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Dimensions
Kinds of Dimensions Terms modified by Dimensions Selected AbstractsLIFTING QUADRATIC TERM STRUCTURE MODELS TO INFINITE DIMENSIONMATHEMATICAL FINANCE, Issue 4 2006Jirô Akahori We introduce an infinite dimensional generalization of quadratic term structure models of interest rates, aiming that the lift will give us a deeper understanding of the classical models. We show that it preserves some of the favorable properties of the classical quadratic models. [source] Languages for Today's World: DIMENSION 2006 edited by CHERRY, C. MAURICEMODERN LANGUAGE JOURNAL, Issue 3 2007HEATHER WILLIS ALLEN No abstract is available for this article. [source] THE INTERNATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF NEUROETHICSDEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS, Issue 2 2009SOFIA LOMBERA ABSTRACT Neuroethics, in its modern form, investigates the impact of brain science in four basic dimensions: the self, social policy, practice and discourse. In this study, we analyzed a set of 461 peer-reviewed articles with neuroethics content, published by authors from 32 countries. We analyzed the data for: (1) trends in the development of international neuroethics over time, and (2) how challenges at the intersection of ethics and neuroscience are viewed in countries that are considered developed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) standards, and in those that are developing. Our results demonstrate a steady increase in global participation in neuroethics from 1989 to 2005, characterized by an increase in numbers of articles published specifically on neuroethics, journals publishing these articles, and countries contributing to the literature. The focus from all countries was on the practice of brain science and the amelioration of neurological disease. Indicators of technology creation and diffusion in developing countries were specifically correlated with increases in publications concerning policy implications of brain science. Neuroethics is an international endeavor and, as such, should be sensitive to the impact that context has on acceptance and use of technological innovation. [source] THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW'S HISTORICAL DIMENSIONS AND RECENTISM,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2010ANDREW SLUYTER First page of article [source] THE GEOGRAPHICAL DIMENSIONS OF AL-QA'IDA RHETORICGEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 3 2005JOSEPH J. HOBBS ABSTRACT. This article examines the geographical ideology of al-Qa'ida. The central questions are to what extent al-Qa'ida terrorism is motivated by a desire to control geographical space, and how the organization defines that space as place in its communiqués. The study also asks whether al-Qa'ida's geographical rhetoric reveals the nature or locations of future attacks. Principal sources are statements and interviews by and with al-Qa'ida leaders. al-Qa'ida classifies distinctive geographical realms of legitimization, preparation, and action. Its geographical concerns and ambitions are hierarchical and based principally on perceptions of sacred space. The holy places of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem are the cornerstones of a greater Islamic holy land that al-Qa'ida seeks to rid of non-Islamic-especially U.S. and "Zionist"-elements and replace with a new caliphate. Terrorism directed principally against American civilians in the United States is one of the main tactics by which al-Qa'ida says it hopes to achieve its goals in geographical space. [source] MISSIOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS IN THE BOOK OF JOBINTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF MISSION, Issue 360 2002Danie C. van Zyl First page of article [source] LÉVINAS AND THE THREE DIMENSIONS OF SURPASSING PHENOMENOLOGYJOURNAL OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY, Issue 2008Dachun Yang [source] A THURSTONE-COOMBS MODEL OF CONCURRENT RATINGS WITH SENSORY AND LIKING DIMENSIONSJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 1 2002F. GREGORY ASHBY ABSTRACT A popular product testing procedure is to obtain sensory intensity and liking ratings from the same consumers. Consumers are instructed to attend to the sensory attribute, such as sweetness, when generating their liking response. We propose a new model of this concurrent ratings task that conjoins a unidimensional Thurstonian model of the ratings on the sensory dimension with a probabilistic version of Coombs' (1964) unfolding model for the liking dimension. The model assumes that the sensory characteristic of the product has a normal distribution over consumers. An individual consumer selects a sensory rating by comparing the perceived value on the sensory dimension to a set of criteria that partitions the axis into intervals. Each value on the rating scale is associated with a unique interval. To rate liking, the consumer imagines an ideal product, then computes the discrepancy or distance between the product as perceived by the consumer and this imagined ideal. A set of