of this, understanding how and when to use, and not use these tools to support everyday clinical decisions is far from straight forward. The goal of this session will be to present both the theory (basic and advanced) and practical clinical use of deformable image registration, contour propagation and dose mapping. To the extent possible, the "secret sauce" that different vendor use to produce reasonable/acceptable results will be described. A detailed explanation of the possible sources of errors and actual examples of these will be presented. Knowing the underlying principles of the process and understanding the confounding factors will help the practicing medical physicist be better able to make decisions (about making decisions) using these tools available.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Understand the basic (101) and advanced (201) principles of deformable image registration, contour propagation and dose mapping data mapping. 2. Understand the sources and impact of errors in registration and data mapping and the methods for evaluating the performance of these tools. 3. Understand the clinical use and value of these tools, especially when used as a "black box".


The National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), introduced since 2008, has become an alternative data source for the South African poverty and inequality analyses. In addition to the fact that NIDS is the first national panel study of individuals in South Africa, it is also the only survey that allows the respondents to report income and expenditure as both a single estimate, 'one-shot' amount and an aggregate amount derived from the sum of the amounts for sub-categories. The latter variable, after imputations, was the preferred variable for deriving the poverty and inequality estimates. This paper examines if the poverty and inequality estimates are significantly different, using both the single estimate and the aggregate (before and after imputations) income and expenditure variables.


This paper compares two classes of models that allow for additional channels of correlation between asset returns: regime switching models with jumps and models with contagious jumps. Both classes of models involve a hidden Markov chain that captures good and bad economic states. The distinctive feature of a model with contagious jumps is that large negative returns and unobservable transitions of the economy into a bad state can occur simultaneously. We show that in this framework the filtered loss intensities have dynamics similar to self-exciting processes. Besides, we study the impact of unobservable contagious jumps on optimal portfolio strategies and filtering.


The GREATER CLEVELAND ROUNDTABLE, a nonprofit private organization founded in 1981 by leaders from the business, education, labor, civic, and religious organizations to improve multicultural and multiracial relations in the city of Cleveland and facilitate minority economic inclusion in Northeast Ohio. At its inception, the Roundtable's Board of Trustees, chaired by E. Mandel de Windt, hired Sarah Short Austin, formerly with the National Urban Coalition, as executive director. The membership of the privately funded Roundtable was composed of 60 leading representatives of business, labor, churches, suburbs, neighborhood organizations, social agencies, and the black community who were committed to shaping an inclusive urban community, one that invites the social and economic participation of all racial and ethnic groups in Cleveland. Accordingly, the Roundtable discussions centered around five major problem areas: public education, economic development, housing, neighborhood development, and race relations. Among the causes the group supported were: the 1984 CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS levy (the first successful one in 12 years), the need for a domed stadium, and the management crisis at the CUYAHOGA METROPOLITAN HOUSING AUTHORITY. In 1993, the Intercultural Community Council was organized by the Roundtable to promote intercultural dialogue and cooperation through education. The Roundtable adopted a more proactive outlook in 2003, seeking to institute constructive change in the community through public discourse and training. In 2004, the Greater Cleveland Roundtable joined the GREATER CLEVELAND GROWTH ASSOCIATION and CLEVELAND TOMORROW in forming the Greater Cleveland Partnership, an organization focused on improving the local economy and fostering racial harmony. Danny R. Williams served as the CEO and president of the Roundtable prior to the merger.Throughout its history, the Greater Cleveland Roundtable cooperated extensively with local organizations and businesses to better the community economically as well as socially. Working with the National Conference for Community and Justice and the PLAIN DEALER, the Roundtable launched Project CommUnity: Different People. Common Ground. with the aim of furthering understanding among men and women, blacks and whites, the able-bodied and the disabled, and fostering an awareness of and appreciation for diversity in Cleveland. The Cleveland Commission on Economic Partnerships and Inclusion was organized by the Roundtable, Cleveland Tomorrow, the Greater Cleveland Growth Association, and the URBAN LEAGUE OF GREATER CLEVELAND to collaborate with local businesses in increasing workplace diversity. The Roundtable also launched the Cleveland Residential Housing and Mortgage Credit Project in cooperation with the FEDERAL RESERVE, the Cuyahoga CountyDepartment of Development, and Ohio Civil Rights Commission to increase awareness of lending discrimination among the business community and work with local lending institutions to remedy existing problems. In collaboration with the City of Cleveland and Cleveland Tomorrow, the Roundtable organized the Minority Economic Opportunity Center Growth Association to foster minority entrepreneurship, encourage the hiring and promotion of minorities, and provide development counseling and unemployment services. In addition to these collaborative ventures, the Roundtable offered custom-made diversity education programs to leaders of communities with shifting racial populations. The work of the Greater Cleveland Roundtable was largely funded by grants from prominent local foundations and businesses, the GUND FOUNDATION, the CLEVELAND FOUNDATION, and EATON CORPORATION.


Preface Part I. Physics Concepts in Social Science? A Discussion: 1. Classical, statistical and quantum mechanics: all in one 2. Econophysics: statistical physics and social science 3. Quantum social science: a non-mathematical motivation Part II. Mathematics and Physics Preliminaries: 4. Vector calculus and other mathematical preliminaries 5. Basic elements of quantum mechanics 6. Basic elements of Bohmian mechanics Part III. Quantum Probabilistic Effects in Psychology: Basic Questions and Answers: 7. A brief overview 8. Interference effects in psychology - an introduction 9. A quantum-like model of decision making Part IV. Other Quantum Probabilistic Effects in Economics, Finance and Brain Sciences: 10. Financial/economic theory in crisis 11. Bohmian mechanics in finance and economics 12. The Bohm-Vigier Model and path simulation 13. Other applications to economic/financial theory 14. The neurophysiological sources of quantum-like processing in the brain Conclusion Glossary Index.


Web evaluation has been a standard information literacy offering for years and has always been a challenging topic for instruction librarians. Over time, the authors had tried a myriad of strategies to teach freshmen how to assess the credibility of Web sites but felt the efforts were insufficient. By familiarizing themselves with the cognitive development research, they were able to effectively revamp Web evaluation instruction to improve student learning. This article discusses the problems of traditional methods, such as checklists; summarizes the cognitive development research, particularly in regards to its relationship to the ACRL Information Literacy Standards; and details the instructional lesson plan developed by the authors that incorporates cognitive development theories.


