A Christian's relationship with creation is grounded in both the theology of creation and its eschatological fulfilment. The biblical command 'dominium terrae' is a 'shared Lordship', that is, humans collaborating with their Creator. In Saint Paul's letter to the Romans, creation - and not only man - is a reality that awaits its fulfilment and the eschaton. In this fulfilment, humans have a special vocation given by God. The Holy Scriptures affirm that nature, although created good, cannot reach its goal of fulfilment by itself nor can man grant nature to reach it either; rather, man has to contribute to the fulfilment of this ultimate goal set by God on nature. After considering the biblical foundations of ecotheology, the socio-economical aspects will then be reflected on: The 'Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church' dedicates a whole chapter to the complex topic of environmental issues. All scientific and thecnical research and applications have to be evaluated on this basis of both the observance and promotion of human dignity.


This Essay, presented at "Guilty Minds: A Virtual Conference on Mens Rea and Criminal Justice Reform" at ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, examines the politics of federal mens rea reform legislation. I argue that current mens rea policy debates reflect an overly narrow vision of criminal justice reform. Therefore, I suggest an alternative frame through which to view mens rea reform efforts—a frame that resonates with radical structural critiques that have gained ground among activists and academics.

Common arguments for and against mens rea reform reflect a belief that the problem with the criminal system is one of miscalibration: To the reform proponents, criminal law, incarceration, and the institutions of the U.S. criminal system are necessary for dealing with "real criminals," but overcriminalization, strict liability crimes, and sloppily drafted statutes cause undeserving and "otherwise law-abiding" people to suffer. To reform opponents, the criminal system might be flawed (see, e.g., the War on Drugs, racial disparities, police violence, etc.), but that doesn't mean it is illegitimate or without important uses. The brutalities of the system's treatment of marginalized people don't indicate an irredeemable system; rather, prosecutors could right the balance by shifting their attention to the wealthy and "white collar" offenders, and lawmakers and judges could grease the wheels of these prosecutions by reducing the burden on prosecutors to prove mens rea elements. Arguments from opponents and proponents offer little to commentators who see the problems with the criminal system as deeper or more intractable—problems of structure, rather than scope.

Ultimately, therefore, I offer a different frame for mens rea reform and for understanding the stakes of the debate that might resonate with more radical critics. I suggest that mens rea reform can be analogized to the rule of lenity and the libertarian or anti-statist aspects of the Bill of Rights—these rules are not solely focused on sorting the guilty and the innocent; rather, I suggest, they can be viewed as "anti-criminalization" rules, directives to put a thumb on the scale in favor of defendants and against the state, state violence, and criminal punishment. Framed in this way, I argue that mens rea reform should be appealing to commentators concerned about mass incarceration, state violence, and the sweeping reach of criminal law and its enforcement. Perhaps more provocatively, I also argue that mens rea reform could be understood as consistent with more radical calls for abolition or dismantling of the carceral state.