criteria are constructed on this discrepancy dimension that partition the axis into intervals. Each interval is associated with a unique liking rating. The ideal product is assumed to have a univariate normal distribution over consumers on the sensory attribute evaluated. The model is shown to account for 94.2% of the variance in a set of sample data and to fit this data significantly better than a bivariate normal model of the data (concurrent ratings, Thurstonian scaling, Coombs' unfolding model, sensory and liking ratings). [source] TRANSPARENCY, EPISTEMIC IMPARTIALITY, AND PERSONHOOD: A COMMENTARY ON SIMON EVNINE'S EPISTEMIC DIMENSIONS OF PERSONHOOD1ANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY, Issue 1 2009DORIT BAR-ON First page of article [source] Cross-linguistic transfer of phonological skills: a Malaysian perspectiveDYSLEXIA, Issue 1 2002Caroline Gomez Abstract This study examined the phonological and reading performance in English of Malaysian children whose home language was Bahasa Malaysia (BM). A sample of 69 Malaysian Standard Two pupils (aged 7,8 years) was selected for the study. Since commencing school at the age of 6 years, the children had been learning to read in BM and had subsequently also been learning to read in English for some 12 months. The study was part of a larger scale research programme that fully recognized the limitations of tests that had not been developed and standardized in Malaysia. Nevertheless, as a first step to developing such tests, a comparison with existing norms for the Phonological Assessment Battery (PhAB) and the Wechsler Objective Reading Dimension (WORD) was undertaken in relation to information about the children's L1 and L2 language competencies. Results showed that the children's performance on PhAB was at least comparable to the UK norms while, not surprisingly, they fared less well on WORD. The results are discussed in terms of L1 and L2 transfer, whereby the transparency of written BM and the structured way in which reading is taught in BM facilitates performance on phonological tasks in English. This has implications for identifying children with phonologically based reading difficulties. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Aortic Root Dimension as an Independent Predictor for All-Cause Death in Adults <65 Years of Age (from The Chin-Shan Community Cardiovascular Cohort Study)ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Issue 5 2010Chao-Lun Lai M.D. Background: Evidence on aortic root dimension for predicting cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is inconclusive. This cohort study sought to characterize the predictive power of aortic root dimension on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in an ethnic Chinese population. Methods: We recruited 1,851 participants in the Chin,Shan Community Cardiovascular Cohort (CCCC) study who had received echocardiography without previous cardiovascular events. Aortic root dimension was measured by M-mode echocardiography and indexed by body surface area to obtain aortic root dimension index (AOI). The end points were all-cause death and incident cardiovascular events including coronary heart disease and stroke over a median follow-up of 11.9 years. Results: Although tertiles of AOI was associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause death in univariate analysis, the significance diminished after adjusting for age variable (P for trend = 0.11 for cardiovascular events; P for trend = 0.23 for all-cause death). In subgroup analysis, we found a significant association between tertiles of AOI and risk of all-cause death in the final multivariate Cox regression model in adults <65 years. The adjusted relative risk was 1.88 (95% CI, 1.04 to 3.40) in participants in the upper tertile of AOI compared with participants in the lower tertile (P for trend = 0.037). In adults ,65 years, tertile of AOI was not associated with all-cause death (P for trend = 0.14). Tertiles of AOI was not associated with cardiovascular events throughout this study. Conclusion: Our study showed a significant association between AOI and all-cause death in adults <65 years in an ethnic Chinese population. (Echocardiography 2010;27:487-495) [source] Wilhelm Meisters Mignon und Die Ambivalenz der AutorschaftGERMAN LIFE AND LETTERS, Issue 2 2004Silke Horstkotte Die zentrale Funktion der androgynen Mignon für die poetische Struktur von Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre ist in der Deutungstradition dieses Textes fest verankert. Doch ist Mignon zumeist als geschlechtsneutrale Geniusgestalt interpretiert worden. Dagegen wurde die ambivalente und zwitterhafte Sexualität der Figur gerade in solchen Studien, die sich mit der poetologischen Dimension des Romans auseinandersetzen, bisher nicht genügend beachtet. Dabei steht die problematische Sexualität Mignons jedoch in einem konzeptionellen Zusammenhang mit Fragen der Autorschaft, die nicht nur den Protagonisten Wilhelm betreffen, sondern die in der Literatur um 1800 insgesamt virulent sind. Führt Wilhelms Weg zum Theater einerseits über die Literarisierung der