The 3D Additivist Cookbook, devised and edited by Morehshin Allahyari & Daniel Rourke, is a free compendium of imaginative, provocative works from over 100 world-leading artists, activists and theorists. The 3D Additivist Cookbook contains .obj and .stl files for the 3D printer, as well as critical and fictional texts, templates, recipes, (im)practical designs and methodologies for living in this most contradictory of times.

In March 2015 Allahyari & Rourke released The 3D Additivist Manifesto, a call to push the 3D printer and other creative technologies, to their absolute limits and beyond into the realm of the speculative, the provocative and the weird. The 3D Additivist Cookbook is composed of responses to that call, an extensive catalog of digital forms, material actions, and post-humanist methodologies and impressions.

#Additivism is a portmanteau of additive and activism: a movement concerned with critiquing 'radical' new technologies in fablabs, workshops, and classrooms; at social, ecological, and global scales. The 3D Additivist Cookbook questions whether it's possible to change the world without also changing ourselves, and what the implications are of taking a position.


In 1980, an experimental opencast lignite mine was developed to compare redistributed A horizon with three minesoil mixtures as growth media for woody plants. The three minesoil mixtures contained different amounts and types of overburden materials, and normal reclamation practices were followed. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.), sawtooth oak (Quercus acutissima Carruthers), yaupon (Ilex vomitoria Ait.), honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii Maxim.), water oak (Q. nigra L.), white oak (Q. alba L.), longleaf pine (P palustris Mill.), and Osage-orange (Maclura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid.) were planted in each reclaimed soil. Survival and growth of all eight species were good on all soils. Therefore, replacement of the A horizon is not always necessary to satisfactorily revegetate lignite minesoils. Tree


Research into small-scale fisheries is often insufficient, resulting in limited data, because this type of fishery is inevitably constrained by financial considerations. This creates a challenge to provide adequate information to support sustainable management, particularly given the shift from single species management to more integrated spatial and multi-species management and, ultimately, to ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM). Striped trumpeter (Latris lineata) is widely distributed around the temperate latitudes of the southern hemisphere. The species is iconic to Tasmania where it supports a small commercial fishery, and it is increasingly targeted by recreational fishers. This fish is common on most rocky reefs between 50 – 250 m around Tasmania. However, the historical
data for striped trumpeter from Tasmania is patchy in time and space, reflecting opportunistic sampling over many years. Using striped trumpeter as an example of a small-scale data-limited fishery, this study applies a variety of techniques to describe key biological and ecological processes required for sustainable fisheries management.
The study was divided into three themes. First, standard and novel analytical techniques were applied to evaluate data to provide key biological parameters required for
single-species assessment. Second, stock structure was investigated on both local and global scales using molecular techniques and otolith morphometrics. Finally, recruitment processes were investigated based on otolith microchemistry and modelling of larval dispersal.
Seasonal growth variability was observed over the first five years, with growth rates peaking approximately one month after the observed peak in sea surface temperature. The oldest fish in this study was 43 years. Lifetime growth was modelled using a modified twophase von Bertalanffy growth function, with the transition between growth phases linked to changes in physiological and life history traits, including offshore movement as fish approach maturity.
Total mortality was estimated using catch curve analysis based on the standard and two-phase von Bertalanffy growth functions, and estimates of natural mortality were calculated using two empirical models, one based on longevity and the other based on the parameters L1 and k from both growth functions.
The spawning season around Tasmania occurs in the austral spring, with peak spawning activity in September and October. Size at 50% maturity was estimated at 543 mm fork
length (FL) for females (estimated age = 6.8 years) and 529 mm FL for males (estimated age = 6.2 years). Striped trumpeter is a multiple spawner with batch fecundity estimates ranging from 205,054 for a 2 kg fish (540 mm FL) to 2,351,029 for a 9.5 kg fish (800 mm FL). At the current minimum legal size limit of 450 mm total length (equivalent to approximately 425 mm FL), yield-per-recruit was estimated to be close to maximum, and spawning biomass-per-recruit (SPR) ranged from 35 – 52% of virgin stock, depending on the mortality estimates used.
Otolith morphometrics, in particular elliptical Fourier analysis of otolith shape, indicated little to no connectivity between the striped trumpeter population of Tasmania and the St. Paul/ Amsterdam Island populations. A molecular assessment of mtDNA confirmed this finding. In addition, the DNA sequence analysis indicated that the New Zealand striped trumpeter population was genetically distinct from the Tasmanian and St. Paul/ Amsterdam
Island populations. DNA sequence analysis also indicated that the population around Tasmania is a single population.
The affinity of juvenile striped trumpeter to inshore reefs has been suggested from anecdotal fishing observations. Using otolith microchemistry the comparative contribution of juvenile striped trumpeter from shallow inshore habitats to the adult population was estimated.
Juvenile striped trumpeter from a strong recruitment pulse (1993 cohort) were collected at age two from inshore reefs and as adults at age six from deeper offshore reefs around the coast of Tasmania. Natural variations were identified in the concentrations of lithium and strontium within the incremental structure of the observed otoliths. Discriminant
analysis suggested that 70% of adults sampled originated from an inshore juvenile habitat, 13% were from deeper reefs and 17% could not be statistically allocated with
confidence.
An integrated bio-physical larval dispersal model was developed in an attempt to explain the high degree of inter-annual recruitment variability displayed by this species. The model utilised information developed through the course of this study on reproductive biology, ontogenic habitat preferences and stock structuring as well as additional information on striped trumpeter larval biology from aquaculture trials to generate realistic scenarios.
While the model was unable to accurately predict observed interannual recruitment variability, it did provide insights to important source and settlement regions as well as the importance of the addition of biological components, such as: timing of spawning, growth and mortality.
Through efficient data-mining, novel methods and technological advancements this study has provided robust scientific advice to support the management of the striped trumpeter fishery. Information has been collated to support traditional single-species management and also for developing spatial fisheries measures, leading to a more ecosystem based approach to fisheries management. Otoliths proved to be valuable in several areas, and small-scale fisheries would be advised to initiate otolith collections even though analysis may not be planned for some time. This study demonstrates how targeted research could be used in other small-scale data limited fisheries in a cost effective manner to provide information for sustainable management.