Subsumption in the description logic (DL) EL is known to be tractable even when it is done with respect to the most general form of terminology, namely a set of general inclusion axioms (GCIs). Recently, this tractability boundary has been clarified by identifying DL constructors that causes intractability of subsumption when added to EL and that do not. These results provide us with a characterization of the complexity of subsumption for the EL family of DLs (i.e., EL and its extensions). Besides subsumption, there are other standard reasoning problems studied in DL. Among them, the instance checking problem is the most basic reasoning problem that is concerned with deriving implicit knowledge about individuals in a DL knowledge base. Such a knowledge base consists of an intensional part in the form of a terminology (TBox) and an extensional or data part in the form of assertions about particular individuals in the domain of the knowledge base (ABox). Like other reasoning problems, complexity of instance checking is usually measured in the size of the whole input—thus called combined complexity—which, in this case, consists of a TBox, an ABox, a query concept and an individual name. On the other hand, it is common to assume that the data (ABox) is very large compared to the TBox and the query. Therefore, it is often more realistic to use a complexity measure based only on the size of the ABox, i.e., data complexity. For the EL family, results for the combined complexity of instance checking can be derived from the complexity results for subsumption. But results which are concerned with data complexity are still lacking. This motivates us to investigate the data complexity of instance checking in the EL family. In particular, we are interested in whether there are extensions of EL which are intractable regarding combined complexity, but tractable regarding data complexity. The first part of this thesis establishes coNP-hardness (and even coNP-completeness) results regarding data complexity of instance checking w.r.t. sets of GCIs for extensions of EL with negation, disjunction, value restriction, number restriction and role constructors such as role negation, role union and transitive closures. The lower bounds of data complexity for these DLs are proved by polynomial reductions from the complement of 2+2-SAT, a variant of propositional satisfiability problem which is NP-complete, whereas the upper bounds follow from known results of data complexity for ALC and SHIQ. The second part identifies an extension of EL called ELI , for which data complexity of instance checking w.r.t. sets of GCIs is tractable. The DL ELI is obtained from EL by adding inverse roles and global functionality. This result is interesting since adding only one of those two constructors leads to intractability of reasoning w.r.t. combined complexity. The result is derived by giving an algorithm that decides instance checking in ELI w.r.t. sets of GCIs and runs in time polynomial in the size of the input ABox.


This paper explores some of the ways in which a dialogue between development and postcolonial scholarship might contribute to the theorizing of transnational networks in contemporary development. It does so through consideration of three inter-related themes: epistemologies, spatialities and ethico-politics. The discussion of epistemologies points to the potential benefit in reworking the analysis of the relationship between structure and agency in networks, whereas the discussion of spatialities focuses attention on the interface between the global and the local. Dialogue between development and postcolonial approaches also creates space for considering the politics and ethics of transnational development networks. In particular, this discussion prompts challenges around how to ethically research subaltern knowledge in transnational development networks, including how to trace the translation and redeployment of subaltern knowledge through networks. Consideration of these themes highlights not just overlaps and disjunctures between development and postcolonial approaches, but opportunities for further dialogue and future research on transnational development networks. To illustrate the points made in the paper, examples are drawn from Slum/Shack Dwellers International (SDI), a transnational network of civil society organizations working with urban poverty.


Rational drug use is an important factor to be checked for the optimal benefit of drug therapy in patient care.1 In India, many factors like illiteracy, poverty, use of multiple health care systems, drug advertising and promotion, sale of prescription drugs without prescription, competition in medical and pharmaceutical market place and limited availability of drug information are the main reasons for not achieving the optimal health care.6 Inappropriate use of drug also leads to increased cost of medical care, antimicrobial resistance, adverse effects and patient mortality. Hence the drug utilization evaluation (DUE) studies becomes one of the potential tools in evaluation of health system.1,4 Drug utilization studies focuses on factors related to prescribing, dispensing, administering and taking of medication and associated events.1


Study Design: Broad narrative review. Objectives: Translaminar screw (TLS) fixation was first described as a salvage technique for fixation of the axial spine. Better understanding of the spine anatomy allows for advancement in surgical techniques and expansion of TLS indications. The goal of this review is to discuss the anatomic feasibility of the TLS fixation in different region of the spine. Methods: A review of the current literatures on the principles, biomechanics, and clinical application of the translaminar screw technique in the axial, subaxial, and thoracolumbar spine. Results: Anatomic feasibility and biomechanical studies have demonstrated that TLS is a safe and strong fixation methods for fusion beyond just the axial spine. However, not all spine segments have wide enough lamina to accept TLS. Preoperative computed tomography scan can help ensure the feasibility and safety of TLS insertion. Recent clinical reports have validated the application of TLS in subaxial spine, thoracic spine, hangman's fracture, and pediatric population. Conclusions: TLS can be used beyond axial spine; however, TLS insertion is only warranted when the lamina is thick enough to avoid further complications such as breakage. Preoperative computed tomography scans can be used to determine feasibility of such fixation construct.