rätselhaften Mignon, so macht deren androgynes Zwitterwesen, das die hermeneutische Ausdeutung der Figur erheblich erschwert, Wilhelms Künstlertum andererseits zunehmend problematisch. Daraus ergeben sich Konsequenzen für unser Verständnis von Goethes, Wilhelms und der männlichen Autorschaft Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts. Das Verschwinden des Autors aus dem Text zeigt sich in Wilhelms Unfähigkeit, die Bedeutung der Chiffre ,Mignon' zu kontrollieren. Seine Ablehnung der Theaterlaufbahn in den Lehrjahren verrät ein ambivalentes Verhältnis zu Künstlertum und Autorschaft. Der Bildungsweg Wilhelms verläuft somit keineswegs positiv, sondern ist Zeichen von Resignation über die künstlerische Laufbahn. Deutlich führt dieser Weg in die Vereinsamung und ,Entsagung' der Wanderjahre. [source] Teaching the Global Dimension: Key Principles and Effective PracticeINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 1 2008Sue L.T. McGregor No abstract is available for this article. [source] Digital holographic scanning of large objects using a rotating optical slabINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMAGING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 6 2006M. S. Hezaveh Abstract Simple optical glass is used in digital holographic set up to scan and record holograms of a large object. Dimension of the object is such that it does not satisfy sampling theorem. Experimental results and calculations illustrate that an optical slab can be used to scan the surface of the large object by this method. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 16, 258,261, 2006 [source] Derivative Free Optimization in Higher DimensionINTERNATIONAL TRANSACTIONS IN OPERATIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2001Shamsuddin Ahmed Non-linear optimizations that do not require explicit or implicit derivative information of an objective function are an alternate search strategy when the derivative of the objective function is not available. In factorial design, the number of trials for experimental identification method in Em is about (m+ 1). These (m+ 1) equally spaced points are allowed to form a geometry that is known as regular simplex. The simplex method is attributed to Spendley, Hext and Himsworth. The method is improved by maintaining a set of (m+ 1) points in m dimensional space to generate a non-regular simplex. This study suggests re-scaling the simplex in higher dimensions for a restart phase. The direction of search is also changed when the simplex degenerates. The performance of this derivative free search method is measured based on the number of function evaluations, number of restart attempts and improvements in function value. An algorithm that describes the improved method is presented and compared with the Nelder and Mead simplex method. The performance of this algorithm is also tested with artificial neural network (ANN) problem. The numbers of function evaluations are about 40 times less with the improved method against the Nelder and Mead (1965) method to train an ANN problem with 36 variables. [source] Effects of Plant Population Density and Intercropping with Soybean on the Fractal Dimension of Corn Plant Skeletal ImagesJOURNAL OF AGRONOMY AND CROP SCIENCE, Issue 2 2000K. Foroutan-pour Three-year field experiments were conducted to determine whether the temporal pattern of fractal dimension (FD) for corn (Zea mays L.) plant structure is altered by plant population density (PPD) or intercropping with soybean [Glycine max. (L.) Merr.], and how changes in the FD are related to changes in other canopy characteristics. Plants in monocropped corn and intercropped corn,soybean plots were randomly sampled and labelled for later identification. Corn plant structure was photographed from the side that allowed the maximum appearance of details (perpendicular to the plane of developed leaves) and from two fixed sides (side 1: parallel to the row and side 2: perpendicular to the row). Images were scanned and skeletonized, as skeletal images provide acceptable information to estimate the FD of plant structure two-dimensionally by the box-counting method. Differences in the FD estimated from images taken perpendicular to the plane of developed leaves were not significant among competition treatments. An adjustment of corn plants to treatments, by changing the orientation of the plane of developed leaves with respect to the row, was observed. Based on overall FD means, competition treatments were ranked as: high > normal , intercrop , low for side 1 and intercrop > low , normal > high for side 2. Leaf area index (LAI) and plant height had a positive correlation with FD. In contrast, light penetration had a negative correlation with FD. In conclusion, FD provides a meaningful and effective tool for quantifying corn plant structure, measuring the structural response to cultural practices, and modelling corn plant canopies. Zusammenfassung Folgende Ziele der Untersuchungen wurden berücksichtigt: 1) Eine geeignete Methode für die Abschätzung der Anteile (FD) 2-dimensional für Pflanzen mit einer einfachen dreidimensionalen