Abstract:Charles Darwin's profound interest in Austen's novels—Persuasion (1817) in particular—is well known. This article offers a new interpretation of Persuasion as a pre- Darwinian novel, concerned with the processes of natural selection and evolution in human societies. Many of the discoveries and theories that Darwin drew on in developing his work on evolution came about in the late eighteenth century. We are accustomed to reading Victorian literature in a Darwinian context, but research into the impact of geological and paleontological discoveries on the literature of the romantic period is scant, despite explicit references in, for example, Shelley's Prometheus Unbound (1820) and Charlotte Smith's Beachy Head (1807). In Persuasion, Austen offers examples of successful evolution, and also of the failure of some individuals to survive in their environments. Sir Walter Elliot, Austen writes, "had not had principle or sense enough to maintain himself in the situation in which Providence had placed him." The romantics' newly formed understanding of the process of extinction, led by a growth in the study of fossils, forms the background to this novel in which Austen radically questions the desirability of the very existence of the British landowning classes, concluding: "They were gone who deserved not to stay." Austen's ultimate ambivalence about the survival of her culture's values and even its members takes on new significance when read in light of novels that import romantic tropes of exile in the face of ecological cataclysm.


With the emergence of Docker, it becomes easier to encapsulate applications and their dependencies into lightweight Linux containers and make them available to the world by deploying them in the cloud. Compared to hypervisor-based virtualization approaches, the use of containers provides faster start-ups times and reduces the consumption of computer resources. However, Docker lacks of deployability verification tool for containers at design time. Currently, the only way to be sure that the designed containers will execute well is to test them in a running system. If errors occur, a correction is made but this operation can be repeated several times before the deployment becomes operational. Docker does not provide a solution to increase or decrease the size of container resources in demand. Besides the deployment of containers, Docker lacks of synchronization between the designed containers and those deployed. Moreover, container management with Docker is done at low level, and therefore requires users to focus on low level system issues. In this paper we focus on these issues related to the management of Docker containers. In particular, we propose an approach for modeling Docker containers. We provide tooling to ensure the deployability and the management of Docker containers. We illustrate our proposal using an event processing application and show how our solution provides a significantly better compromise between performance and development costs than the basic Docker container solution.


Space-geometric measures are proposed to explain the location of fixations during wayfinding. Results from an eye tracking study based on real world stimuli are expanded to include findings based on the location of fixations. The gaze bias shows that attention is paid specifically to structural elements in the built environment. Three space geometric measures are proposed: sky area, floor area and longest line of sight. Together with the finding that participants choose the more connected street, a relationship is proposed between the individual cognitive processes that occur during wayfinding and relative street connectivity measured through space syntactic techniques.


A high étendue static Fourier transform spectral imager has been developed for airborne use. This imaging spectrometer, based on a Michelson interferometer with rooftop mirrors, is compact and robust and benefits from a high collection efficiency. Experimental airborne images were acquired in the visible domain. The processing chain to convert raw images to hyperspectral data is described, and airborne spectral images are presented. These experimental results show that the spectral resolution is close to the one expected, but also that the signal to noise ratio is limited by various phenomena (jitter, elevation fluctuations, and one parasitic image). We discuss the origin of those limitations and suggest solutions to circumvent them.


A number of protection criteria were implemented by the Swedish regulator PTS in order to protect the GSM-R operations in Sweden. In order to protect the GSM-R receivers from interference and blocking, two different constraints were implemented: First, a limitation of the "out-of-band" emissions from the mobile operators' existing base stations operating in the 900MHz band was implemented. Secondly, a limitation of the aggregated power received over the railroad within the operator's spectrum allocation in the 900 band was added. In this study, the background of these protection criteria is presented and their technical and economic consequences estimated. Regarding "out-of-band" emissions from base stations, four alternative protection levels have been investigated: -92, -95, -98 and -107 dBm. It is found that in order to meet these requirements, safety distances of between 280 and 1200m need to be introduced, which means that between 1500 and 2700 base stations would be needed to be taken out of service. In order to avoid blocking, the received power over the embankment from each base station within the public GSM band would also be needed to be limited. The consequences of limiting the received power levels to either -10, -23 or -40 dBm were here investigated. Given the level of blocking protection, it is found that between 1085 and 2330 base stations within the vicinity of the railway track would be affected and possibly needed to be shut down To avoid causing interference, all operators - with the exception of Hi3G - may limit their "out-of-band" emissions by installing filters on the base stations. The cost of such installations is estimated at 50 000 SEK per base station. Depending on the protection level that is applied, the estimated total cost for the mobile operators is between 67 and 113 million SEK (about 12 million Euros). In order to protect the GSM-R receivers from blocking, some 3500 locomotives would need to be equipped with additional filters at a total cost of around 130 million SEK (about 14 million Euros).


At any one time, 15% of college students suffer psychological distress. Yet most will not seek help. College counseling services typically see just 4% of students annually. Stigma, concerns over confidentiality and confusion are amonst the barriers to help-seeking.We explore if and how broadcast text messaging can be used to overcome these barriers and facilitate help-seeking. Our studies show that students do not object to receiving regular texts from the college relating to college life provided that such texts do not relate overtly to mental or sexual health.

A field study was carried out whereby texts were sent on a regular basis to all students at a third level institution to encourage help-seeking amongst those suffering psychological distress. A regular stream of texts was sent relating to careers, sports and exams with one in every four texts relating to the college counseling services. The results of the field test show that help-seeking was speeded up and increased.

The disciplines of persuasion, health behaviour change theory, social marketing and captology were used to help design the intervention and explain the results.

Counselling services were reluctant to use this new channel or cooperate in further research on its potential. This led to a questioning of the attitudes of counseling services towards increased help-seeking.

Among the contributions of this research are the findings that students will accept and act on broadcast text messages which encourage mental health help-seeking to the extent that help-seeking is speeded up and increased and the means by which this is accomplished; and the findings that college counselling services do not appreciate the prevalence of psychological distress within colleges and are reluctant to encourage help-seeking.