Through a specific example, this paper explores the problems of empiricism and ideology in the uses of material-cultural and visual evidence for the writing of ancient history. The focus is on an Athenian documentary stele with a fine relief from the late fifth century bc, the history of its publications, and their failure to account for the totality of the object9s information—sculptural and epigraphic—let alone the range of rhetorical ambiguities that its texts and images implied in their fifth-century context. While the paper reflects on the Samos Stele (the meanings of the dexiosis of the figures represented, and the repeated references to the "goodness" of the Samians with respect to the Athenians, for instance), it also considers the broader hermeneutic problems of approaching the different discourses ofword and imagewithin antiquity andworries about the distortions introduced into ancient history by modern formulations, descriptions, and translations of the past.


The series of studies presented in this thesis test an attribution-emotionbehaviour model of helping versus violent retaliation (after Weiner, 1995) in professional groups at high risk of encountering violence in the workplace. Weiner's model predicts that staff who perceive violent incidents as within the control of the client will be more likely to experience anger and demonstrate a retaliatory response. Conversely, staff perceiving causes as uncontrollable by the client are more likely to feel sympathetic and exhibit helping behaviour. Emotional responses are seen to mediate between attributions and behavioural responses. A direct link between attributions of control and behaviour is also proposed. These predictions are tested in relation to violent incidents encountered by nursing staff working with detained patients in a psychiatric secure unit, and police firearms officers' in shoot-don't shoot training scenarios. Previous research investigating healthcare staff s perceptions of the causes of challenging patient behaviour reports mixed support for Weiner's (1995) model. Such research could be criticized for its' almost total reliance on the use of hypothetical scenarios, questionnaire methods, and lack of attention to the potential influence of client gender. The studies presented here are unique in that they not only assess spontaneous attributions and reported emotions of staff concerning their management of actual violent incidents, but also take gender into account. An initial pilot was followed by three studies, the first two of these included samples of healthcare staff working with detained patients in a secure unit, whilst the third examined firearms officers in training. The Leeds Attributional Coding System (LACS) was used to code 1) attributions made by healthcare staff in documentation concerning physical restraint of patients, 2) verbatim transcripts of interviews concerning real violent incidents in which heafficare staff had been involved, and 3) firearms officer debriefing interviews following simulated shoot-don't shoot scenarios. The findings from the first two studies suggest that different cognitive processes operate dependent on the gender of the client. In terms of the model tested, the proposed direct association between attributions of control and behaviour was supported, but for males only. Thus, where males were concerned, perceiving the client to have high control was associated with retaliation, and perceiving them to have low control was associated with helping. The role of emotion as a mediator was not supported for males or females. Some further support for the direct relationship between attributions of control and behaviour was found in the third study; police firearms officers' perceptions of high control for suspect were associated with increased frequency of shooting. It is concluded that attributions for client behaviour should be investigated in context, with consideration given to gender. Attributional models of helping/retaliation cannot be applied rigidly across different groups; it is necessary to consider the nature of the population and the circumstances under consideration. Possible explanations of the gender differences found are discussed.


This Note addresses the current ambiguity in the law regarding if unpaid interns are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The Note explores relevant case law throughout the circuit courts, but primarily focuses on the Second Circuit's recent decision in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures. It argues that the primary benefits test created by the Second Circuit in Glatt does not adequately protect unpaid interns nor does it inform employers of the standards they need to meet in order to adopt legal unpaid internship programs. Instead, courts should adopt a clearer, more rigid test that finds an intern not to be an employee under the FLSA if the following three factors are met: (1) the training is similar to that of which the interns would receive at an educational institution, (2) the program is designed to benefit the intern, and (3) the intern does not displace regular employees. This test is congruent with Congress's intent of only allowing for narrow exceptions to overtime and minimum wage compensation under the FLSA and provides both employers and employees with clearer guidelines for creating future internship programs.