Vegetationsstruktur wie z. B. Mais (Zea mays L.) zu bestimmen; 2) der Frage nachzugehen, ob die zeitlichen Muster von FD bei der Maispflanzenstruktur durch die Bestandesdichte verändert wird (PPD: low, normal und hoch) oder in Mischanbau mit Sojabohnen (Glyzine max. L.) Merr.); und 3) in welcher Beziehung Änderungen in der FD in der Maispflanzenstruktur zu Änderungen in anderen Bestandeseigenschaften stehen. Pflanzen im Reinanbau von Mais und im Mischanbau in Mais-Sojabohnen-Parzellen wurden randomisiert gesammelt und für die spätere Identifikation gekennzeichnet. Die Maispflanzenstruktur wurde von der Seite fotografiert, so dai eine maximale Darstellung der Details (perpendiculär zu der Ebene der entwickelten Blätter) und von zwei festgelegten Seiten (Seite 1: parallel zur Reihe und Seite 2 perpendikulär zur Reihe) verfügbar war. Die Abbildungen wurden gescannt und skelettiert; Skelettabbildungen geben eine akzeptierbare Information zur Abschätzung von FD Pflanzenstrukturen in zweidimensionaler Form über die Box-counting-Methode. Unterschiede in der FD, die sich aus Bildern mit einer perpendikulären Aufnahme zu der Ebene der entwickelten Blätter ergaben, waren nicht signifikant innerhalb der Konkurrenzbehandlungen. Eine Anpassung der Maispflanzen an die Behandlungen durch Änderungen der Orientierung zur Ebene der entwickelten Blätter im Hinblick auf die Reihe, wurde beobachtet. Auf der Grundlage von gesamt FD-Mittelwerten ergab sich, dai Konkurrenzbehandlungen in folgender Reihe auftraten: Hoch (1,192) > (1,178) , zu Mischanbau (1,177) , zu gering (1,170) für Seite 1 und bei Mischanbau (1,147) > gering (1,158) , (1,153) > hoch für Seite 2. Der Blattflächenindex (LAI) und die Pflanzenhöhe hatten eine positive Korrelation zu FD. Im Gegensatz dazu wies die Lichtpenetration eine negative Korrelation zu FD auf. Es kann festgestellt werden, dai FD eine aussagekräftige und zweckmäiige Methode ist, die Maispflanzenstruktur zu quantifizieren, Strukturreaktionen zum Anbauverfahren zu messen und Maispflanzenbestände zu beschreiben. [source] Fractal Dimension of Trabecular Bone Projection Texture Is Related to Three-Dimensional MicroarchitectureJOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2000L. Pothuaud Abstract The purpose of this work was to understand how fractal dimension of two-dimensional (2D) trabecular bone projection images could be related to three-dimensional (3D) trabecular bone properties such as porosity or connectivity. Two alteration processes were applied to trabecular bone images obtained by magnetic resonance imaging: a trabeculae dilation process and a trabeculae removal process. The trabeculae dilation process was applied from the 3D skeleton graph to the 3D initial structure with constant connectivity. The trabeculae removal process was applied from the initial structure to an altered structure having 99% of porosity, in which both porosity and connectivity were modified during this second process. Gray-level projection images of each of the altered structures were simply obtained by summation of voxels, and fractal dimension (Df) was calculated. Porosity (,) and connectivity per unit volume (Cv) were calculated from the 3D structure. Significant relationships were found between Df, ,, and Cv. Df values increased when porosity increased (dilation and removal processes) and when connectivity decreased (only removal process). These variations were in accordance with all previous clinical studies, suggesting that fractal evaluation of trabecular bone projection has real meaning in terms of porosity and connectivity of the 3D architecture. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant linear dependence between Df and Cv when , remained constant. Porosity is directly related to bone mineral density and fractal dimension can be easily evaluated in clinical routine. These two parameters could be associated to evaluate the connectivity of the structure. [source] Restoration for a Bruxism Patient with Lost Vertical DimensionJOURNAL OF PROSTHODONTICS, Issue 3 2000Henry Y. Wu DDS [source] SENSORY EVALUATION OF VANILLA-DAIRY DESSERTS BY REPERTORY GRID METHOD AND FREE CHOICE PROFILEJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 1 2006LUIS GONZÁLEZ-TOMÁS ABSTRACT "Natillas" are semisolid dairy desserts widely consumed in Spain, with notable differences existing between commercial brands in their composition and sensory and physical properties. The repertory grid method, in conjunction with the free choice profile (FCP), was used to provide data on how consumers perceived eight commercial "natillas" samples. The most frequent terms used were: vanilla flavor, sweetness, consistency and liquid texture as described by 77, 67, 57 and 53% of the consumers, respectively. A three-dimensional solution was chosen. Dimension 1 accounted for 27.23% of variance and separated the samples largely by yellow-color intensity and consistency. Dimension 2 (15.88%) was mainly related to the visual attributes of texture, creaminess and different notes of flavor. The third dimension (11.34%) was related to structural-texture attributes, orange-yellow color and acid