Mobility of people and their interactions with devices and services that every day become more pervasive in our life is a valuable challenge for system engineers. Locate friends, retrieve multimedia informations from physicals objects, have medical assistance remotely is going to be a commodity for a more and more wide part of the population, including elderly people. In this scenario have an easy way for discovering and communicating with third party services and resources that we encounter in our every day life is going to make the difference between an enjoyable user experience or a frustrating ones that quickly leads to the abandon of a system. Building on the work done in the past about resources discovery and management I study a solution for user-centered interactions with resources and services dynamically discovered and used by the user in nomadic environments. The solution designed make use of embedded devices, addressing the problem encountered in the research from both end-user and developer point of views. The solution proposal make a full use of the service oriented architecture (SOA) concepts focusing on the goal of achieving the most natural human interaction with devices that the user discover on his way, keeping at the same time the framework architecture lightweight and easily extendible by third-party developers, as the SOA paradigm requires. Accessibility and extensibility are achieved on the end-user side by deploying software needed for the personal device (UbiNode) on most common smartphones and providing a easily understable Graphical User Interface; on the developer side by creating a pluggable framework based on xml and Eclipse eRCP runtimes for a fast development of multiple user interface that fits the constrains of the device in which are them deployed in. Work done consists in design and implementation of several platform components and development of prototypes that takes profit from the overall architecture. Developed modules have been deployed end tested on handled devices. UbiCollab provides a solution platform for ubiquitous collaboration scenarios and this thesis has been carried out as a contribution to it. Keywords: Ubiquitous Computing, User Centered collaboration, User Interfaces, Mobile Devices, Discovery Gestures, Object Tagging, UbiCollab.


An intelligent vibration gripper has been developed. The gripper can handle an object of unknown weight and unknown surface condition with the most suitable grasping force. Additionally, the gripper can adapt the grasping force to the most suitable value for the object even if the weight or the surface conditions of the object change. The gripper has two parallel fingers. Each finger is composed of a mechanical vibration system having two degrees of freedom. The system consists of a main mass block and an oscillator block, and these blocks are connected by two springs. In the main mass block, a harmonic force is always generated and absorbed by a dynamic damper consisting of the oscillator block and a spring, so that the main mass block is kept in a stationary condition and the oscillator block vibrates with a constant amplitude. The object is grasped between both the main mass blocks. When the object is grasped with the most suitable grasping force, not only the object and both main mass blocks become stationary but also both oscillator blocks become stationary because harmonic forces are transmitted to the object from each main mass block and the two harmonic forces cancel each other out. In this gripper, the grasping force is adjusted to the most suitable value as the amplitudes of both oscillator blocks are reduced to zero. This paper describes a fundamental principle of this intelligent gripper and the principle is confirmed by experiment.


Quantitative measures to monitor soil quality indicators such as soil pH and extractable N-P-K are more developed now and are still being explored as to how these measures affect nutrient levels and the chemical health of the soil. The present research is undertaken with a specific view to strengthen the national and local soil quality database by evaluating chemical indicators of soil quality for better soil management practices. As found out from the experimental results, soils in and around the tea gardens of Gohpur sub-division, Assam, generally have properties that make their management somewhat difficult. The long-term deterioration of soil under the tea gardens in the area has led to impoverishment of soil fertility. It is also observed that the soil health is not in accordance with the fertility rating chart given by ICAR (2005). Soil nutrient imbalance is the key issue that needs to be taken up in the area. A suitable socio-economic and policy environment to maintain and improve soil fertility is also lacking. The researchers feel that environmental aspects of soil quality of this area need serious attention in near future for better agricultural practices.


Increasingly powerful hardware has prompted commercial software developers to concentrate not on highly efficient code but instead on usability. With much modern software sharing the same look and feel, a commercial edge can only be gained by increased usability leading to improved productivity. In the commercial world, usability ratings by NSTL (National Software Testing Labs) and similar institutions can affect sales significantly, in the same way that a poor review might prematurely end a play's run in the theatre. In the field of voice output communication aids (VOCAs), client usability and high productivity (in terms of speech output rates) have always been priorities. However, much of this usability has typically centred around users themselves and not the rehabilitation worker, or health care professional, who might participate in developing the range of materials and experiences (maintenance) offered by such an aid. In fact, even in Beukelman and Ansel's (1995) enumeration of research priorities in augmentative and alternative communication, no direct mention is made about ease of maintenance of VOCAs by those who have to structure the contents of these devices. As VOCAs take account of new technologies and become increasingly advanced, they may remain highly accessible to users, but increasingly complex for typical maintainers who have to develop material for them. For example, a DECTalk/symbol based aid might require the writing and maintenance of scripts. This process can be complex, tedious, and, in time-pressured service environments, counter-productive. A simple analogy illustrates the point. At Christmas, a child may receive a toy which needs to be assembled by an adult. The child sees only the completed toy with which they are very happy, but does not appreciate the effort expended by the adult. If the toy were constructed from fewer parts which were less complex it could be constructed more rapidly. This would enable the adult to have a better understanding of the toy's workings in case they needed to fix it, to play with the child for longer, and to reduce potential stress associated with the construction. In a similar way VOCA can be difficult to understand from a maintainer's prospective, which may mean that maintenance times are increased and frustrations raised. Naive maintainers are likely to suffer most in this respect. Concentration on usability, although highly desirable, can mean that maintainers may easily become disillusioned about a specific VOCA. Negative perceptions regarding VOCA maintenance are usually to the detriment of the user. On the other hand with good design a VOCA can be made to be rewarding and productive for both users and maintainers. If a device enables maintainers to build complex materials easily, and offers instant rewards, ultimately this is likely to be of benefit to the user. With modern philosophies of software design such as object orientation, the maintenance of VOCA can be made simple and rewarding if the maintainer interface is correctly designed. It is suggested that maintainers' attitudes and abilities to use a given VOCA should be incorporated into the development cycle as is currently the case with users. With the employment of standard user interface questionnaires, such as the QUIS (Shneiderman, 1992), failings can be addressed and strengths consolidated during the development phase. In our own research, by following the principle that users and maintainers share the same good design needs, such concerns have been addressed in parallel. In this instance the needs of users and maintainers are considered of equal importance. This ethos has produced a software based VOCA known as "Easy Speaker" which, from a user's perspective, seamlessly integrates photorealistic symbols, digitised speech, video clips, animation, MIDI music and the like. By making use of dynamic displays, the user can communicate vocally, in addition to using the device as a learning and recreational environment in its own right. …


Exotic feng-shui practices are an increasingly popular form of applied geography in Anglo-America today. Hardly scientific, feng-shui is, however, systematic, complex, and profound in the context of its own cosmology and symbolism. In this article, I muse on the provenance of "Berkeley School" genius at the UC Berkeley site in relation to its "power of place," using a simplified feng-shui model. My examples introduce and elaborate on the propitious synchronicities found at the site perhaps responsible for the flowering of three prestigious "Berkeley Schools" of creative endeavor following WWI: Carl Sauer's Berkeley School of Cultural Geography; Alfred Kroeber's Berkeley School of Cultural Anthropology; and John Haley's Berkeley School of American Scene Landscape Painting. I muse over some auspicious peculiarities in the common ground at the UC Berkeley site from which these three landscape schools emerge. A general feng-shui cosmological model describes how creative arrays of primal natural forces might converge at the campus site, creating a cosmic force field that generates and shapes the successful thoughts, visions, and creative output of certain of the site's inhabitants. The founding fathers of these three Berkeley Schools, although unbeknownst to them, are perhaps beneficiaries of UC Berkeley's excellent feng-shui site. The model provides a provocative alternative understanding of forces responsible for the longevity and continuing vitality of the "Berkeley School" tradition of cultural geography.


This paper presents new empirical evidence on the cyclical behavior of US unemployment that poses a challenge to standard search and matching models. The correlation between cyclical unemployment and the cyclical component of labor productivity switched sign at the beginning of the Great Moderation in the mid 80s: from negative it became positive, while standard search models imply a negative correlation. I argue that the inconsistency arises because search models do not allow output to be demand determined in the short run. I present a search model with nominal rigidities that can rationalize the empirical findings, and I document two new facts about the Great Moderation that can account for the large and swift increase in the unemployment-productivity correlation in the mid-80s. JEL Classifications: J64, E32, E37, E52


This thesis is a critical re-appropriation of Hendrik Kraemer's theology of religions. Part I introduces theology of religions through the now familiar threefold typology: Kari Earth represents 'exclusivism,' Kari Rahner, 'inclusivism,' and John Hick, 'pluralism' (Chapter 1). It then argues that the typology implicitly represents non-pluralist approaches as theologically deficient and ethically insensitive while masking problems in pluralist positions (Chapter 2). It thus releases Kraemer from the typology and from the more emotive charges directed against 'exclusivism.' Part II chronologically and thematically surveys Kraemer's theology of religions, describing his missiological and theological contexts (Chapter 3) and summarising his major works (Chapter 4). The crux of the argument comes in Part III. First, a survey of the contemporary philosophical climate is offered through a summary and critique of Jean-Frangois Lyotard's interpretation of the postmodern condition Subsequently, three theological responses are assessed with Mark C. Taylor's a/theology and John Milbank's theology presented as avoidable extremes while the work of Hans Frei and George Lindbeck is offered as a mediating position which is dubbed 'postmodern orthodoxy' (Chapter 5). Second, after reviewing key themes in Kraemer's position, theological and phenomenological criticisms are outlined and evaluated. Though they do not seriously threaten the position, these criticisms prohibit extreme interpretations of, and lead to slight modifications in, Kraemer's work (Chapter 6). Finally, when re-read through the lenses of postmodern orthodoxy, Kraemer's thought is shown to offer to contemporary theology of religions avenues of theological creativity which are nevertheless faithful to the Christian tradition (Chapter 7). The thesis concludes that Hendrik Kraemer's theology of religions is worthy of critical re- appropriation.