Classical AI focuses agent design purely on the agent. Various alternatives to classical AI, such as behavior-based AI and situated action, propose that agent design should include, not just the agent, but also its environment. These alternatives fall short of their own stated goals, however, in that they tend to include only the physical objects with which the agent interacts, leaving out such environmental factors as the audience with which the agent interacts, the people who are judging the agent as a scientific success or failure, and the designer of the agent himor herself. Here, I argue that ignoring the social and cultural context of the agent actually leads to technical problems in the design of the agent, and propose a model for AI research that includes the full context of the agent. At the same time, I propose that the problems socially situated AI addresses are particularly pressing for applications in AI and entertainment, where the utility of an agent depends not so much on the internal correctness of the agent's actions as on the effect of the agent on the user.


The traditional view of the Scottish nation holds that it first arose during the Wars of Independence from England in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Although Scotland was absorbed into Britain in 1707 with the Treaty of Union, Scottish identity is supposed to have remained alive in the new state through separate institutions of religion (the Church of Scotland), education, and the legal system. Neil Davidson argues otherwise. The Scottish nation did not exist before 1707. The Scottish national consciousness we know today was not preserved by institutions carried over from the pre-Union period, but arose after and as a result of the Union, for only then were the material obstacles to nationhood – most importantly the Highland/Lowland divide – overcome. This Scottish nation was constructed simultaneously with and as part of the British nation, and the eighteenth century Scottish bourgeoisie were at the forefront of constructing both. The majority of Scots entered the Industrial Revolution with a dual national consciousness, but only one nationalism, which was British. The Scottish nationalism which arose in Scotland during the twentieth century is therefore not a revival of a pre-Union nationalism after 300 years, but an entirely new formation. Davidson provides a revisionist history of the origins of Scottish and British national consciousness that sheds light on many of the contemporary debates about nationalism


This study analyses socio-economic conditions and patterns of natural resource use in communities of the Andean Mountains of Northwest Argentina. It examines the impacts of protected area creation and the application of neoliberal development policy, which has become common across most of Latin America in recent decades, on two villages in Jujuy Province neighbouring Calilegua National Park. Using a political ecology framework to examine fieldwork and interview-based research, the study investigates the nature of factors influencing rural livelihoods in the region, both proximate and distant. The use of formal interviews and a case study to match rhetoric to practice uncovers deficiencies of the national protected areas system in Argentina. The example illustrates the pervasiveness of misanthropic, preservationist models rather than demonstrate the widespread adoption of people-oriented approaches to conservation. In common with many protected areas in South America, the creation of Calilegua National Park resulted in the displacement of tenant farmers, which has contributed to the reduced viability of traditional pastoral activity as a livelihood within the market system. Traditional agriculture retains an important role however, and the study reveals the diversity and dynamism of socio-economic activities and identities in rural areas of Latin America, rendering problematic assumptions of homogeneity commonly made by distant policy-makers. The increased prevalence of local waged employment has been aided by government schemes and has led to the emergence of newly configured networks of political clientalism at the village level based on asymmetrical relationships of reciprocity. This presents a paradoxical increase in the influence of the state within a development model that stresses reliance on market mechanisms and the withdrawal of government. Commonly acknowledged in the shantytowns of the city but largely unexplored in their contemporary rural context, these relationships are considered to threaten future sustainable economic and political development in marginal rural areas.


We determine the single mode condition and analyze the modes discrimination of 1.3 mum InP based photonic-crystal vertical-cavity surfaceemitting diode laser. To this aim we apply the fully vectorial, three dimensional Plane Wave Admittance Method and analyze a broad range of photonic-crystal parameters such as hole etching depth, distance between the holes and their diameters.