and artificial flavors. The assessors plot showed two clusters. Analysis of each group data revealed differences in their perception of sample variation, mainly regarding texture and color. [source] Biodegradable Polylactide and Its Nanocomposites: Opening a New Dimension for Plastics and CompositesMACROMOLECULAR RAPID COMMUNICATIONS, Issue 14 2003Suprakas Sinha Ray Abstract The academic and industrial aspects of the preparation, characterization, mechanical and materials properties, crystallization behavior, melt rheology, and foam processing of pure polylactide (PLA) and PLA/layered silicate nanocomposites are described in this feature article. Recently, these materials have attracted considerable interest in polymer science research. PLA is linear aliphatic thermoplastic polyester and is made from agricultural products. Hectorite and montmorillonite are among the most commonly used smectite-type layered silicates for the preparation of nanocomposites. Smectites are a valuable mineral class for industrial applications because of their high cation exchange capacities, surface area, surface reactivity, adsorptive properties, and, in the case of hectorite, high viscosity, and transparency in solution. In their pristine form, they are hydrophilic in nature, and this property makes them very difficult to disperse into a polymer matrix. The most common way to overcome this difficulty is to replace interlayer cations with quaternized ammonium or phosphonium cations, preferably with long alkyl chains. In general, polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites are of three different types: (1) intercalated nanocomposites, in which insertion of polymer chains into the layered silicate structure occurs in a crystallographically regular fashion, regardless of polymer to layered silicate ratio, with a repeat distance of few nanometer; (2) flocculated nanocomposites, in which intercalated and stacked silicate layers are sometimes flocculated due to the hydroxylated edge,edge interactions between the silicate layers; (3) exfoliated nanocomposites, in which individual silicate layers are uniformly distributed in the polymer matrix by average distances that totally depend on the layered silicate loading. This new family of composite materials frequently exhibits remarkable improvements in its material properties when compared with those of virgin PLA. Improved properties can include a high storage modulus both in the solid and melt states, increased flexural properties, a decrease in gas permeability, increased heat distortion temperature, an increase in the rate of biodegradability of pure PLA, and so forth. Illustration of the biodegradability of PLA and various nanocomposites. [source] Adding microstrip line at the bottom of PCB for enhancing antenna bandwidthMICROWAVE AND OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY LETTERS, Issue 9 2010B.-G. Cho Abstract In this article, added microstrip line at the bottom area of printed circuit board (PCB) is proposed for improving the bandwidth of GSM900, DCS1800, and PCS1900. By printing the microstrip line at the bottom area of PCB, frequency bandwidth of slim-type cellular phone which has a low-profile monopole antenna is improved. Dimension of the microstrip line is 45 mm × 9 mm. The width and length of the microstrip line is modified for good bandwidth. The measured return loss of the antenna is better than 7.3 dB for low and high band. Measured peak gains of the proposed antenna present 3.41, 5.48, and 5.95 dBi in each band, respectively. Details of the antenna design are described. Its performances are also presented. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52: 1984,1988, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience. wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.25399 [source] Impact of Huntington's disease on quality of lifeMOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 2 2001D.I. Helder MA Abstract The purpose of this study was to systematically assess the impact of Huntington's disease (HD) on patients' health-related quality of life (QOL). Seventy-seven patients with a clinically confirmed diagnosis of HD were interviewed by means of the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP). Additional data were gathered on patients' motor performance by means of the motor section of the Unified Huntington Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS), and cognitive performance by means of the Mini-Mental State (MMS). Patients had high scores on the SIP subscales, indicating moderate to severe functional impairment. Total Motor Score (TMS), MMS scores, and the duration of HD were significantly correlated with patients' scores on the SIP, and predicted a significant amount of variance of the Physical Dimension of the SIP, but not of the Psychosocial Dimension. We conclude that HD has a great impact on patients' physical and psychosocial well-being, the latter being more severely affected. Implications for further research and clinical practice are discussed. © 2001 Movement Disorder Society. [source] Local to Global Dimension of the SacredMUSEUM INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2003Jesus T. Peralta [source] On Different Approaches to Estimate the Mass Fractal Dimension of Coal AggregatesPARTICLE & PARTICLE SYSTEMS CHARACTERIZATION, Issue 5 2005Jimmy Y. H. Liao Abstract Several methods to measure the structures of coal aggregates are compared. Loose and compact coal aggregates were generated through flocculation of ultrafine coal particles (mean volume diameter of 12,,m) under specific shearing conditions. Aggregate structure in terms of mass fractal dimension, Df, was determined using various methods; namely 2D and 3D image analysis, interpretation of intensity patterns from small angle light scattering, changes in aggregation state through light obscuration, and settling behavior. In this study, the measured values of Df ranged from 1.84,2.19 for coal aggregates with more open structures, and around 2.27,2.66 for the compact ones. All of these approaches could distinguish structural differences between aggregates, albeit with variation in Df values estimated by the different techniques. The discrepancy in the absolute values for fractal dimension is due to the different physical properties measured by each approach, depending on the assumptions used to infer Df from measurable parameters. In addition, image analysis and settling techniques are based on the examination of individual aggregates, such that a large number of data points are required to yield statistically representative estimations. Light scattering and obscuration measure the aggregates collectively to give average Df values of the particulate systems; consequently ignoring any structural variation between the aggregates, and leaving possible small contaminations undetected (e.g. by dust particles or air bubbles). Appropriate utilization of a particular method is thus largely determined by system properties and required data quality. [source] Automated Digital Image Based Measurement of Boundary Fractal Dimension for Complex NanoparticlesPARTICLE & PARTICLE SYSTEMS CHARACTERIZATION, Issue 1 2003Ramitha Wettimuny Abstract There is a growing realization that complex nanoparticles produced by combustion reaction, precipitation, and spray technology using supercritical fluids, are fractally structured. The boundary fractal dimension is linked to the flow, packing and consolidation dynamics of nanopowders. It also contains information on the formation dynamics of the nanoparticles produced by various methods. Extraction of the fractal dimension information embodied in the nanoparticle's fractal structure is hampered by the lack of automated characterization algorithms for processing images of particles. This paper describes an efficient algorithm for analyzing digitized images of fractally structured nanoparticles and presents a computer program that automates the procedure using digital image processing techniques. The program functionality is demonstrated and discussed using digital images of typical pigment, ceramic and pharmaceutical powders. [source] The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization: On the Cross-Border Movement of PeoplePOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 2 2004Article first published online: 4 APR 200 The globalization of the world economy can be measured in terms of increases in international trade, greater levels of foreign investment and technology transfers, and the liberalization of financial markets. Accompanying and facilitating these trends have been institutional innovations and reforms, creating regimes under which international economic relationships can be managed and disputes resolved. The role of the World Trade Organization is an evident case in point. The rising scale of international migration can also be seen as a globalizing trend. Here, however, with the exception of the special case of refugees, there is no governance regime in place or in prospect at the international level. Occasional past efforts by UN agencies to stimulate formal discussion of what such a regime might look like have led nowhere: countries are simply unwilling to contemplate any weakening of their sovereign right to control entry. Proposing how to fill this perceived lacuna in the international system is one of the tasks on the agenda of the Global Commission on International Migration. The Commission, an independent body set up in 2003 by a small group of UN member states, plans to present a report to the UN Secretary-General in mid-2005. In the meantime, the subject has been explored by another group,the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization. This commission was set up by the International Labour Office in 2002. It was co-chaired by Tarja Halonen, president of Finland, and Benjamin William Mkapa, president of Tanzania. Its 24 other members included economists (among them Deepak Nayyar, Hernando de Soto, and Joseph Stiglitz), politicians, and business and labor leaders, as well as a number of ex-officio ILO representatives. After several meetings and an extensive series of consultations held during 2002 and 2003, its