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY * In the past two years, several federal tax incentives have been extended and expanded for designing and constructing or remodeling energy-efficient buildings, both residential and commercial. * A deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot is available through 2013 for certain energy efficient features in a commercial building construction or retrofit. * Homebuilders may claim a credit of $2,000 per certified energy-efficient home they build. This section 45L credit sunsets this year. * The section 25C residential home improvement credit for installing insulation, new windows and certain heating and cooling and other systems has been increased this year and next, as has the section 25D credit for state-of-the-art residential green energy systems such as solar- and wind-generated power systems. * The depreciation recovery period for "smart" electrical meters and grid systems has been halved to 10 years. ********** In the past two years, several federal tax incentives have been extended and enhanced for designing and constructing energy-efficient buildings, both residential and commercial. Some of these measures should be equally attractive for businesses and individuals looking to remodel existing homes and workplaces to save on energy and, as a bonus, taxes. Four federal laws enacted since early 2008 contain provisions targeting energy conservation: * The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, PL 110-185 (ESA) * The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008, PL 110-289 (HATA) * The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, PL 110-343 (EESA) * The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, PL 111-5 (ARRA) In addition, many states and local governments have enacted provisions to encourage energy-efficient buildings. Too often, a flurry of legislative activity can overwhelm taxpayers and their advisers with new provisions. Typically, the taxing authorities need time to develop summaries and guidelines for newly enacted laws. As a result, taxpayers who could benefit from the deductions and credits might not be aware of them, in some cases missing out on substantial savings. Here are five recent federal provisions expanded or extended by the EESA and the ARRA that should be of interest to builders, architects and anyone in the market for a new building or thinking about retrofitting one for energy savings. These are by no means all the tax incentives for energy-efficient building or remodeling even in these two acts. The EESA extended a number of provisions of the landmark Energy Policy Act of 2005. Among the ESA's provisions were those providing for 50% bonus depreciation on equipment and more funding for the low-income home energy assistance program. HATA requires states to consider energy efficiency in low-income housing when allocating available tax credits to those projects. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ENERGY-EFFICIENT COMMERCIAL BUILDING DEDUCTION For commercial buildings, IRC [section] 179D provides a deduction of up to $1.80 per square foot for energy-efficient features of the buildings construction or retrofit. The taxpayer must secure an analysis by a qualified person (defined as a professional engineer or contractor licensed in the jurisdiction where the real estate is located) who must use software prescribed by the IRS. This deduction is effectively an acceleration of depreciation deductions that would have otherwise been spread over a 39-year recovery life, and reduces tax basis accordingly. This incentive was originally enacted as part of the Energy Tax Policy Act of 2005 (PL 109-58), but was largely overlooked by tax advisers because of its original expiration date of Dec. 31, 2007, for buildings placed in service after Dec. 31,2005. It was extended an additional year by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (PL 109 432) and then until the end of 2013 by the EESA. …


The third and final volume in this series highlights the development of psychology as a health science. A diverse group of leading researchers and clinicians detail the philosophical underpinnings on which the field is based identifying psychology's contribution to healthcare and public health. This volume highlights the development of psychology as a health science, identifies psychology's contribution to public health, and successfully integrates psychological theory to better understand the interface of health, psychology, disease, and behavior. Chapters encompass research perspectives, clinical issues, and public health and policy topics. This practical sourcebook will be an invaluable reference for health psychologists and medical professionals. The three volumes are both comprehensive and specific as they relate to the entire field of health psychology. Topics in Volume 1 explore the role of behavior and psychology in a wide range of medical disorders, and use the ICD-9 diagnostic classification as a basis. Volume 2 examines how behavior affects the development, progression, and treatment of specific medical disorders. This set could be used as an encyclopedia, a manual, or a comprehensive text. It is meant to encompass a newly developing, rapidly expanding, scientifically validating, and clinically recognized area concerned with human health and health care delivery.


Behaviour of energisation transients of high voltage (HV) underground cable system can be established through carefully crafted simulation studies. This information is useful for design engineers to ensure that protection and insulation co-ordination are able to meet design criteria. This paper presents an assessment of the validity and applicability of existing cable models in PSCAD/EMTDC to study energisation transients of HV cable systems. The models considered are the distributed parameter travelling wave models (FD-Phase and FD-Mode models). Their performance is analysed through comparison of simulated results with measured current transient behaviour during the energisation of a 132 kV, 5.6 km underground cable system. The results obtained from FD-Phase model demonstrate acceptable agreement with experimental data, whereas the simulation results of FD-Mode model predicted slightly lower transient peak magnitudes. Both models give reasonable settling time of the corresponding transient envelope.


This research was conducted on the behavior of materials at the Minnesota Road Research Project (Mn/ROAD), the construction of which was completed in 1994. Falling-Weight Deflectometer (FWD) tests were conducted on the test sections at all stages of pavement construction (pre-base, post-base, and post-pavement). Deflection values were highly variable due to variability in surface condition, soil moisture content, density, and stress-dependent effects. In general, backcalculated subgrade moduli tended to increase with increasing FWD sensor offset (decreasing stress). Post-base and post-pavement testing also indicated an apparent increase in subgrade modulus relative to pre-base values. Moduli values were also determined for granular base results. These results were compared to Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) penetration index values as well as to resilient moduli values from tests conducted on subgrade and granular base materials in the lab. The backcalculated subgrade soil modulus values compared well with the laboratory resilient modulus values, but no correlation was seen between backcalculated moduli and penetration index values. The results of this testing will provide a baseline for future analysis of the test sections at Mn/ROAD.


Design, as a discipline can make significant contributions through framing complex issues. This paper explores the values that design practice can offer in the field that cannot be created from a distance with a traditional solution seeking process. This paper presents research showing the benefit of having designers in the field and is based on a project taking place in a Mayan-community in Campeche, Mexico where design thinking was utilized as a tool for achieving sustainable societal change and increasing proactive planning in the community; specifically by generating concepts for improving healthcare. The case study herein presented, ´Artesania para el Bienestar` (Artistry for Wellbeing) includes fieldwork that took place in the community in 2013. The goal of the fieldwork was to find solutions to increase the community´s access to healthcare and to involve a specific group of stakeholders, artisans, to this process of developing the future of the community.
The essence of this paper is not to examine the result of the design process in regard to concepts and solutions created around the topic of healthcare, rather it presents the values and multiple benefits a design process in the field can bring apart from the "end-result" solutions. This case study contributes to the discussion of the role of design, and encourages designers to try new possibilities and directions in design. To achieve sustainable societal change, these aspects of design should be considered and recognized as values in future projects. Research in emergent areas such as social design and social innovation need to grow to support this process. Fuad-Luke (2013) argue that the potential of design research work to lever positive change is significant if it can move beyond the confines of academic discourse, scale up, and find mutually interested partners for these projects to capture the popular imagination.


As the linchpin of the global financial system, the International Monetary Fund provides the balance of payments support, chiefly to developing countries, conditional on strict remedial policy measures. Its approach to policy remains highly controversial, however. While the Fund claims it has adapted, critics allege its policies are harshly doctrinaire, imposing hardships on already poverty-stricken people. For the critics, the half century of its existence is 'fifty years too long' and radical change is essential. This book examines the arguments, tracing the extent of Fund adaption, presenting major new evidence on the consequences of fund programes, and considering its future role.


Summary Background Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors responsible for the development of target organ damage. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the increasing number of MS risk factors on left ventricular function assessed by noninvasive methods. Material/Methods The study included 204 subjects with MS and 76 controls with no MS risk factors. MS was defined by the presence of 3 or more of ATP-NCEP III criteria. MS subjects were grouped according to the number of criteria they fulfilled: 3 criteria (n=91), 4 criteria (n=65) and 5 criteria (n=48). All subjects underwent laboratory blood tests, complete 2-dimensional, pulse and tissue Doppler echocardiography. Echocardiography was used to assess systolic (LVEF, sseptal), diastolic function, by pulse-wave Doppler (E/A ratio) and tissue Doppler imaging (E/e′average), and global left ventricular function (Tei index). Appropriate time intervals for the estimation of the Tei index were obtained by tissue Doppler. Results Transmitral E/A ratio decreased significantly and progressively from the 3 criteria to the 5 criteria group (0.82±0.25 vs. 0.79±0.24 vs. 0.67±0.14, p<0.001). The transmitral E/E′average ratio was significantly and gradually increased from the 3 criteria to the 5 criteria group (7.76±1.81 vs. 9.44±2.35 vs. 10.82±2.56, p<0.001). The left ventricle Tei index progressively increased from the 3 criteria to the 5 criteria group (0.43±0.11 vs. 0.48±0.10 vs. 0.54±0.12, p<0.001). Conclusions The increasing number of MS criteria is associated with cardiac diastolic dysfunction.