Background Cardiac troponin T (cTnT) is elevated after coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. The aim of this study was to determine the association between cTnT elevations between 6 and 12 hours after coronary artery bypass grafting and in‐hospital outcome. Methods and Results We prospectively studied 1722 patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting. We assessed the association between conventional cTnT (749 patients) and high‐sensitivity cTnT (hs‐cTnT; 973 patients) 6 to 12 hours postoperatively with in‐hospital major adverse cardiac or cerebrovascular events (MACCE), a composite of all‐cause death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. The prespecified secondary outcome was a safety composite of MACCE, resuscitation, intensive care unit readmission or admission ≥48 hours, inotrope or vasopressor use ≥24 hours, or new‐onset renal insufficiency. Among patients with a conventional cTnT measurement, 92 experienced a MACCE (12%) and 146 experienced a safety composite event (19%). Likewise, for hs‐cTnT, 114 experienced a MACCE (12%) and 153 experienced a safety composite event (16%). Compared with cTnT ≤200 ng/L, each 200‐ng/L increment in cTnT was associated with a monotonous increase in the odds of MACCE and the safety composite outcome. Conventional and hs‐cTnT demonstrated moderate discrimination for MACCE (areas under the fitted receiver operating characteristics curve, 0.72 and 0.77 for conventional and hs‐cTnT, respectively) and the safety composite outcome (areas under the fitted receiver operating characteristics curve, 0.66 and 0.74 for conventional and hs‐cTnT, respectively) and resulted in improved prognostic performance when added to the EuroSCORE. At a cutoff of 800 ng/L, conventional and hs‐cTnT provided clinically relevant power to rule in MACCE and the safety composite outcome. Conclusions cTnT levels assessed between 6 and 12 hours after coronary artery bypass grafting identify patients at increased risk of MACCE or other complications.


Objectives: In the absence of HIV-1 virion infectivity factor (Vif), cellular cytosine deaminases such as apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like 3G (APOBEC3G) inhibit the virus by inducing hypermutations on viral DNA, among other mechanisms of action. We investigated the association of APOBEC3G mRNA levels and genetic variants on HIV-1 susceptibility, and early disease pathogenesis using viral load and CD4+ T-cell counts as outcomes. Methods: Study participants were 250 South African women at high risk for HIV-1 subtype C infection. We used real-time PCR to measure the expression of APOBEC3G in HIV-negative and HIV-positive primary infection samples. APOBEC3G variants were identified by DNA re-sequencing and TaqMan genotyping. Results: We found no correlation between APOBEC3G expression levels and plasma viral loads (r = 0.053, P = 0.596) or CD4+ T-cell counts (r = 0.030, P = 0.762) in 32 seroconverters. APOBEC3G expression levels were higher in HIV-negative individuals as compared with HIV-positive individuals (P < 0.0001), including matched pre and postinfection samples from the same individuals (n = 13, P < 0.0001). Twenty-four single nucleotide polymorphisms, including eight novel, were identified within APOBEC3G by re-sequencing and genotyping. The H186R mutation, a codon-changing variant in exon 4, and a 3′ extragenic mutation (rs35228531) were associated with high viral loads (P = 0.0097 and P < 0.0001) and decreased CD4+ T-cell levels (P = 0.0081 and P < 0.0001), respectively. Conclusion: These data suggest that APOBEC3G transcription is rapidly downregulated upon HIV-1 infection. During primary infection, APOBEC3G expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells do not correlate with viral loads or CD4+ T-cell counts. Genetic variation of APOBEC3G may significantly affect early HIV-1 pathogenesis, although the mechanism remains unclear and warrants further investigation.


A short history is sketched of the selection of vocabulary in foreign language teaching. The author briefly touches on the position and function of Latin in classical times and the changes thereof in the Renaissance.Gradually, from the end of the Middle Ages French took over as an international language. So French had to be taught. And vocabulary to be selected. Frequency of occurrence as a principle of selection was not consciously applied, however, before the 20th century. The remainder of the article deals with the history of the frequency lists in this century and explains the methods used, the difficulties, the advancement since computers assist the selector, and the appli-cations to foreign language teaching. The author concludes with a short discussion of why selection is still a problem and according to him still necessary.


This dissertation expands on the recent research focus on the role of stakeholder emotions in crisis communications. Using a 2x2 experimental design, this study explores the emotions of sadness and anger, as well as the concept of schadenfreude in relationship to stakeholders' perceptions of corporate reputation. In addition to using the previously tested emotions of sadness and anger in this context, the concept of schadenfreude (the feeling of pleasure one experiences when a person or organization suffers a misfortune or set back) was re-introduced to the field to better assess its potential role in the crisis communication process, specifically its relationship with perceived corporate reputation. Additionally, both third-person effect and social identity theory were introduced to explore their presence, and potential application, in future crisis communications. While the stimulus materials were unsuccessful in creating significantly different emotions in the subjects, there was an indication that schadenfreude as a concept is present in crisis communication scenarios and that it may have a distinctly different effect on perceived reputation than its more negative counterparts of anger and sadness. The presence of a third-person effect, a previously under-studied concept in crisis communications, was found and social identity theory held true, predicting perceived reputation based on identification with one or another party/group. Finally, in an effort to control for demographic variables, gender was found to have had a mitigating effect on reputation.


Purpose: This study investigates the moderating role of self-efficacy on the cognitive process of entrepreneurship among Vietnamese students. Specifically, this study explores the moderating effects of entrepreneurial self-efficacy on the relationships between attitude towards entrepreneurship, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention to become entrepreneurs. Methodology: By adapting the theory of planned behavior and using data collected from 2218 students in Vietnam, the author utilizes a meta-analytic path analysis in order to show that entrepreneurial intention is strongly influenced by attitude towards entrepreneurship, followed by self-efficacy and perceived behavioral control. Particularly, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the model fit and hypothesis. Findings: The study indicates that subjective norms have both direct and indirect effects on entrepreneurship intention. Moreover, although the moderating impacts of self-efficacy on the relationships between subjective norms and perceived behavioral control is insignificant, the research study indicates that self-efficacy moderates the correlation between attitude towards entrepreneurship and start-up intention. Implications for theory and practice: Besides its contributions to entrepreneurship literature, this study also contributes to practices and implications at universities in Vietnam. Originality and value: These findings also illustrate that the theory of planned behavior can be appropriately implemented in the research context of emerging economies such as Vietnam. In addition, the study shows that the relationship between attitude towards entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial intention is moderated by entrepreneurial self-efficacy.