report, A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All, was issued in February 2004. The report argues that the benefits of globalization must be more equitably distributed. To this end, the globalizing trends in the world economy should be matched by similar advances in social and political institutions. One of the features of the existing imbalance is that "goods and capital move much more freely across borders than people do." In addition to the many other recommendations the Commission has for what it terms the governance of globalization are proposals on the management of international migration. "Fair rules for trade and capital," the Commission argues, "need to be complemented by fair rules for the movement of people." The long-run objective should be "a multilateral framework for immigration laws and consular practices,,,that would govern cross-border movement of people," paralleling "the multilateral frameworks that already exist, or are currently under discussion, concerning the cross-border movement of goods, services, technology, investment and information." The Commission's thinking on migration is in some respects reminiscent of the views of the ILO's first director, Albert Thomas, in the days of the League of Nations. Writing in 1927, Thomas envisioned, if only as a distant ideal, "some sort of supreme supernational authority which would regulate the distribution of population on rational and impartial lines, by controlling and directing migration movements and deciding on the opening-up or closing of countries to particular streams of immigration." (See the Archives section of PDR 9, no. 4.) The excerpt below consists of §428,§446 of the report, a section titled The cross-border movement of people. [source] Dimension-based attention modulates early visual processingPSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Klaus Gramann Abstract Target selection can be based on spatial or dimensional/featural mechanisms operating in a location-independent manner. We investigated whether dimension-based attention affects processing in early visual stages. Subjects searched for a singleton target among an 8-item array, with the search display preceded by an identical cue array with a dimensionally non-predictive, but spatially predictive singleton. Reaction times (RTs) were increased for changes in the target-defining dimension but not for featural changes within a dimension. This RT effect was mirrored by modulations of the P1 and anterior transition N2 (tN2). Current density reconstructions revealed increased activity in dorsal occipital cortex and decreased activity in left frontopolar cortex owing to repeated dimensional pop-out identities. These findings strengthen dimension-based theories of visual attention by indicating dimension-, rather than feature-, specific influences within the first 110 ms of visual processing. [source] Must Legalistic Conceptions of the Rule of Law Have a Social Dimension?RATIO JURIS, Issue 4 2004N. W. BARBER It asks how such apparently narrow conceptions are generated, and how far they can resist including broader social claims. It concludes that the rationale behind legalistic conceptions compels them to address issues of poverty and the literacy of the law's subjects. However, legalistic conceptions of the rule of law can still avoid sliding into the wider non-legalistic models advanced by writers such as T. R. S. Allan. [source] A Community Justice Dimension to Effective Probation PracticeTHE HOWARD JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Issue 2 2000John Harding This article builds on earlier articles by McWilliams and Pease in suggesting that the probation service requires a transcendent justification for its activities. The author supports the need for greater links between prison and probation services in promoting effective practice and public protection but asserts that probation' authority also derives from its understanding of crime in a community context. In developing a community justice framework for the probation service the author discusses three principles: justice, penance, and community, particularly as they might impact on the most marginalised and vulnerable in our inner cities. The case for a community justice dimension to effective practice is further endorsed by a recent Home Office study of the social factors most associated with reconviction. Best outcomes in relation to crime reduction are most likely to be achieved by a bridge-building effort between criminal justice professionals and the involvement of communities most at risk. [source] Unprecedented Stylissazoles,A,C from Stylissa carteri: Another Dimension for Marine Pyrrole-2-aminoimidazole Metabolite Diversity,ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE, Issue 28 2010Kirti Patel Vielfalt erhöht: Drei Pyrrol-2-aminoimidazol-Alkaloide wurden aus dem Meeresschwamm Stylissa carteri isoliert. Es handelt sich um ausschließlich N-C-gebundene ,Dimere", was auf einen speziellen Dimerisierungsweg hinweist und der molekularen Vielfalt dieser Alkaloidklasse eine weitere Dimension hinzufügt. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||