This paper outlines the recent work of the UK's Joint Information Systems Committee ( JISC) in the area of e-books. The JISC Collections Team is responsible for negotiating deals with publishers and aggregators of e-content for all UK higher education libraries - some 180 in total. In other words it acts as a national consortium for the UK academic community, although it should be noted that all deals are negotiated on an 'opt-in' basis. The JISC Collections Team is advised by a series of format-based working groups - comprising senior academic librarians and library practitioners - including the E-Books Working Group, the Journals Working Group and the Moving Images Working Group. Recently the working groups have formulated vision statements to help inform both their own activities and the education community as a whole. The vision for e-books in UK education is as follows: "The UK education community will have access to quality e-book content that is of high relevance to teaching, learning and research across the broadest range of subject areas. Flexible business and licensing models will support a diversity of needs, allowing users to do what they want when they want and how they want for education purposes. All e-books will be easily discoverable and consistent standards will allow all content to be fully integrated into library, learning and research environments."


This paper presents a T/R Module core chip with 4-bit operation using 0.25µm SiGe BiCMOS technology, for X-Band Phased Array RADAR applications. T/R Module core chip consists of sub-blocks such as Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), Power Amplifier (PA), Phase Shifter (PS), Single-Pole-Double-Throw (SPDT) switch, and Variable Gain Amplifier (VGA). Switches incorporate NMOS devices while amplifiers are implemented with SiGe HBTs. Measurement results for the complete core chip and its individual sub blocks are reported here. Between 9-10GHz, the constructed T/R Module achieves about 11dB gain for both receiver (RX) and transmitter (TX) chains, while it has -10.5dBm receiver chain IIP3, and 16dBm OP1dB for transmitter chain. RMS phase error is measured as 5, while Noise Figure (NF) varies between 4-6dB. Total power dissipation of core chip is about 285mW; with a total area 4.9mm2.


Passive and active membrane properties determine the voltage responses of neurons. Within the auditory brain stem, refinements in these intrinsic properties during late postnatal development usually generate short integration times and precise action-potential generation. This developmentally acquired temporal precision is crucial for auditory signal processing. How the interactions of these intrinsic properties develop in concert to enable auditory neurons to transfer information with high temporal precision has not yet been elucidated in detail. Here, we show how the developmental interaction of intrinsic membrane parameters generates high firing precision. We performed in vitro recordings from neurons of postnatal days 9-28 in the ventral nucleus of the lateral lemniscus of Mongolian gerbils, an auditory brain stem structure that converts excitatory to inhibitory information with high temporal precision. During this developmental period, the input resistance and capacitance decrease, and action potentials acquire faster kinetics and enhanced precision. Depending on the stimulation time course, the input resistance and capacitance contribute differentially to action-potential thresholds. The decrease in input resistance, however, is sufficient to explain the enhanced action-potential precision. Alterations in passive membrane properties also interact with a developmental change in potassium currents to generate the emergence of the mature firing pattern, characteristic of coincidence-detector neurons. Cholinergic receptor-mediated depolarizations further modulate this intrinsic excitability profile by eliciting changes in the threshold and firing pattern, irrespective of the developmental stage. Thus our findings reveal how intrinsic membrane properties interact developmentally to promote temporally precise information processing.


Abstract A classic problem in parallel computing is determining whether to execute a thread in parallel or sequentially. If small threads are executed in parallel, the overheads due to thread creation can overwhelm the benefits of parallelism, resulting in suboptimal efficiency and performance. If large threads are executed sequentially, processors may spin idle, resulting again in sub-optimal efficiency and performance. This "granularity problem" is especially important in implicitly parallel languages, where the programmer expresses all potential for parallelism, leaving it to the system to exploit parallelism by creating threads as necessary. Although this problem has been identified as an important problem, it is not well understood—broadly applicable solutions remain elusive. In this paper, we propose techniques for automatically controlling granularity in implicitly parallel programming languages to achieve parallel efficiency and performance. To this end, we first extend a classic result, Brent's theorem (a.k.a. the work-time principle) to include thread-creation overheads. Using a cost semantics for a general-purpose language in the style of lambda calculus with parallel tuples, we then present a precise accounting of thread-creation overheads and bound their impact on efficiency and performance. To reduce such overheads, we propose an oracle-guided semantics by using estimates of the sizes of parallel threads. We show that, if the oracle provides accurate estimates in constant time, then the oracle-guided semantics reduces the thread-creation overheads for a reasonably large class of parallel computations. We describe how to approximate the oracle-guided semantics in practice by combining static and dynamic techniques. We require the programmer to provide the asymptotic complexity cost for each parallel thread and use runtime profiling to determine hardware-specific constant factors. We present an implementation of the proposed approach as an extension of the Manticore compiler for Parallel ML. Our empirical evaluation shows that our techniques can reduce thread-creation overheads, leading to good efficiency and performance.