In many practical applications it is not possible to measure all the states required to control the system. In such instances observer/filter is used to give a good estimate of the states of the system. The objective of the observer is to estimate the states such that the error between the actual and computed measurements goes to zero and obtain the "best" estimates of the states of a given system. In the current study a new nonlinear observer structure is proposed. The development of the observer is based on optimal control theory. A cost function is defined in terms of the measurement residual and the magnitude of correction term. The observer gains are obtained by minimizing the cost function with respect to the magnitude of corrections. The proposed observer is used to estimate the states of a one-dimensional electrostatic micro-actuator. The states of the actuator dynamics are, charge on the capacitor plates, the distance between the plates and the relative velocity between the plates. The regulation of the actuator states to desired trajectories is achieved through optimal control based state feedback. However in practice it is very difficult to measure the relative position and velocity of the plates. In this paper optimal feedback control based on the state estimates provided by the observer is used to regulate the actuator states to the desired location.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


The traditional belief that Christ will come again to judge both the quick and the dead' has been subjected to severe criticism in recent times. It has been regarded as part of Tesus inheritance from his situation as the misunderstanding of the disciples falsely attributing to their Lord their own expectations and as something to be demythologized. This thesis suggests that the belief in Christ's return to the world at the End belongs to the very fabric of the early church's life and thought, and (as far as this can be reconstructed) it belongs to Jesus' own teaching. By far the greatest problem presented by the New Testament's Parousia hope is the insistence on its imminent fulfilment. This imminence is often understood as due to the disciples. Sometimes it is regarded as an error, albeit relatively unimportant, on Jesus' part. These views are examined and found unsatisfactory. The thesis then reviews the relevant New Testament material and suggests that the early church certainty did hold an imminent hope, but that this was not delimited (that is, the church did not think that the Parousia would certainly occur within a certain defined period of time) The imminence is rather to be understood as the conviction that since Christ had come, the revelation of the Kingdom of God in power could not be thought of as far off. Likewise, it is suggested, Jesus himself awaited the revelation of the Son of Man in glory as an imminent event, but refused to delimit its occurrence. The thesis suggests that the New Testament's insistence on the nearness of the Parousia is because undelimited valid for the church today, and should encourage her to urgent mission and to patient watchfulness.


This study reports a new hybrid ion exchange-nanofiltration (HIX-NF) process for desalination of sea and brackish water that can attain significant energy economy over the conventional membrane-based pressure driven processes. In this hybrid process, an ion exchange step converts monovalent chloride ions of saline water to divalent sulfate ions and the resulting solution, having a reduced osmotic pressure than the feed, is desalinated using a nanofiltration (NF) membrane. The sulfate rich reject stream from the NF process is used to regenerate the anion exchanger. Results validate that NF membranes can desalinate sodium sulfate solution at a much lower transmembrane pressure compared to RO membranes as well as yield a higher permeate flux. The sulfate-chloride selectivity of the anion exchangers plays important role in sustainability of the process. Laboratory studies have revealed that a single type of anion exchanger cannot sustain the process for saline water with different salt concentrations. However, anion exchangers with different sizes of amine functional groups (e.g. quaternary-, tertiary-, secondary- and primary amine) hold the promise that the process can be tailored to achieve sustainability. Laboratory studies have validated the basic premise of the hybrid process including greater than two times less energy requirement than RO process for the same feed water and same permeate recovery condition.


Indene-C60 bisadduct (IC60BA), which can offer a significantly higher open-circuit voltage (Voc) than monoadducts, has become the research focus as electron acceptor materials in polymer solar cells (PSCs) in recent years. However, despite its popularity, IC60BA have always been applied in PSCs as mixture of several regioisomers and the nature of this mixture has never been fully investigated and understood. Herein, for the first time, 12 major regioisomers of IC60BA were isolated and a full investigation was carried out with respect to their structure, abundance, solubility and their corresponding photovoltaic performance. The results show that the PSCs based on these regioisomeric structures present very diverse PCE and their photovoltaic performance was dramatically affected not only by the relative indene positions but also by the steric orientation of the two indene groups. Electrochemical studies further revealed that the effect of energetic disorder inside the IC60BA regioisomers on their photovoltaic performance is insignificant when applied in PSCs. However, the steric structures and solubility of the regioisomers were found to have significant impact on the morphology and bulk properties of the active layer of PSCs, which give rise to very different PCE of devices based on IC60BA regioisomers with different structures.


With the aim of determining whether grafting could improve salinity tolerance of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), and what characteristics of the rootstock were required to increase the salt tolerance of the shoot, a commercial tomato hybrid (cv. Jaguar) was grafted onto the roots of several tomato genotypes with different potentials to exclude saline ions. The rootstock effect was assessed by growing plants at different NaCl concentrations (0, 25, 50, and 75 mM NaCl) under greenhouse conditions, and by determining the fruit yield and the leaf physiological changes induced by the rootstock after 60 d and 90 d of salt treatment. The grafting process itself did not affect the fruit yield, as non-grafted plants of cv. Jaguar and those grafted onto their own root showed the same yield over time under non-saline conditions. However, grafting raised fruit yield in Jaguar on most rootstocks, although the positive effect induced by the rootstock was lower at 25 mM NaCl than at 50 and 75 mM NaCl. At these higher levels, the plants grafted onto Radja, Pera and the hybrid VolgogradskijxPera increased their yields by approximately 80%, with respect to the Jaguar plants. The tolerance induced by the rootstock in the shoot was related to ionic rather than osmotic stress caused by salinity, as the differential fruit yield responses among graft combinations were mainly related to the different abilities of rootstocks to regulate the transport of saline ions. This was corroborated by the high negative correlation found between fruit yield and the leaf Na(+) or Cl(-) concentrations in salt-treated plants after 90 d of salt treatment. In conclusion, grafting provides an alternative way to enhance salt tolerance, determined as fruit yield, in the tomato, and evidence is reported that the rootstock is able to reduce ionic stress.


This paper examines long term trends in job security by looking at employment-tounemployment transitions in the March CPS. Unlike other datasets used to examine this issue, these data provide a consistently defined measure for the period covering 1967 through 1997, are available every year, and cover all workers. I find that job security appears to have declined during the early 1970s, but from the mid 1970s through the mid-to-late 1990s, there has been no change. These findings are consistent with the popular perception that jobs were less secure in the 1980s than in the 1970s, but they are not consistent with the perception that job security continued to decline in the 1990s.


Abstract. Sensor fusion of a MEMS IMU with a magnetometer is a popular system design, because such 9-DoF (degrees of freedom) systems are capable of achieving drift-free 3D orientation tracking. However, these systems are often vulnerable to ambient magnetic distortions and lack useful position information; in the absence of external position aiding (e.g. satellite/ultra-wideband positioning systems) the dead-reckoned position accuracy from a 9-DoF MEMS IMU deteriorates rapidly due to unmodelled errors. Positioning information is valuable in many satellite-denied geomatics applications (e.g. indoor navigation, location-based services, etc.). This paper proposes an improved 9-DoF IMU indoor pose tracking method using batch optimization. By adopting a robust in-situ user self-calibration approach to model the systematic errors of the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer simultaneously in a tightly-coupled post-processed least-squares framework, the accuracy of the estimated trajectory from a 9-DoF MEMS IMU can be improved. Through a combination of relative magnetic measurement updates and a robust weight function, the method is able to tolerate a high level of magnetic distortions. The proposed auto-calibration method was tested in-use under various heterogeneous magnetic field conditions to mimic a person walking with the sensor in their pocket, a person checking their phone, and a person walking with a smartwatch. In these experiments, the presented algorithm improved the in-situ dead-reckoning orientation accuracy by 79.8–89.5 % and the dead-reckoned positioning accuracy by 72.9–92.8 %, thus reducing the relative positioning error from metre-level to decimetre-level after ten seconds of integration, without making assumptions about the user's dynamics.


This paper discusses issues on current development and measurement practices that were identified from a pilot study conducted on Jordanian small software firms. The study was to investigate whether developers follow development and measurement best practices in web applications development. The analysis was conducted in two stages: first, grouping the development and measurement practices using variable clustering, and second, identifying the acceptance degree. Mean interval was used to determine the degree of acceptance. Hierarchal clustering was used to group the development and measurement practices. The actual findings of this survey will be used for building a new methodology for developing web applications in small software firms.