Reaction time is an important aspect in athletic performance. Simple reaction time (SRT), a response to a single stimulus, may be important to nearly all types of athletes; however choice reaction time (CRT), a reaction to multiple stimuli, is uniquely required in team sports such as football or basketball. Literature has shown that generally athletes have faster SRT than non-athletes, but there is limited research examining the effect of sport type of either SRT or CRT. The purpose of this experiment is to determine if team sport athletes have faster SRT and CRT compared to individual-sport athletes and non-athletes. Both SRT and CRT were assessed using the Deary-Liewald reaction time test; a computerized simulation in which subjects were to respond to the images on the screen by pressing the appropriate key or keys. Three groups were measured (n = 14/group): team sport athletes (basketball, football, and baseball players), individual sport athletes (track and cross country runners) and non-athletes (no participation in collegiate athletics). Each subject completed both the CRT and SRT assessments in a single laboratory visit, which took approximately 30 minutes. The order in which they completed the tests was randomized. Comparisons between the three groups were made using a one-way ANOVA for SRT and for CRT. For the SRT there was a significant group main effect (p = 0.007). The team sport group (p = 0.016) and the individual sport group (p = 0.018) had significantly faster SRT as compared to the control group. However, there was no significant difference between individual sport athletes and team sport athletes for SRT. There was no main effect for CRT (p > 0.05). Overall, athletes had faster SRT as compared to nonathletes, but there was no effect of sport type. Unexpectedly, this effect did not exist for CRT, as there were no significant differences between the three groups.


In brief, the core theory of Jonathan Zittrain's1 2008 book The Future of the Internet - and How to Stop It is this: good laws, norms, and code are needed to regulate the Internet, to prevent bad laws, norms, and code from compromising its creative capabilities and fettering its fecund flexibility. A far snarkier if less alliterative summary would be "We have to regulate the Internet to preserve its open, unregulated nature."Zittrain posits that either a substantive series of unfortunate Internet events or one catastrophic one will motivate governments to try to regulate cyberspace in a way that promotes maximum stability, which will inhibit or possibly even preclude future technological innovations that rely on open access to the tools and systems that comprise the Internet. To head this off, he calls for a "transition to a networking infrastructure that is more secure yet roughly as dynamic as the current one," which will be achieved by collaborative efforts, "a 21st century international Manhattan Project which brings together people of good faith in government, academia, and the private sector for the purpose of shoring up the miraculous information technology grid that is too easy to take for granted and whose seeming self-maintenance has led us into an undue complacence." Zittrain uses brief, informal accounts of past events to build two main theories that dominate the book. First, he claims that open access, which he calls generativity, is under threat by a trend toward closure, which he refers to as tetheredness, which is counterproductively favored by proprietary entities. Though consumers prefer openness and the autonomy it confers, few take advantage of the opportunities it provides, and therefore undervalue it and too readily cede it in favor of the promise of security that tetheredness brings. Second, he argues that if the Internet is to find salvation it will be by the grace of "true netizens," volunteers acting collectively in good faith to cultivate positive social norms online.Zittrain is a creative thinker and entertaining speaker, and his book is engaging and informative in much the same ways that his talks are, loaded with pop culture references and allegorical tales about technology and the once and future Internet. Zittrain uses numerous anecdotes to support his dual hypotheses, exhaustively affirming that open innovative tools and systems are essential for online life to flourish, and his contention that the Internet is exceedingly vulnerable to bad actors (a proposition I have never seen another cyberlaw scholar seriously question). But he isn't very clear about the specific attributes of laws or regulations that could effectively foster enhanced security without impairing dynamism. He also seems to have a discomfitingly elitist view about who should be making policy decisions about the Internet's future: like-minded, self-appointed, and knowledgeable volunteers with the time, interest, and expertise to successfully maneuver sectors of the Internet into the form or direction he thinks best.


Although the antibody-based recognition of cell-surface markers has been widely used for the identification of immune cells, overlap in the expression of markers by different cell types and the inconsistent use of antibody panels have resulted in a lack of clearly defined signatures for myeloid cell subsets. We developed a 10-fluorochrome flow cytometry panel for the identification and quantitation of myeloid cells in the lungs, including pulmonary monocytes, myeloid dendritic cells, alveolar and interstitial macrophages, and neutrophils. After the initial sorting of viable CD45(+) leukocytes, we detected three leukocyte subpopulations based on CD68 expression: CD68(-), CD68(low), and CD68(hi). Further characterization of the CD68(hi) population revealed CD45(+)/CD68(hi)/F4/80(+)/CD11b(-)/CD11c(+)/Gr1(-) alveolar macrophages and CD45(+)/CD68(hi)/F4/80(-)/CD11c(+)/Gr1(-)/CD103(+)/major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II(hi) dendritic cells. The CD68(low) population contained primarily CD45(+)/CD68(low)/F4/80(+)/CD11b(+)/CD11c(+)/Gr1(-)/CD14(low) interstitial macrophages and CD45(+)/CD68(low)/F4/80(+)/CD11b(+)/CD11c(-)/Gr1(low)/CD14(hi) monocytes, whereas the CD68(-) population contained neutrophils (CD45(+)/CD68(-)/F4/80(-)/CD11b(+)/Gr1(hi)). The validity of cellular signatures was confirmed by a morphological analysis of FACS-sorted cells, functional studies, and the depletion of specific macrophage subpopulations using liposomal clodronate. We believe our approach provides an accurate and reproducible method for the isolation, quantification, and characterization of myeloid cell subsets in the lungs, which may be useful for studying the roles of myeloid cells during various pathological processes.