Pennsylvania ranks near the top in tax burden and near the bottom in business friendliness in the nation. While much good can be said about the state's at personal income tax rate and relatively low sales tax rate, Pennsylvania's business taxes are in serious need of reform. The state government took a step in the right direction by phasing out its archaic capital stock and foreign franchise tax, but Pennsylvania's economy is still being held back by its high corporate income and unemployment insurance taxes. Pennsylvania's 9.99 percent corporate income tax rate, the second highest in the nation, puts the state at a significant competitive disadvantage while generating less than 7 percent of total tax revenue. A combination of business tax cuts and tax base broadening could make Pennsylvania's economy grow faster without jeopardizing its public finances.


Compliant robots, a class of so-called soft robots, made from elastomeric materials, require flexible or stretchable sensors for functional sophistication beyond that of open-loop controls and actuations. These robots have expanded the scope of research in robotics from fast, strong, and precise industrial manufacturing toward new needs of adaptation and safety—the realm of human–robot interactions (HRIs). HRIs include circumstances ranging from existing tasks such as vacuum cleaning to the far-reaching goal of direct contact with the heart for ventricular assist devices, and wearable robots as an intermediate task for force-augmenting exoskeletons. Toward these goals, many efforts are being made to impart sensation for feedback control via flexible or stretchable sensors that can be integrated with the soft bodies of these robots without hindering their motion or reducing their safety. This article briefly reviews the key techniques and tradeoffs for designing and fabricating these sensors. We describe the sensors that our research group uses for fluidically powered soft robots. We conclude with some perspectives about future directions of sensing integration for improved autonomy and interaction with humans in close proximity.


This paper presents the main ideas of structuralist development macroeconomics - the theory behind new developmentalism. Its focus is on the exchange rate that is positioned for the first time in the core of development economics. Economic theory usually views the exchange rate as a short term problem to be discussed in open macroeconomics. Structuralist development macroeconomics argues that there is in developing countries a tendency to the cyclical overvaluation of the exchange rate caused by the lack of neutralization of the Dutch disease and by excessive capital inflows. In consequence it views the exchange rate as chronically overvalued, and, for that reason, a major obstacle to economic growth. In the development process, the exchange rate has the role of light switch that connects or disconnects the national business enterprises utilizing technology in the world state of the art from world markets.


ABSTRACT Purification of humic acid (HA) is time-consuming (takes between 2 to 7 days). A study was conducted to investigate whether HA produced from composted pineapple leaves could be purified within a day through washing with distilled water. Standard procedures were used to produce 0.1 M KOH and pineapple leaves compost. The KOH was used to extract HA in the compost using standard methods with some modifications. The HA was purified by suspending it in 100 ml distilled water, equilibrated for 1 hour, centrifuged for 15 minutes, supernatant decanted, filtered through glass wool and the liquor analyzed for K, Ca, Mg, Na, Zn, Mn, and Cu using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). This procedure was repeated four times after which the washed HA was oven dried at 30°C to a constant weight. Washing HA for four consecutive times within a day was able to reduce the ash content of the HA to 0.1%, a value less than the generally accepted value of less than 1%. This observation was attributed to the remarkable decrease in K, Ca, Mg, Na, Zn, Mn, and Cu with washing. This finding can help in facilitating the production of K-rich humate (organically based fertilizer) from composted pineapple residues in a relatively short time since the HA can be purified within a day for its reconstitution to produce K-humate (38% K) instead of the conventional method that takes between 2 to 7 days.