Our work deals with the influence of light wavelength on values of wave aberration coefficients and image quality for an axial object point, and a technique for calculation of the dependence of aberration coefficients on the wavelength is proposed. Moreover, the formula for calculation of the monochromatic and polychromatic Strehl definition using chromatic aberration coefficients is derived and the tolerance limits are given. The proposed method of determination of chromatic aberration coefficients is shown for the case of the imaging of an axial object point by a rotationally symmetric optical system. Relations that enable calculation of chromatic aberration coefficients are derived. Finally, the proposed method is applied on an example of an achromatic doublet, and the results of calculations are compared with the values obtained using commercial optical design software (ZEMAX, OSLO).


BACKGROUND. Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is a commonly performed procedure. The internal thoracic or mammary artery is gaining widespread preference as the bypassing conduit. Synthetic grafts used for large diameter substitutes are successful but have dismal patency as small diameter (< 6mm) grafts due to compliance mismatch and thrombogeniecity. To overcome this, cell adhesion to synthetic scaffolds is used to construct tissue engineered grafts. For this to be successful a precise understanding of the behaviour of cells at the synthetic graft surface is required under static and haemodynamic conditions.
The aim of this research was to investigate gene expression of seeded human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) on the novel compliance conduit under physiological flow condition; furthermore various physiological shear stress preconditioning was used to investigate adhesion of HUVEC on the conduit.
METHODS. HUVEC seeding of a novel polymer nanocomposite was undertaken. An optimal method for extracting mRNA from HUVEC seeded onto conduits was then validated. The optimal seeding conditions for the conduits were delineated. Haemodynamic conditions were applied to the seeded conduits and gene expression was investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Shear stress was used to assess the ideal preconditioning environment.
RESULTS. Studies of nanocomposite graft material and cultured HUVEC proved that the novel nanocomposite polymer was non-toxic to cells and supported good rates of growth. To provide useful flow studies an extrusion-phase inversion method was used to reproducibly fabricate conduits of this nanocomposite with compliance similar to the native artery. The optimal seeding density of the conduits was found to be 1.2 x 104 cells/cm2. It was demonstrated that RNA can be extracted from seeded conduits and I succeeded in showing the optimal technique.
This study culminates in the combination of all these techniques when the gene expression of HUVEC under flow was studied after physiological shear stress was applied on the conduits. Genes significantly upregulated included TGF-β1, COL-1 and PECAM-1. Low shear stress demonstrated the optimal preconditioning environment with increasing expression of VEGFR-1 and VEGFR-2 genes.
CONCLUSION. This thesis demonstrated that novel nanocomposite small diameter bypass graft can be seeded with human endothelial cells.


The history of community colleges nationwide has been well documented. We know that the primary focus for community colleges has been to serve as the first point of entrance for many students who, otherwise, would not have been able to gain access to higher education. More than just increased access has been gained with the evolution of community colleges. Greater reliance on these colleges seems to be a significant strategy for most states, especially those trying to address the issue of a growing diversity of student populations. In this article the author will examine the growth and expansion of community colleges in the West by viewing the phenomenon through several lenses. The descriptive data are provided to lay the foundation of the broad, sweeping influence of community colleges in today's postsecondary environment on the national scene. More specifically data are provided for five decades for each of the fifteen Western states, including enrollment, funding for all of higher education, and funding for community colleges. Finally, recent public policy issues facing the community colleges in the West are reviewed. Introduction Higher education in general has expanded and contributed to the advancement of our country on many fronts, not the least of which is economic growth. Specifically community colleges have served multiple uses with their focus on workforce preparation, transfer programs, and short-term training for various industries. But probably the most important contribution community colleges have made is viding access to postsecondary education. The history of community colleges has been documented quite extensively (Baker, 1994; Brint & Karabel, 1989; Cohen & Brawer, 1989; Goodchild & Wechsler, 1997), and the numbers demonstrate continuous growth and expansion ever since the flrst community college was established in Joliet, Illinois, in 1901 (Deegan & Tillery 1985). We know from these and other accounts that the primary focus for community colleges has been to serve as the flrst point of entrance for many students who otherwise, would not have been able to gain access to higher education (Cohen, 2001). Through this access, millions have been served and educated by community colleges all over the United states. However, more than just increased access has been gained with the evolution of community colleges, Greater reliance on community colleges seems to be a significant strategy for many states, especially those trying to meet the needs of a growing diversity of student populations. Community colleges have played an especially poignant role by being a flrst point of entrance for diverse populations (Simmons, 1994). Many community colleges across the United States find large minority populations enrolled in their programs though the graduation rates have been uneven or the transfer rates have not been as high as the entrance numbers. Because community colleges have played such a critical role in the history of higher education, it seems fitting to explore their expansion in the Western states. This article examines the growth and expansion of community colleges, looking exclusively at the fifteen states in the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) over of five decades. The growth of community colleges in the West will be viewed through four different lenses. The first lens focuses on the growth of community colleges in the WICHE states by looking at the number and types of community colleges found in this region over the five decades. Special population institutions such as Tribal Colleges (TCs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) are noted and their growth described. Through the second lens, an important view of the enrollments and participation in community colleges comes into focus, providing a clear picture of growth in terms of the percentage of students enrolled in community college; this growth is also presented and expressed as a percentage of the state's total postsecondary enrollment. …


We present a conflict-based approach to diagnosing Discrete Event Systems (DES) which generalises Reiter's Diagnose algorithm to a much broader class of problems. This approach obviates the need to explicitly reconstruct the system's behaviors that are consistent with the observation, as is typical of existing DES diagnosis algorithms. Instead, our algorithm explores the space of diagnosis hypotheses, testing hypotheses for consistency, and generating conflicts which rule out successors and other portions of the search space. Under relatively mild assumptions, our algorithm correctly computes the set of preferred diagnosis candidates. We investigate efficient symbolic representations of the hypotheses space and provide a SAT-based implementation of this framework which is used to address a real-world problem in processing alarms for a power transmission system.


The present study adds to our understanding of how learners employ lexical and grammatical phenomena to communicate in writing in different types of interlanguage discourse. A multidimensional (factor) analysis of a corpus of L2 Spanish writing (202,241 words) generated by second- and third-year, university-level learners was performed. The analysis uncovered four significant clusters that can be considered distinct discourse types with two main stylistic variations: narrative (characterized by verbal features) and expository (characterized by nominal features). Results also provide examples of the multiple ways that stylistic sophistication and linguistic complexity occur in the L2. Although the Spanish learners' discourse did not show signs of syntactic complexity (e.g. frequent use of relative clauses, subordinate clauses, use of clitics), the frequent use of nominal features affects informational density due to the presence of numerous derivational morphemes. Inflectional complexity in the form of marked forms was not predominant in the data set. Still, the learners' verbal inflections did vary, which is a sign of L2 development (Howard 2002, 2006; Collentine 2004; Marsden and David 2008).


Environmental monitoring represents a major application domain for wireless sensor networks (WSN). However, despite significant advances in recent years, there are still many challenging issues to be addressed to exploit the full potential of the emerging WSN technology. In this dissertation, we introduce the design and implementation of low-power wireless sensor networks for long-term, autonomous, and near-real-time environmental monitoring applications. We have developed an out-of-box solution consisting of a suite of software, protocols and algorithms to provide reliable data collection with extremely low power consumption. Two wireless sensor networks based on the proposed solution have been deployed in remote field stations to monitor soil moisture along with other environmental parameters. As parts of the ever-growing environmental monitoring cyberinfrastructure, these networks have been integrated into the Texas Environmental Observatory system for long-term operation. Environmental measurement and network performance results are presented to demonstrate the capability, reliability and energy-efficiency of the network.


Technology policy - whether we should have one and what form such a policy should take - was a core issue of the 1992 presidential campaign, and in February 1993 the Clinton administration confirmed that fostering new technologies will be a critical part of its agenda for redirecting the American economy. To help orient the inevitable debates on this agenda, experts from Harvard's Center for Science and International Affairs here examine a set of key issues and problems that, taken together, define the scope and limits of such a policy.Among the topics discussed are the new relationship between federal and state governments implied by the administration's proposals, the usefulness of the concept of "critical technologies" for setting priorities, the creation of new missions for the national laboratories (particularly the three weapons laboratories), the changing nature of the social contract between the government and research universities, the problems that will confront the creation of a national information infrastruc-ture, the best ways to promote small- -and medium-sized "driver" companies as well as civilian research and development generally, and the relationship between education and the requirements for work in the twenty-first century. Lewis M. Branscomb is Albert Pratt Public Service Professor and Director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University.


This paper investigates the role played by the non-academic support systems that students can access during their master's journey within the Open, Distance and e-Learning context. In defining support, this paper draws on the theory of connectivism, which portrays relationships as a network with various connecting nodes. Traditionally, support for master's students takes the form of academic assistance that is channelled primarily through the supervision relationship. The relationship between student and supervisor in Open, Distance and e-Learning represents the main bridge between student and institution. As such, the process of supervision has evolved into a critical component of student success at the level of master's studies. The theory of connectivism challenges this rigid view of unidirectional learning in a supervision relationship or programme. The connectivist approach acknowledges that learning and knowledge rest within a diversity of opinion. Drawing from a cohort of postgraduate students at a South African distance‑education institution, this paper measures the learning network of each student. In total, 37 students and graduates responded to an online survey aimed at investigating the networks that students have created during their master's studies. The instrument consisted of 34 items that covered aspects such as the cognitive, affective and systemic support provided by supervisors as well as external sources of support. While the supervision relationship remains the core process during postgraduate studies, meeting the needs of postgraduate students extends well beyond the capabilities of most individual supervisors. Results in this study demonstrated that students have a range of needs for the successful completion of their qualifications. Respondents reportedly had the necessary social and financial capital to support these needs outside the supervision relationships; however, not all students do. This study, therefore, provided a student‑support framework that may identify the support needs and support sources to improve postgraduate student support.