Abstract:  Models are commonly used to identify lands that will best maintain the ability of wildlife to move between wildland blocks through matrix lands after the remaining matrix has become incompatible with wildlife movement. We offer a roadmap of 16 choices and assumptions that arise in designing linkages to facilitate movement or gene flow of focal species between 2 or more predefined wildland blocks. We recommend designing linkages to serve multiple (rather than one) focal species likely to serve as a collective umbrella for all native species and ecological processes, explicitly acknowledging untested assumptions, and using uncertainty analysis to illustrate potential effects of model uncertainty. Such uncertainty is best displayed to stakeholders as maps of modeled linkages under different assumptions. We also recommend modeling corridor dwellers (species that require more than one generation to move their genes between wildland blocks) differently from passage species (for which an individual can move between wildland blocks within a few weeks). We identify a problem, which we call the subjective translation problem, that arises because the analyst must subjectively decide how to translate measurements of resource selection into resistance. This problem can be overcome by estimating resistance from observations of animal movement, genetic distances, or interpatch movements. There is room for substantial improvement in the procedures used to design linkages robust to climate change and in tools that allow stakeholders to compare an optimal linkage design to alternative designs that minimize costs or achieve other conservation goals.


Why do so many world-changing insights come from people with little or no related experience? Charles Darwin was a geologist when he proposed the theory of evolution. And it was an astronomer who finally explained what happened to the dinosaurs. Frans Johansson's The Medici Effect shows how breakthrough ideas most often occur when we bring concepts from one field into a new, unfamiliar territory, and offers examples how we can turn the ideas we discover into path-breaking innovations.


Using modified constructivist grounded theory, the purpose of the present study was to explore body-related experiences, specifically body image, in people with spinal cord injury. A total of nine participants (five women, four men) who had a broad range of body image experiences (from very negative to very positive) were interviewed. Most participants explained experiencing a fluctuating body image that varied from day-to-day. Negative body image experiences were represented by appearance, weight concerns, and function with all body image experiences encompassed by self-presentational concerns and tactics (an unanticipated finding). Positive body image was represented by acceptance, appreciation and gratitude of the body. Interestingly, negative body image experiences were not found to be represented by the opposite of positive body image experiences as they were each distinct. These findings have direct implications for medical professionals in hospital and rehabilitation settings to understand the importance of body image after spinal cord injury.


With growing complexity of systems and guarantees they are required to provide, the need for automated and formal design approaches that can guarantee safety and correctness of the designed system is becoming more evident. To this end, an ambitious goal in system design and control is to automatically synthesize the system from a high-level specification given in a formal language such as linear temporal logic. The goal of this dissertation is to investigate and develop the necessary tools and methods for automated synthesis of controllers from high-level specifications for multi-agent systems. We consider systems where a set of controlled agents react to their environment that includes other uncontrolled, dynamic and potentially adversarial agents. We are particularly interested in studying how the existing structure in systems can be exploited to achieve more efficient synthesis algorithms through compositional reasoning. We explore three different frameworks for compositional synthesis of controllers for multi-agent systems. In the first framework, we decompose the global specification into local ones, we then refine the local specifications until they become realizable, and we show that under certain conditions, the strategies synthesized for the local specifications guarantee the satisfaction of the global specification. In the second framework, we show how parametric and reactive controllers can be specified and synthesized, and how they can be automatically composed to enforce a high-level objective. Finally, in the third framework, we focus on a special but practically useful class of multi-agent systems, and show how by taking advantage of the structure in the system and its objective we can achieve significantly better scalability and can solve problems where the centralized synthesis algorithm is infeasible. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Computer and Information Science First Advisor Rajeev Alur Second Advisor Ufuk Topcu


This paper further builds on the price transmission model framework of existing studies to identify domestic wheat price effects of wheat export controls. We explicitly take the fact into account that a harvest failure causes domestic price effects as well. Moreover, the analysis at the regional level provides further evidence of the functioning of export controls in a large country. Results suggest a pronounced regional heterogeneity in the strength of domestic price effects of the 2010/11 export ban in Russia. The wheat price dampening effects amount to up to 67 % and are strongest in the major wheat exporting region with direct access to the world market. This effect is transmitted to other regions by increased and reversed interregional trade flows. Contrasting, regional variation of export controls´ domestic price effects in Ukraine is rather small.


This article addresses the necessary and sufficient conditions of judicialization through a least likely case study: investment arbitration. Here, arbitrators are hired on a case-by-case basis. As a consequence, theory would predict they would develop little to no autonomy from states. Despite this, arbitrators display as much or more independence as adjudicators in other international courts. I develop two hypotheses to explain arbitrator autonomy, which I evaluate against rival explanations from the agency and trusteeship literatures: a "principal complex" limits states' influence over arbitral agents; and a "regime complex" limits states' influence over arbitral trustees. I introduce several new qualitative concepts, including "asymmetric legal fungibility", "forced loyalty", and "discursive impotence". The article is based on original interviews with arbitrators from over 90 percent of all 260 known cases that have been finalized over the lifespan of investment treaty arbitration (1990-present). I triangulate interviewees' perspectives with original datasets on quantitative case outcomes for the 260 cases, and digitized award texts. I conclude that tenure is not a necessary condition for judicialization, as it can be substituted for by other features.


Title of Document: THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY AND THE IRREGULAR PAST TENSE IN CHILDREN WHO DO AND DO NOT STUTTER. Jessica Bauman, Master of Arts, 2009 Directed By: Dr. Nan Bernstein Ratner This study examined spontaneous language samples and standardized test data obtained from 31 pairs of children who stutter (CWS), ages 25-59 months, and agematched children who do not stutter (CWNS). Developmental Sentence Scores (DSS; Lee, 1974) as well as the relationships among age, DSS, and other standardized test scores were compared for both groups. No substantial differences were found between groups in the syntactic complexity of spontaneous language; however, the two groups show different relationships between age and DSS and between test scores and DSS. Additionally, observed differences between CWS and CWNS in patterns of past-tense errors and usage are discussed in light of a recent theoretical model of language performance in populations with suspected basal ganglia involvement (Ullman, 2004). THE DEVELOPMENT OF SYNTACTIC COMPLEXITY AND THE IRREGULAR PAST TENSE IN CHILDREN WHO DO AND DO NOT STUTTER


The deregulation and internationalization of domestic banking industries in many countries since the 1970s led to significant episodes of financial instability in many domestic banking systems, including Sweden, Australia, the USA, and most recently, the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998. These episodes have stimulated many researchers and policymakers alike to search for reasons for such episodes. One of the main issues pointed out by many is the problem of asset quality on banks' balance sheets. This paper goes one step further to examine the reason why banks take on excessive risks and the role of real estate plays in such behavior. Information asymmetry is seen as one important explanation for banks' over-reliance on real estate as collateral for many loans. As will be shown in the case studies, change in banks' lending behavior is often triggered by a series of deregulation or regulatory changes of financial systems that brings about intensified competition. This often leads to aggressive asset growth and often is accompanied by deteriorating credit criteria. By looking at the case studies of Sweden, Japan, Australia and Thailand, this paper explores the relationship between deregulation of financial intermediaries and the subsequent behavior exhibited by banks in these markets. In particular, we are interested in how banks' behavior lead to an expansion of credit to real estate as an asset class, and how these collective decisions destabilize banking systems will also be discussed.