The practice of oil pulling or oil swishing is a time-honored Indian folk remedy that involves swishing edible oil in the mouth for oral and systemic health benefits. Oil pulling offers a naturalistic approach to oral health care for a growing body of individuals who desire alternative and complementary medicine. The purpose of this paper was to summarize published research on the effectiveness of oil pulling on oral health. Literature was retrieved from 1992-2011 through databases including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), and Google Scholar. To date, studies have assessed the effectiveness of oil pulling on plaque, gingivitis, xerostomia, dental caries and malodor. Within the scope of this review, research suggests that oil pulling may hold certain advantages over other commercially available products in reducing various oral conditions, yet there is insufficient scientific evidence to support its effectiveness.


We investigate the effect of grating design on surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) intensity using patterned nanoporous gold (P-NPG) films. The SERS response is systematically engineered by tuning the parameters of gratings imprinted on the nanoporous gold films, including grating period, duty cycle, and height. Compared to conventional NPG films, where the localized surface plasmon dominates the strong SERS response, the significantly enhanced SERS response from our P-NPG structures primarily arises from efficient activation of a surface plasmon polariton and its coupling with the localized surface plasmon mode. The P-NPG SERS substrates exhibit large area uniform enhancement factors near 108.


The emerging paradigm of network function virtualization advocates deploying virtualized network functions (VNFs) on standard virtualization platforms for significant cost reduction and management flexibility. There have been system designs for managing dynamic deployment and scaling of VNF service chains within one cloud datacenter. Many real-world network services involve geo-distributed service chains, with prominent examples of mobile core networks and IP Multimedia Subsystems (IMSs)). Virtualizing these service chains requires efficient coordination of dynamic VNF deployment across geo-distributed datacenters, calling for a new management system. This paper designs a dynamic scaling system for geo-distributed VNF service chains, using the case of an IMS. IMSs are widely used subsystems for delivering multimedia services among mobile users in a 3G/4G network, whose virtualization has been broadly advocated in the industry for reducing cost, improving network usage efficiency and enabling dynamic network topology reconfiguration for performance optimization. Our scaling system design caters to key control-plane and data-plane service chains in an IMS, combining proactive and reactive approaches for timely, costeffective scaling of the service chains. The design principles are applicable to scaling of other systems with multiple related service chains. We evaluate our system using real-world experiments on both an emulation platform and a geo-distributed public cloud.


Abstract In the 1970s regional groundwater modelling began to be used in support of many hydrogeological investigations in the UK. A number of the studies were concerned with groundwater development at a regional scale in conjunctive use schemes; elsewhere the effect of pumping from aquifers on river flows or the ingress of saline water was considered. Due to the limited power of digital computers at that time, special numerical codes were often prepared for individual projects, with consequent inefficiency and inconsistency of practice. However, by the mid 1990s the need to formalize and standardize groundwater modelling projects was recognized. The Environment Agency of England and Wales prepared a strategy to manage and monitor the projects. A Template Project Brief was prepared to define the many tasks involved in groundwater studies and to clarify the roles of contractor and client (Environment Agency). In addition Guidance Notes were prepared to disseminate procedures and techniques that had resulted in successful outcomes. This paper summarizes some of the earlier studies, provides information about the Project Brief and Guidance Notes and illustrates some critical issues in groundwater modelling by reference to two case studies.


Born in England and transplanted to New York toward the end of the Civil War, Burnett made her home in both countries, and today both countries claim her as their own. The Secret Garden, her best-known work, became an instant modern classic and world-wide bestseller upon its publication in 1911. The text of this Norton Critical Edition is based on the first edition and is accompanied by explanatory annotations. "Backgrounds and Contexts" and "Letters" illuminate important aspects of Burnett's life and work and include her own writings on gardens and their spiritual healing. Four illustrations point to Burnett's prominence in popular culture. "Criticism" includes fourteen contemporary reviews and nine recent critical views of The Secret Garden, including Jerry Phillips's sociopolitical interpretation and Phyllis Bixler's comparative analysis of the Broadway musical adaptation of the novel. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.