The pulvinar is the largest nucleus in the primate thalamus and has topographically organized connections with multiple cortical areas, thereby forming extensive cortico‐pulvino‐cortical input–output loops. Neurophysiological studies have suggested a role for these transthalamic pathways in regulating information transmission between cortical areas. However, evidence for a causal role of the pulvinar in regulating cortico–cortical interactions is sparse and it is not known whether pulvinar's influences on cortical networks are task‐dependent or, alternatively, reflect more basic large‐scale network properties that maintain functional connectivity across networks regardless of active task demands. In the current study, under passive viewing conditions, we conducted simultaneous electrophysiological recordings from ventral (area V4) and dorsal (lateral intraparietal area [LIP]) nodes of macaque visual system, while reversibly inactivating the dorsal part of the lateral pulvinar (dPL), which shares common anatomical connectivity with V4 and LIP, to probe a causal role of the pulvinar. Our results show a significant reduction in local field potential phase coherence between LIP and V4 in low frequencies (4–15 Hz) following muscimol injection into dPL. At the local level, no significant changes in firing rates or LFP power were observed in LIP or in V4 following dPL inactivation. Synchronization between pulvinar spikes and cortical LFP phase decreased in low frequencies (4–15 Hz) both in LIP and V4, while the low frequency synchronization between LIP spikes and pulvinar phase increased. These results indicate a causal role for pulvinar in synchronizing neural activity between interconnected cortical nodes of a large‐scale network, even in the absence of an active task state.


Flowering plants rely on vectors for pollen transfer, and cannot choose their mates. Although recipient plants are unable to choose which pollen they receive, post-pollination selection (acting pre- or post-zygotically) may modify the outcome of pollination. Here we show that genetic variation among pollen recipients can predict the outcome of pollen competition (seed paternity) in the dioecious white campion. To investigate whether genetic variation among pollen recipients affects paternity, we applied the same pollen mixture from two males to three females, two of which full sisters and the third one chosen at random (unrelated). To control for maternal environmental effects, the plants used for these
crosses were greenhouse-reared F1. We replicated this in two populations, for a total of 51 crosses, and genotyped a total of 772 offspring to assign paternity. If genetic variation affects paternity, we expected greater similarity of paternity success of the focal male with the sisters, compared to the unrelated female. Paternity of the focal male was significantly more repeatable over sisters, compared to repeatability over the mean of sisters and the unrelated females. When populations were analyzed separately, this was significant in one of the two populations. Paternity was not significantly correlated with stigma size. This provides evidence that in at least one population, genetic variation among individual plants influences the donors' paternity success, as assessed through genetic analysis of the seedling. Since due to gravitydispersed seeds natural patches may often consist of related plants, the observed effect may contribute to variation in male reproductive success.


Can neuroscience lead to a new metapsychology of adolescence? N. Georgieff's paper leads us to question the concepts of complementarity and integration, especially complementarity developed by G. Devereux. It borrowed from some currently essential domains questions about the nature of theory raised by the development of relativist and quantum physics.


In this response to Cooren (2014), I question whether a theory tied to a scholarly tradition with strong epistemological and methodological commitments can in fact be a response to Craig's (1999) call for dialogue between communication traditions. Ventriloquism originated in the Montreal School of the Communicative Constitution of Organizations (CCO), a field of study that understands organizations and organizing to be the result of interaction. Because of this epistemology, CCO scholars use conversation analysis (CA) as their primary method. Although Cooren has presented ventriloquism as a means to unify the field, it seems difficult to imagine other research methodologies being adopted into such a vision.


We present an extensive study on the dependence of the convective turnover time (conv) on the stellar metallicity and age for main-sequence stars of masses 0.6{1.6 M. To this aim we have used and compared predictions by stellar models based on the classical Mixing Length Theory and models incorporating a Full Spectrum of Turbulence treatment of subphotospheric convection. We show that the metallicity eect is relevant for dG stars but negligible for dK stars, while stellar age is important when computing the turnover times for red dwarfs younger than logt 8:5 yr. A scatter by up to a factor 3 could be spuriously introduced in the activity vs. Rossby number relationships if such eects are neglected. We have tested our model predictions on the metallicity eect by comparison with the observed median X-ray luminosities for dG and dK stars in the open clusters NGC 2516, the Pleiades, and Blanco 1, having similar age but likely dierent metal contents. We show that our model predictions, taking into account also the dependence of the coronal plasma emissivity on the metal abundance, are in agreement with the observations in all cases except for the dK stars in the metal-rich cluster Blanco 1, where our assumption of a rotation period distribution similar to those of the other cluster need to be conrmed by future observations.


A new model of pollution transport in natural streams was developed and tested. Dead zone storage is modeled as a two time constant process. This approach better matches the observed persistence of concentration distribution skewness. Calibration of the model for a cave stream is in progress. Tracer dye was dropped in a cave stream and water samples collected at three downstream stations. The tracer studies were performed once during low flow and once during moderate flow. From this data, dispersion coefficients and dead zone volume ratios were determined. Once calibrated for several different flow regimes, the model can be used to develop a water pollution model for this karst watershed. The effect of rerouting of subsurface flow on mixing is discussed.


Conceptions of learning are the fundamental beliefs and ideas people hold about their own learning. To a large extent, these understandings determine the way in which learning tasks are tackled and, ultimately, the outcome ofleaming experiences. Using a phenomenographic aoproach, this study explored the conceptions of teaming held by six students in the lower, middle and upper grades of primary school. Data collected from a series of individual in-depth interviews resulted in the identification of six distinctly different conceptions of learning. At the most basic level, the students articulated their understanding of learning in a very general sense. This level is a unique finding of this study and has been termed Generic Learning. At the next level, students associated leaming with being physically involved and Doing Things. As they progressed to more advanced understandings, the importance of Knowing More Things and Knowing Harder Things about their world was evident. Making sense of material was characteristic of the two final and most sophisticated conceptions which were labeled Searching for Meaning and Constructing New Understandings. These six categories show that primary school students perceive leaming in a variety of ways. Therefore, teachers must not assume that all students perceive learning homogeneously, but rather endeavour to understand the differences and the implications these differences are likely to have on the way students approach their own learning. This kn.owledge will enable teachers to develop improved teaching methodf. that will facilitate learning, whatever their students' conceptions oflemning may be.


Mammalian genomes are folded in a hierarchy of topologically associating domains (TADs), subTADs and looping interactions. The nested nature of chromatin domains has rendered it challenging to identify a sensitive and specific metric for detecting subTADs and quantifying their dynamic reconfiguration across cellular states. Here, we apply graph theoretic principles to quantify hierarchical folding patterns in high-resolution chromatin topology maps. We discover that TADs can be accurately detected using a Louvain-like locally greedy algorithm to maximize network modularity. By varying a resolution parameter in the modularity quality function, we accurately partition the mouse genome across length scales into a hierarchical nested structure of network communities exhibiting a wide range of sizes. To distinguish high probability subTADs from the full detected set, we developed and applied a new 'hierarchical spatial variance minimization' method. Moreover, we identified a large number of dynamically altered communities between pluripotent embryonic stem cells and multipotent neural progenitor cells. Cell type specific boundaries correlate with trends in dynamic occupancy of the architectural protein CTCF, thereby validating their biological relevance. Together, these data demonstrate the utility of metrics from network science in quantifying a nested hierarchy of dynamic 3D chromatin communities across length scales. Our findings are significant toward unraveling the link between higher-order genome folding and gene expression during healthy development and the deregulation of molecular pathways linked to disease.


Inside wind farms, the wakes of upwind turbines result in a significant reduction in power production. Yawing upwind turbines can be used to deflect the wakes away from turbines. Even though this reduces the power production of upwind turbines, it can potentially result in increasing the power production of the whole wind farm. The present work aims to investigate the possibility of improving the performance of wind farms by controlling the yaw angle of turbines. In this regard, wind-tunnel experiments were carried out to study the wake interactions of model turbines and their performance at different yaw angles and different layout configurations. First, it is observed that the power production of the two model turbines, located in a line parallel to the wind, is not considerably improved by yawing the first one. Next, the effect of yaw angle on the performance of a row of ten model turbines parallel to the wind flow, leading to full-wake conditions, was studied. Two configurations were considered: (a) turbines are yawed to the same direction with respect to the wind flow, and (b) each two consecutive turbines are yawed to different directions. The first configuration is found to have a better performance in terms of power production, whereas fatigue loads are lower in the second one. In the first configuration, the best power production is observed when the first turbine has a large yaw angle, and it progressively decreases for the next turbines. Yaw angle control was also considered for the case that turbines are located in partial-wake conditions. These conditions, which commonly occur in real-scale wind farms, are achieved in the wind tunnel by shifting the downwind turbines laterally with respect to the first turbine. In this case, not only can yawing upwind turbines potentially increase the power production of wind farms, but also it can decrease the fatigue loads on downwind turbines by totally deflecting the wake away from them. In general, it is found that the control of the yaw angle in this situation can significantly improve the power even for just two turbines, unlike the case in which the wind flow is exactly parallel to the row of turbines.