Kidney disease frequently complicates malignancy and its treatment. Although many solid and hematologic cancers may involve the renal parenchyma, clinical sequelae are usually not prominent. Published reports cite membranous nephropathy as the most common malignancy-associated glomerulopathy, occurring with many carcinomas and occasionally with leukemia and lymphoma followed by minimal change disease. Rarely membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) has been reported in patients with malignancy. The mechanism by which malignancy induces disease remains unproved, but may involve deposition of tumor antigen in the subepithelial space with in situ immune complex formation and subsequent complement activation. Treatment of the underlying malignancy may lead to resolution of nephrotic syndrome, lending indirect support to this theory. We report a rare autopsy case of a patient with metastatic carcinoma (with unknown primary) associated with MPGN. The association between MPGN and metastatic carcinoma with unknown primary is uncommon and has not been previously reported in the literature.


Under the present income tax, some advance receipts are neither taxable on receipt nor deductible on repayment, while others are taxable when received and deductible when repaid or paid for. From a purely theoretical perspective, it remains unclear why different sets of rules apply in different cases. For example, if the fact of unrestricted control over the payment compels the conclusion that it is income, then most advance receipts, including loan proceeds, should be included in income immediately. Conversely, if the presence of an offsetting liability compels the conclusion that the payment is not (yet) income, then most advance receipts, including amounts received for future services, should not be taxed unless and until they are secured to the taxpayer without obligation.This paper argues that confusion in this area stems from a misunderstanding of the role that the income concept plays and should play in guiding the proper rules for advance receipts, and from an inapposite application of consumption and wealth tax concepts in the income tax context. If practical questions of tax administration were not salient, advance payments under the income tax would be included as and when secured to the taxpayer without offsetting obligation, without regard to the time of receipt of the funds. By contrast, under a consumption tax the focus would be on the control and use of funds for personal or non-personal reasons. Control and use, however, do not play a significant role under the income tax.The actual rules under the income tax sometimes diverge from those that would apply under a theoretically correct income tax. In most cases, the divergences reflect an appropriate attempt to accommodate the effort to tax true income to the practicalities of tax administration. If it is unlikely the amounts will become true economic income, a general presumption of non-taxation on receipt and non-deduction on return is appropriate, subject to adjustment if the presumption turns out to be false. If it is likely the amounts will become true economic income, the opposite presumption may be appropriate, again subject to adjustment if proved incorrect. Intermediate cases present problems of judgment that must be addressed from the perspective of effective administration of the tax law.


Since its inception in 2008, the National Surveys on Energy and Environment (NSEE) has tracked whether Americans believe there is solid evidence that global warming is occurring. The Spring 2016 NSEE finds that Americans' views on climate change — and the confidence with which they hold those views — has set new benchmarks, and suggests that climate change continues to be a highly polarized issue, even as the number of those who doubt its existence is decreasing. These findings come as NASA and NOAA report that the first six months of 2016 are the hottest on record.


Selecting the best architecture Adding functionality Monitoring the Sun ONE Messaging Server Availability considerations and issuesAs messaging or email increases in volume and size, the need for a scalable enterprise messaging system becomes more apparent to many organizations. The Sun™ ONE Messaging Server product fills this requirement and more. However, as with any system, the planning, installation, and routine maintenance tasks have a significant impact on throughput and availability.This book details best practices for architecting, deploying, and integrating the Sun ONE Messaging Server 5.2 product. It covers topics ranging from the basics of planning the system, to a sample installation, and on to monitoring and tuning the system to ensure that it is operational.


Recently, utilizing reinforcement learning (RL) to generate molecules with desired properties has been highlighted as a promising strategy for drug design. A molecular docking program - a physical simulation that estimates protein-small molecule binding affinity - can be an ideal reward scoring function for RL, as it is a straightforward proxy of the therapeutic potential. Still, two imminent challenges exist for this task. First, the models often fail to generate chemically realistic and pharmacochemically acceptable molecules. Second, the docking score optimization is a difficult exploration problem that involves many local optima and less smooth surfaces with respect to molecular structure. To tackle these challenges, we propose a novel RL framework that generates pharmacochemically acceptable molecules with large docking scores. Our method - Fragment-based generative RL with Explorative Experience replay for Drug design (FREED) - constrains the generated molecules to a realistic and qualified chemical space and effectively explores the space to find drugs by coupling our fragment-based generation method and a novel error-prioritized experience replay (PER). We also show that our model performs well on both de novo and scaffold-based schemes. Our model produces molecules of higher quality compared to existing methods while achieving state-of-the-art performance on two of three targets in terms of the docking scores of the generated molecules. We further show with ablation studies that our method, predictive error-PER (FREED(PE)), significantly improves the model performance.


My studio practice undertaken during the period of my PhD candidature is given historical, conceptual and practical context through an exploration of the work of selected painters who have practised over the past century: Paul Klee, Willem de Kooning, Raoul De Keyser, Mary Heilmann, Tomma Abts and Emily Kngwarreye.
I share with these artists an interest in the use colour, pattern, movement, the natural world and abstraction. The study of these artists provides a framework to investigate five key themes that arise when considering their practice: the poetic, doubt, the provisional, the performative and gestural. In this study I also refer to the critical and theoretical ideas related to these themes, in particular the writings of Clement Greenberg. I consider his emphasis on the flatness of the canvas, whether the work is abstract or representational, and his views on medium specificity. From this study I have found that abstract painting does not exhaust the possibilities of these themes but generates new prospects.


Gross negligence is a severe form of negligence. Its severity has been characterized using the presence of a mental element or mens rea accompanying the negligent act. Within the context of professional negligence, gross negligence is important as it constitutes professional misconduct. For auditors, a finding of professional misconduct through disciplinary proceedings can result in suspension or expulsion from the profession. In India, gross negligence is regularly used in disciplinary proceedings against auditors and also by the Securities and Exchange Board to determine whether an auditor has violated any securities regulations. Given the implications of a finding of gross negligence on the practice of an auditor, this paper seeks to discuss this Indian legal standard in detail. Using the statutory framework that governs auditors as a backdrop, this paper examines all reported High Court decisions from the 1950s till 2019 along with decisions of the Securities and Exchange Board with regards to an auditor's duties. We find that the approach used to discern the existence of gross negligence across these decisions has been inconsistent. In the absence of any precedent from the Supreme Court of India that details what comprises gross negligence in the context of auditors, this inconsistent approach poses a problem. This paper offers a starting point for a discussion to minimize the uncertainty currently associated with auditors' liability for professional misconduct, especially hoping to assist the newly established National Financial Reporting Authority in its decision-making process.


This note revisits the identification theorems of Brown (1983) and Roehrig (1988). We describe an error in the proofs of the main identification theorems in these papers, and provide an important counterexample to the theorems on the identification of the reduced form. Specifically, the reduced form of a nonseparable simultaneous equations model is not identified even under the assumptions of these papers. We provide conditions under which the reduced form is identified and is recoverable using the distribution of the endogenous variables conditional on the exogenous variables. However, these conditions place substantial limitations on the structural model. We conclude the note with a conjecture that it may be possible to use classical exclusion restrictions to recover some of the key implications of the theorems in more general settings.


Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is a key element in the calcium second messenger cascades that lead to long term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic strength. In this thesis, I have constructed kinetic models of activation of CaMKII and measured some of the unknown parameters of the model. I used the models to elucidate mechanisms of activation of CaMKII and to study the kinetics of its activation under conditions similar to those in dendritic spines.

In chapter 2, I developed a new experimental method to rapidly stop the autophosphorylation reaction. I used this method to measure the catalytic turnover number of CaMKII. To quantitatively characterize CaMKII atophosphorylation in nonsaturating calcium, I also measured the autophosphorylation turnover number when CaMKII is activated by calmodulin mutants that can bind calcium ions only in either the amino or the carboxyl lobes.

Previous models of CaMKII activation assumed that binding of calmodulins to individual CaMKII subunits is independent and that autophosphorylation occurs within a ring of 6 subunits. However, a recent structure of CaMKII suggests that pairs of subunits cooperate in binding calmodulin and raises the possibility that the autophosphorylation occurs within pairs of subunits. In chapter 3, I constructed a model in which CaMKII subunits cooperate in binding calmodulin. This model reconciled previous experimental results from the literature that appeared contradictory. In chapter 4, I constructed two models for CaMKII autophosphorylation, in which autophosphorylation can occur either in rings or pairs, and used them to design experiments aimed at differentiating between these possibilities. Previously published measurements and the measurements that I performed are more consistent with autophosphorylation occurring within pairs.

In chapter 5, I constructed a model for simultaneous interactions among calcium, calmodulin, and CaMKII, and I used an automatic parameter search algorithm to fit the parameters for this model. I used it to characterize which of the parameters of calcium transients are critical for CaMKII activation.

This modeling work is part of a continuing effort to realistically model the spatial and temporal aspects of calcium second messenger signaling in dendritic spines.


Objective: To evaluate the changes in the number of Langerhans Cells (LC) observed in the epithelium of smokeless tobacco (SLT-induced) lesions. Methods: Microscopic sections from biopsies carried out in the buccal mucosa of twenty patients, who were chronic users of smokeless tobacco (SLT), were utilized. For the control group, twenty non-SLT users of SLT with normal mucosa were selected. The sections were studied with routine coloring and were immunostained for S-100, CD1a, Ki-67 and p63. These data were statistically analyzed by the Student's t-test to investigate the differences in the expression of immune markers in normal mucosa and in SLT-induced leukoplakia lesions. Results: There was a significant difference in the immunolabeling of all markers between normal mucosa and SLT-induced lesions (p<0.001). The leukoplakia lesions in chronic SLT users demonstrated a significant increase in the number of Langerhans cells and in the absence of epithelial dysplasia. Conclusion: The increase in the number of these cells represents the initial stage of leukoplakia.


The provision of retail payment services is complex with many participants engaging in a series of interrelated bilateral transactions and subject to large economies of scale and scope along with strong adoption, usage and network externalities. This makes sound public policy difficult. We focus on three types of market interventions for various countries. We argue that intervention into payment markets should concentrate on the removal of entry barriers in payment markets and providing greater incentives to adopt efficient payment instruments without stifling private sector investment in more efficient payment technologies over the long term. While the theoretical literature on the economics of payment cards is growing, the empirical literature is yet too limited to provide much guidance to public authorities. Eventually, the outcomes from different types of market interventions will provide a useful "natural experiment" to refute or validate the various theories of the economics of payments.


ABSTRACT Across East and Southeast Asia, the International Baccalaureate (IB) is expanding and diversifying. More students from affluent families are 'opting out' of mainstream schooling to take the IB's Diploma Programme (DP), which is marketed as a distinctive skill-based education that prepares students for university. This research investigated how DP alumni reflect on their educational experiences in developing cognitive and non-cognitive skills and as preparation for elite universities in Hong Kong. An online undergraduate survey (n = 734) found that DP alumni self-perceived higher capacities than non-DP alumni in communication, creativity, critical thinking, cultural sensitivity, global-mindedness, leadership, and time management. In interviews (n = 42), DP alumni perceived the DP as a privileged educational experience that 'worked' in developing cognitive and non-cognitive skills. The DP alumni were overall positive about their DP experiences in developing skills for university preparation. However, there were complexities as the DP alumni also perceived that students from mainstream schools were often better prepared for pedagogy and assessments in the context of higher education in Hong Kong.