Recovering from power outages is an essential task in distribution of electricity. Our industrial partner postulates that the recovery should be interactive rather than automatic: supporting the operator by preventing choices that destabilize the network.

Interactive configurators, successfully used in specifying products and services, support users in selecting logically constrained parameters in a sound, complete and backtrack-free manner. Interactive restoration algorithms based on reduced ordered binary decision diagrams (BDDs) had been developed also for power distribution networks, however they did not scale to the large instances, as BDDs representing these could not be compiled.

We discuss the theoretical hardness of the interactive configuration and then provide techniques used to compile two classes of networks. We handle the largest industrial instances available. Our techniques rely on symbolic reachability computation, early variable quantification, domain specific ordering heuristics and conjunctive decomposition.


When a bank is a relationship lender, its financial health affects the access to credit of its borrowers. If bank regulators or uninsured private depositors might force a bank to close, it will take any action necessary to remain open. This can lead to inefficient and excessive foreclosure of the bank's relationship-based loans to viable borrowers, or alternatively to the inability to collect existing loans due to its fear of recognizing an accounting loss if a loan is called. The level of bank capital then has real effects on its borrower's access to credit. A subsidized recapitalization of banks with relationship-based loans can be a good policy. The size of the recapitalization is critical, because providing too small an amount of subsidized capital can be worse than providing no capital. Providing subsidized capital to banks without relationship-based loans is never a good policy.


Section A: Geomagnetism and Dynamos. Propagation of induced fields through the Core. On analysis of the secular variation, 1 hydromagnetic constraint: Theory. Some comments on the theory of homogeneous dynamos. Nearly symmetric hydromagnetic dynamos. Magnetic core-mantle coupling by inertial waves. A three-dimensional Kinematic dynamo. Are planetary dynamos driven by gravitational setting? A study of conditions at the inner core boundary of the Earth. Structure of the Earth's inner core. Time-dependent electromagnetic core-mantle coupling. On topographic core-mantle coupling. A three-dimensional convective dynamo solution with rotating and finitely conducting inner core and mantle. A three-dimensional self-consistent computer simulation of the geomagnetic field. An anelastic evolutionary geodynamo simulation driven by compositional and thermal convection. Rotation and magnetism of Earth's inner core. Section B: Fluid Mechanics and MHD. Characteristic value problems posed by differential equations arising in hydrodynamics and hydromagnetics. On the motion of liquid in a spheroidal cavity of a precessing rigis body. The ellipticity of a slowly rotating configuration. Singularities of Hartmann layers. The critical layer in stratified shear flow. On the hydromagnetics of rotating fluids. A transformation of the stellar wind equations. A Hamiltonian theory for weakly interacting vortices. A unified approach to mean field electrodynamics. MAC waves. On the motion of a fluid that is incompressible in a generalized sense, and its relationship to the Bousinesq approximation. Nonlinear theory of localized standing waves. Ideal instabilities in rapidly rotating MPD systems that have critical layers. Structure and stability of a spherical implosion. Thermal inertial waves in a rotating fluid layer: Exact and asymptotic solutions. The decay of bubble oscillations. Section C: Superfluidity. Roton-phonon relaxation times in helium II. Nucleation of quantized vortex rings by ions in helium II. Theory of the onset of superflow. Motion of ions at finite velocities in helium II. Dynamics of rotons. A simple theory of temperature dependent energy levels : application to He II. The electron bubble in liquid helium. Calculation of the static healing length in helium II. Superflow in restricted geometries. Non-linear hydrodynamics and one fluid theory of Superfluid He4. What happens to vortex rings that shrink? Section D: Mixed Phase Regions. On the life cycle of a mush. Relaxation effects and the evolution of a mush. Superfluidity D. Mixed Phase Regions.


This paper reports math and reading academic achievement and growth in grades 2 to 8 for Hispanic participants and nonparticipants of a Spanish-English dual language program. I apply a piecewise multilevel growth model to administrative data from a large school district that enrolls a substantial English Learner student population. Dual language participants started 2 grade with lower achievement than nonparticipants. In math, dual language participants grew faster than nonparticipants during each school year in grades 2 to 5 but lost more learning during subsequent summers. Thus, despite growing faster in the beginning, dual language students did not learn more than their peers in the long run, and the gap between dual language student and the national average was not closing. In reading, dual language participants grew slightly more slowly during school years but lost less learning during the summers, closing the gap between themselves and the national average. These findings suggest that programs aimed at addressing achievement gaps need to consider summer as well as school-year learning for historicallyunderserved student populations.


To assess the capacity of fluid inclusions in mantle minerals for CO 2 retention, annealing experiments were conducted for two mantle xenoliths with CO 2 inclusions for 8 days at 1000 °C under atmospheric pressure and f O 2 of 10 −11 MPa. The results show no marked decrease in the CO 2 density of the CO 2 inclusions for any examined minerals – olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene, or spinel. The CO 2 density of CO 2 inclusions in olivine in the present mantle xenoliths is lower than that in pyroxenes or spinel. Results of previous studies indicate that the low CO 2 density in olivine is attributable to plastic deformation of olivine around CO 2 inclusions during annealing in ascending magma. Results of this study present fundamental implications for deformation mechanisms that arise from internal pressure of fluid inclusions in silicate minerals. We calculated the stress field in minerals having a CO 2 inclusion. Results show a steep stress gradient in the host around the inclusion. Such local stress in the mineral induces a local rise in the density of dislocations around the CO 2 inclusions. The orthopyroxene used for this study showed a sparse distribution of dislocations around a CO 2 inclusion, whereas olivine showed dense dislocations around CO 2 inclusions, implying that the low CO 2 density of the CO 2 inclusions in olivine results from volume expansion of the CO 2 inclusions through plastic deformation of the host mineral during annealing of the xenoliths in ascending magma. In this respect, constancy of CO 2 density during the annealing experiments for all minerals is an interesting finding. Regarding olivines, the reduction of internal pressure of the CO 2 inclusions or interaction of the dense dislocations possibly inhibits decrepitation or further volume expansion of the CO 2 inclusions during annealing experiments. However, pyroxenes and spinel show higher and similar CO 2 density, which reflects the resistance to plastic deformation and which indicates the effectiveness of CO 2 inclusions in these minerals as a depth probe for mantle xenoliths.


RNA interference (RNAi)-based technology has been proven as a novel approach for insect pest control. However, whether insects could evolve resistance to RNAi and the underlying mechanism is largely unknown. The target gene mutations were thought to be one of the potential ways to develop the resistance. Here we predicted the effective siRNA candidates that could be derived from dsRNA against the Colorado potato beetle (CPB) β-Actin gene (dsACT). By site-directed mutagenesis, we synthesized the dsRNAs with the defect in generation of effective siRNAs (and thus were supposed to have comparable low RNAi efficacy). We showed that, with mismatches to the target gene, all the dsRNA variants caused similar levels of silencing of target gene, mortality and larval growth retardation of CPB. Our results suggest that when the mismatch rate of dsACT and target β-Actin mRNA is less than 3%, the RNAi efficiency is not impaired in CPB, which might imply the low possibility of RNAi resistance evolving through the sequence mismatches between dsRNA and the target gene.


This paper reports the numerical results of the inversed perforation test instrumented with Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar SHPB with an instrumented pressure bar on the AlSi7Mg0.5 aluminium foam core sandwich panels with 0.8 mm thick 2024 T3 aluminium top and bottom skin. The numerical models are developed in order to understand the origin of the enhancement of the top skin loads found under impact loading (paper published by [1]). Numerical predicted piercing force vs displacement curves are compared with experimental measurements (tests at impact velocities at 27 and 44 m/s). The simulation catches all process of the perforation of the sandwich panels (top skin, foam core, and bottom skin). Within experimental scatter, there is a good agreement between numerical predictions and experimental measurements. Virtual tests with different impact velocities up 200 m/s are presented and showed a significant enhancement of the piercing force under impact loading (top skin peak and foam core plateau loads). In order to understand the origin of these force enhancements, any difference of detailed local information between static and dynamic loading is studied and showed that a shock front effect is responsible for the enhancement piercing force. An analytical model using an improved RPPL shock model based a power law densification assumption is proposed to calculate the top skin piercing force. The improved RPPL shock model agrees with the FE results for small velocities and gives better prediction of the piercing force than the RPPL shock model for large velocities (>100 m/s).


This paper is a detail of slave trade and how it impacted Africans and specifically how it became a source of inspiration for John Wesley the founder of Methodism in his mission endeavors. The article uses Wesleyanism in reference to John Wesley's mission work. Muslim or Christian Slavery refers to slave trade that was driven by followers of Islam and Christianity. The paper is divided into subsection. First, John Wesley (1703-17891) the founder of Wesleyan movements including Methodism is discussed and his role in the fight against slavery. The paper delves into how religion was used to advance or fight against slave trade; especially looking at the role played by American Methodist in this task. The paper concludes by challenging religions especially Christianity and Islam to be sensitive to this history whenever they advance their outreach.


Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) is vitally important for sub-Saharan Africa, in order to reduce unemployment and poverty, and to ensure sufficiently high economic growth rates. In this study it is argued that the continent's inadequate supply of human capital is one of the main reasons for the slow inflow of FDI into Africa. Physical and human capital work in a complementary fashion. If human capital cannot - owing to inappropriate human resource development - complement physical capital, investment will be reduced. Thus, human resource development, especially strategies aimed at skills development in technical, health care, and other professional occupations, is indispensable if Africa wishes to attract the levels of FDI it needs to achieve sufficient economic growth. Recommendations are made for an FDI friendly human resource development strategy for African countries.


In the context of stereovision SLAM, we propose a way to enrich the landmark models. Vision-based SLAM approaches usually rely on interest points associated to a point in the Cartesian space: by adjoining oriented planar patches (if they are present in the environment), we augment the landmark description with an oriented frame. Thanks to this additional information, the robot pose is fully observable with the perception of a single landmark, and the knowledge of the patches orientation helps the matching of landmarks. The paper depicts the chosen landmark model, the way to extract and match them, and presents some SLAM results obtained with such landmarks.


The arrival of English settlers in the American Southeast in 1670 brought the British and the Native Americans into contact both with foreign peoples and with unfamiliar gender systems. In a region in which the balance of power between multiple players remained uncertain for many decades, British and Native leaders turned to concepts of gender and family to create new diplomatic norms to govern interactions as they sought to construct and maintain working relationships. In Brothers Born of One Mother , Michelle LeMaster addresses the question of how differing cultural attitudes toward gender influenced Anglo-Indian relations in the colonial Southeast. As one of the most fundamental aspects of culture, gender had significant implications for military and diplomatic relations. Understood differently by each side, notions of kinship and proper masculine and feminine behaviour wielded during negotiations had the power to either strengthen or disrupt alliances. The collision of different cultural expectations of masculine behaviour and men's relationships to and responsibilities for women and children became significant areas of discussion and contention. Native American and British leaders frequently discussed issues of manhood (especially in the context of warfare), the treatment of women and children, and intermarriage. Women themselves could either enhance or upset relations through their active participation in diplomacy, war, and trade. Leaders invoked gendered metaphors and fictive kinship relations in their discussions, and by evaluating their rhetoric, Brothers Born of One Mother investigates the intercultural conversations about gender that shaped Anglo-Indian diplomacy. LeMaster's study contributes importantly to historians' understanding of the role of cultural differences in inter group contact and investigates how gender became part of the ideology of European conquest in North America, providing a unique window into the process of colonisation in America.


Letter from Ralph Yarborough explaining to Dr. Hector P. Garcia a Democratic publication in the Dallas area called The White Rocker and the need for pro-Democratic writings and Spanish-language publications. Yarborough asks Garcia to explore possibilities for such in the Corpus Christi area, Nueces County, or other areas of Texas. The letter was also sent to some other publishers of Spanish-language newspapers in the state.


How adolescents cope with the stress of bracing or spinal fusion surgery for idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and how coping might impact quality of life (QOL) for this population is unknown. The primary aim of this study was thus to examine these relationships. Forty-eight adolescents participated in this cross-sectional study and completed the SRS-22r , the PedsQL , and the A-COPE during regularly scheduled orthopedic appointments. Treatment groups did not differ significantly on either dimension of coping (approach or avoidant) or on either measure of quality of life. In addition, neither dimension of coping moderated QOL. However, higher use of avoidant coping predicted lower QOL. In addition, QOL was comparable to healthy samples. These findings suggest that, in general, AIS treatment does not significantly impair QOL, but use of avoidant coping does. Therefore, coping should be assessed to ascertain whether coping skills intervention is warranted in order to improve disease-specific QOL.


Rubus scrubs belong to the least known and understood vegetation types in Europe. At least in part this is due to the complicated taxonomy and species richness of the main genus in these scrubs. In this study, we explored the regional diversity of Rubus scrubs in the Netherlands. In order to get a clear picture on their species composition free from personal preferences, we used a systematic-randomised sampling scheme to collect data in the three main Rubus regions in the Netherlands along three 100 km long transects. In 185 releves we recorded 67 known (and three unknown) Rubus species. The releves could be assigned to seven units described in the Dutch national vegetation classification: the Rubetum grati, Rubetum silvatici, Lonicero-Rubion silvatici, Dicrano-Juniperetum, Pruno-Rubetum vestiti, Pruno-Rubion radulae, and the Basal Community Rubus armeniacus. From our study we conclude that the regional variation in Rubus scrubs is substantial, and that only a part of this variation was described in the Dutch national vegetation overview. Especially within the Rubetum silvatici and the Pruno-Rubion radulae regionally distributed types can be distinguished, which seem to be confined to old landscapes, whereas younger landscapes only harbour common types, or are even devoid of bramble scrubs. The density of releves made in this study emphasize the importance of bramble scrubs in the landscape of north-western Europe, and we advocate more awareness of the value represented by bramble dominated communities. The vast number of Rubus species, many of which having a (very) restricted distribution area, complicate the classification of these scrubs, and can easily lead to the description of countless vegetation types with only a regional distribution. On the other hand, such regionally distributed communities can be of importance for nature conservation because they can harbour rare species, and they add to the regional identity and ?-diversity, and therefore should be recognised at some level.


The present study was carried out to determine the effect of methanol extract of Anethumgraveolens(Dill) on serum lipoproteins in hypercholesterolaemic mice.A total of 24 male mice (average 25gm body weight) were used in this study. Mice were divided into four groups was injected with 100mg/kg ofalloxan to induce hyperglycemic in mice, the first group (1) was used as control (+ve) group (6 mice) which fed on basal diet only and the other three groups fed on basal diet containing 0.5, 1 and 2mg/ml of methanol extract (single daily dose of 1 ml). The experimental feeding period was 21 days.The changes in serum triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured by using enzymatic kits.However, the HDL-Cconcentrate decreased relative to control mice. Treatment of hyperlipidaemic mice with dill extract in concentration 1 and 2mg/ml up to 21 days reversed the serum lipid levels compared to mice which were fed basal diet only.


Botswana has been dubbed an "African miracle.�? The country has been praised not only for maintaining a multiparty system and high growth rates since independence but also for its good governance record. In contrast to other African countries, the extent of neopatrimonialism, which runs counter to good governance, is said to be low. This article aims to a) precisely assess Botswana's neopatrimonial profile and b) put forward explanations for the comparatively low level of neopatrimonialism and for the recent "stagnation of a miracle.�? The paper finds that there have always been neopatrimonial tendencies in Botswana, though they have been largely overlooked by mainstream analyses. The crucial difference is the limited nature of these tendencies relative to other African countries. This can be attributed to the independence period, characterized by the homogeneity of political, economic, and administrative interests in safeguarding private property rights through a "strong�? rational-legal state, that is, by limiting neopatrimonialism. Financed by massive revenues stemming from diamonds, the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), and the Bank of Botswana, the government of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was able to secure its reign through the provision of public goods and limited neopatrimonial exchange relations. However, due to decreasing electoral dominance and elite cohesion, the ruling party is now reverting to some neopatrimonial and authoritarian means in order to safeguard its rule.


The growth performance and the carcass and physical and chemical characteristics of the meat of 24 Landrace X Large White pigs were compared when reared under a free-range or a conventional housing system. The free-range pigs had lower feed intakes and slower growth rates than the conventionally housed pigs. The free-range pigs also had a lower P2 fat depth and therefore yielded a carcass with a higher percentage lean meat. Housing systems had no effect on the weight distribution of the commercial cuts (as a percentage of cold carcass weight). The meat from the free-range pigs was slightly more reddish in colour, but apart from that housing systems had no effect on the water-holding capacity (WHC) of the meat, its initial pH (pH45) or its final pH (pH24). The meat from the free-range pigs had the same shear force (WBS) values as those of the conventionally housed pigs. Housing systems had an influence on the fatty acid composition. Stearic acid (C18:0) was significantly lower in the meat of the free-range pigs than that of the conventionally housed pigs while linoleic acid (C18:2n-6) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) concentrations were significantly higher. However, the moisture, fat, protein and ash contents as well as the mineral composition in the meat were unaffected by housing systems. It could be concluded that pigs raised in a conventional housing system produced meat with similar quality characteristics to that of pigs raised in a free-range housing system.


This paper studies the causal effect of status differences on moral disengagement and violence. To measure violent behavior, in the experiment, a subject can inflict a painful electric shock on another subject in return for money. We exogenously vary relative status in the realm of sexual attractiveness. In three between-subject conditions, the assigned other subject is either of higher, lower or equal status, respectively. The incidence of electric shocks is substantially higher among subjects matched with higherand lowerstatus others, relative to subjects matched with equal-status others. This causal evidence on the role of status inequality on violence suggests an important societal cost of economic and social inequalities. JEL classification: A13, C91, D03, Z13


We have investigated the interactions between cobalt(ii)-tetraphenylporphyrin (CoTPP) molecules and MgO(100) thin films on Ag(100) by means of Synchrotron Radiation X-Ray and Ultra-Violet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (SR-XPS and SR-UPS). At room temperature, the CoTPP monolayer consists of two different species. A minority of molecules exhibits a strong electronic interaction with the substrate, whereas for the majority a similar spectroscopic signature as for multilayer molecules is observed. Based on the lateral inhomogeneity of the surface electronic structure, we tentatively suggest that the strongly interacting molecules adsorb with their metal center directly above oxygen ions. Unlike for metal substrates, where a monolayer can be prepared upon heating to above 500 K, most of the monolayer on MgO desorbs at 550 K together with the multilayers. This indicates either a weaker molecule-substrate bond than for most metal surfaces or a higher activation energy barrier for dehydrogenation. The remaining molecules are presumably MgTPP molecules, originating from a 2HTPP impurity in CoTPP.


This paper investigates a central issue in the climate change debate associated with the Kyoto Protocol: the likely performance of international greenhouse gas trading mechanisms. Virtually all design studies and many projections of the costs of meeting the Kyoto targets have assumed that an international trading program can be established that minimizes the costs of meeting overall goals. This conclusion rests on several simplifying assumptions. In this paper, the authors focus on one important issue that has received little, if any, attention: the interaction between an international trading regime and a heterogeneous set of domestic greenhouse policy instruments. This is an important issue because the Protocol explicitly provides for domestic sovereignty regarding instrument choice, and because it is unlikely that most countries will choose tradable permits as their primary domestic vehicle. It is true that costs can be minimized if all countries use domestic tradable permit systems to meet their national targets (allocate permits to private parties) and allow for international trades. But when some countries use non-trading approaches such as greenhouse-gas taxes or fixed quantity standards which seems likely in the light of previous experience cost minimization is hardly assured. In these cases, achieving the potential cost savings of international trading will require some form of project-by-project credit program, such as joint implementation. But theory and experience with such credit programs suggest that they are much less likely to facilitate major cost savings, because of large transactions costs, likely government participation, and absence of a well functioning market. Thus, individual nations' choices of domestic policy instruments to meet the Kyoto targets can limit substantially the cost-saving potential of an international trading program. There is an important trade-off between the degree of domestic sovereignty and the degree of cost effectiveness. Moreover, there is a need to analyze the likely cost-savings from feasible, as opposed to idealized, international policy approaches to reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.


The image of a violated social contract has long held a distinctive place in African American Christian thought about injustice. This essay discusses the efforts made by members of Pentecostal churches in Buffalo, New York, to enter into forms of contract with God that supersede the broken social contracts they see as devaluing their lives. These believers listen to God's words as expressed in prophetic utterances for "confirmation" of the significance of events. In their view, "catching the word" through faithful listening enables them to create social commitments on their own terms, whereas their creative capacities are liable to be alienated from them if they listen improperly. Applying David Graeber's revisionist treatment of "fetishism" as a form of social creativity, this essay explores how believers create their blessings within a dialogic space involving themselves, God, the devil, and pastor-prophets with exceptional abilities to listen to and convey the terms of the divine contract.


This paper has two objectives. First we will construct a general model for the variation in the term structure of interest rates, or to put it another way, we will define a general model for the shift function. Secondly, I will specify a VAR model which uses the shift function derived in the first part of the paper as its main building block.Firstly, using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) we show that it takes a 4 factor model (which, in principle, can very well be considered a 3 factor model due to the limited effect of factor four (4)) to explain the variation in the term structure of interest rates over the period from the beginning of 1990 to mid-1998. These 3 factors can be called a Level factor, a Slope factor and a Curvature factor, where this is in line with what is generally reported in the literature, see among others Litterman and Scheinkmann (1988).Secondly, we specify a VAR model which relies on the scenario simulation procedure of Jamshidian and Zhu (1997). The general idea behind the scenario simulation procedure is to limit the number of portfolio evaluations by using the factor loadings derived in the first part of paper and then specify particular intervals for the Monte Carlo simulated random numbers and assign appropriate probabilities to these intervals (states).We find that the scenario simulation procedure is computational efficient, because we with a limited number of states is capable of deriving robust approximations of the probability distribution. We also find that it is very useful for non-linear securities (Danish MBBs), and argue that the method is feasible for large portfolios of highly complex non-linear securities for example Danish MBBs.


The semaphorins and their plexin-neuropilin coreceptors are established players in axon guidance. More recently, they have also been implicated in vascular development. Gu et al. report that semaphorin 3E (Sema3E) does not require neuropilin as a coreceptor in patterning the developing mouse vascular system but instead interacts directly with the plexin-D1-expressing cells. The repulsive effect of Sema3E-bearing somites on vascular endothelial cells expressing plexin-D1 was observed in the absence of neuropilins, which indicates that neuropilins are not, after all, obligatory semaphorin coreceptors in mammalian vasculogenesis. C. Gu, Y. Yoshida, J. Livet, D. V. Reimert, F. Mann, J. Merte, C. E. Henderson, T. M. Jessell, A. L. Kolodkin, D. D. Ginty, Semaphorin 3E and plexin-D1 control vascular pattern independently of neuropilins. Science 307, 265-268 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]


As rivers warm, cold‐water fish species may alleviate thermal stress by moving into localized thermal refuges such as cold‐water plumes created by cool tributary inflows. We quantified use of two tributary confluence plumes by juvenile steelhead, Oncorhynchus mykiss, throughout the summer, including how trout positioned themselves in relation to temperature within confluence plumes. At two confluences, Cedar and Elder creeks, along the South Fork Eel River, California, USA, we monitored temperatures using in situ logger grids throughout summer 2016. Fish were counted within confluences via snorkel surveys five times a day on 5 days at each site. We found diel and seasonal dependence on confluence use by steelhead, especially at the Cedar Creek confluence, where mainstem temperatures exceeded 28°C. At this site, fish moved into the confluence on the warmest days and warmest times of the day. Fish observed within the Cedar Creek confluence plume were most common in locations between 20–22°C, rather than the coldest locations (14.5°C). At Elder Creek, where mainstem temperatures remained below 24°C, there was little relationship between mainstem temperature and steelhead presence in the confluence plume. At both sites, steelhead distribution within plumes was influenced by spatial variation of temperature and mean temperature in surveyed grid cells. Our results show that cool tributaries flowing into warmer mainstem reaches (over 24°C) likely create important thermal refuges for juvenile steelhead. As mainstem rivers warm with climate change, cool‐water tributary inputs may become more important for sustaining cold‐water salmonids near the southern end of their range.


Economic development in Northern Canada is constrained by the cost of transportation and logistics. The limited transportation options available increase the direct costs of shipping and add to the indirect costs of inventories. Concerns about climate change impacts, delays in environmental approvals and uncertainty regarding First Nations land claims further increase investment risk. As a result, the transportation solution offered by airships is gathering increased interest in northern Canada. The purpose of the paper is to examine the market opportunity for a new generation of airships in Arctic logistics. The paper begins with an overview of the logistical options available and potential roles for airships. Subsequently, airship technology development is examined with respect to the product life-cycle theory and the observation of tipping points. The paper concludes with some thoughts on necessary steps to make this technology available in northern Canada.


We consider wireless ad hoc networks with a large number of users. Subsets of users might be interested in identical information, and so we have a regime in which several multicast sessions may coexist. We first calculate an upper bound on the achievable transmission rate per multicast flow as a function of the number of multicast sources in such a network. We then propose a simple comb-based architecture for multicast routing, which achieves the upper bound in an order sense under certain constraints. Compared to the approach of constructing a Steiner tree to decide multicast paths, our construction achieves the same order-optimal results while requiring little location information and no computational overhead.


This is an introduction to a five-volume collection of papers on financial econometrics to be published by Edward Elgar Publishers in 2007. Financial econometrics is one of the fastest growing branches of economics today, both in academia and in industry. The increasing sophistication of financial models requires equally sophisticated methods for their empirical implementation, and in recent years financial econometricians have stepped up to the challenge. The toolkit of financial econometrics has grown in size and depth, including techniques such as nonparametric estimation, functional central limit theory, nonlinear time-series models, artificial neural networks, and Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. In these five volumes, the most influential papers of financial econometrics have been collected, spanning four decades and five distinct subfields: statistical models of asset returns (Volume I), static asset-pricing models (Volume II), dynamic asset-pricing models (Volume III), continuous-time methods and market microstructure (Volume IV), and statistical methods and non-standard finance (Volume V). Within each volume, different strands of the literature are weaved together to form a rich and coherent historical perspective on empirical and methodological breakthroughs in financial markets, while covering the major themes of financial econometrics.