Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
External Forces (external + force)
Selected AbstractsDeployable Truss Operation by ETS-VII Robot Arm Using Force Accommodation ControlCOMPUTER-AIDED CIVIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE ENGINEERING, Issue 3 2001Masahiro Nohmi An experiment for teleoperating a truss structure has been performed as part of a space robotics mission on Engineering Test Satellite No. 7 (ETS-VII). This article reports the results from truss experiments conducted by means of the ETS-VII robot arm using force accommodation control, which is a specific control law developed for the ETS-VII robot arm. With this control function, the robot arm moves toward the point where the external force becomes the command value, which is sent from the ground. This control technique is useful especially in the case of teleoperation with time delay, since excessive force and torque can be avoided, and in addition, no a priori trajectory information is required. However, the robot arm cannot attain the desired configuration for itself. These characteristics can be used for deployable and assembly truss operation, making full use of merits and avoiding demerits. The effectiveness is confirmed through an ETS-VII onboard experiment. [source] Ordering of Disordered Nanowires: Spontaneous Formation of Highly Aligned, Ultralong Ag Nanowire Films at Oil,Water,Air InterfaceADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 6 2010Hong-Yan Shi Abstract One-dimensional nanomaterials and their assemblies attract considerable scientific interest in the physical, chemical, and biological fields because of their potential applications in electronic and optical devices. The interface-assembly method has become an important route for the self-assembly of nanoparticles, nanosheets, nanotubes, and nanorods, but the self-assembly of ultralong nanowires has only been successful using the Langmuir,Blodgett approach. A novel approach for the spontaneous formation of highly aligned, ultralong Ag nanowire films at the oil,water,air interface is described. In this approach, the three-phase interface directs the movement and self-assembly process of the ultralong Ag nanowires without the effect of an external force or complex apparatus. The ordered films exhibit intrinsic large electromagnetic fields that are localized in the interstitials between adjacent nanowires. This new three-phase-interface approach is proven to be a general route that can be extended to self-assemble other ultralong nanowires and produce ordered films. [source] Location-related differences in structure and function of the stratum corneum with special emphasis on those of the facial skinINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE, Issue 6 2008H. Tagami Synopsis Between the two different kinds of the skin covering the body, the glabrous skin is found only on the palmo-plantar surface because of its rather simple function to protect the underlying living tissue with its remarkably thick stratum corneum (SC) from strong external force and friction. Thus, its barrier function is extremely poor. In contrast, the hair-bearing skin covers almost all over the body surface regardless of the presence of long hair or vellus hair. In regard to its SC, many dermatologists and skin scientists think that it is too thin to show any site-specific differences, because the SC is just present as an efficient barrier membrane to protect our body from desiccation as well as against the invasion by external injurious agents. However, there are remarkable regional differences not only in the living skin tissue but also even in such thin SC reflecting the function of each anatomical location. These differences in the SC have been mostly disclosed with the advent of non-invasive biophysical instruments, particularly the one that enables us to measure transepidermal water loss (TEWL), the parameter of the SC barrier function, and the one that evaluates the hydration state of the skin surface, the parameter of the water-holding capacity of the SC that brings about softness and smoothness to the skin surface. These in vivo instrumental measurements of the SC have disclosed the presence of remarkable differences in the functional properties of the SC particularly between the face and other portions of the body. The SC of the facial skin is thinner, being composed of smaller layers of corneocytes than that of the trunk and limbs. It shows unique functional characteristics to provide hydrated skin surface but relatively poor barrier function, which is similar to that observed in retinoid-treated skin or to that of fresh scar or keloidal scars. Moreover, there even exist unexpected, site-dependent differences in the SC of the facial skin such as the forehead, eyelid, cheek, nose and perioral regions, although each location occupies only a small area. Between these locations, the cheek shows the lowest TEWL in contrast to the perioral region that reveals the highest one. Moreover, these features are not static but change with age particularly between children and adults and maybe also between genders. Among various facial locations, the eyelid skin is distinct from others because its SC is associated with poor skin surface lipids and a thin SC cell layer composed of large corneocytes that brings about high surface hydration state but poor barrier function, whereas the vermillion borders of the lips that are covered by an exposed part of the oral mucosa exhibit remarkably poor barrier function and low hydration state. Future studies aiming at the establishment of the functional mapping in each facial region and in other body regions will shed light on more delicate site-dependent differences, which will provide us important information in planning the strategy to start so called tailor-made skin care for each location of the body. Résumé Entre les deux types différents de peau couvrant le crops, on trouve la peau glabre uniquement sur la surface palmo-plantaire du fait de sa fonction plutôt simple de protection du tissu vivant sous-jacent par un stratum corneum (SC) trés épais vis-à-vis des forces extérieures et de la friction. De ce fait, sa fonction barrière est extrêmement pauvre. Au contraire, la peau velue courve la presque totalité de la surface du crops, que ce soit par la présence de longs cheveux ou de duvet. En ce qui concerne son SC, la plupart des dermatologues et des scientifiques de la peau pensent qu'il est trop mince pour montrer une différence spécifique au site, attendu que le SC est simplement présent en tant que membrane barriére efficace pour protéger notre corps de la dessiccation ainsi que pour lutter contre l'invasion d'agents nuisibles externes. Cependant, il existe des différences importantes entre les sites, non seulement dans la peau vivante, mais également dans ce SC aussi mince, qui révèlent la fonctin de chaque site anatomique. Ces différences dans le SC ont surtout été révélées avec l'apparition d'instruments biophysiques non invasifs, en particulier celui qui nous permet de mesurer la perte transépidermale en eau (TEWL), le paramétre de la fonction barrière du SC et celui qui évalue l'état d'hydratation de la surface de peau, le paramètre de la capacité en rétention de l'eau du SC qui est liéà la souplesse et à la douceur à la surface de peau. Ces mesures instrumentales in vivo du SC ont révélé la présence de différences remarquables entre les propriétés fonctionnelles du SC particulièrement entre le visage et d'autres parties du corps. Le SC de la peau de la face est plus mince, car li est composé de couches plus petites de corneocytes que celui du tronc et des membres. Il montre des caractéristiques fonctionnelles uniques pour permettre l'hydratation de la surface de peau, mais une fonction barrière relativement faible, semblable à celle observée dans la peau traitée avec un rétinoïde ou à celle d'une cicatrice récente ou de cicatrices kéloidales. De plus, il existe des différences sites-dépendantes inattendues dans le SC de la peau de la face comme le front, la paupière, la joue, le nez et les régions périorales, et ce, bien que chaque emplacement occupe seulement un petit secteur. Entre ces divers emplacements, la joue montre le TEWL le plus bas par comparaison avec la région périorale qui montre le plus élevé. De plus, ces caractéristiques ne sont pas fixes, mais changent avec l'âge en particulier entre enfants et adultes et peut-être aussi entre sexes. Entre les diverses régions de la face, la peau de la paupière se distingue parce que son SC est associéà une peau pauvre en lipides de surface constituée par une mince couche de cellule composée de grand cornéocytes qui provoquent un haut état d'hydratation superficiel, mais une faible fonction barrière. A l'inverse les bordures vermillion des lévres recouvertes par une partie exposée de muqueuse orale, possèdent une fonction barrière très faible et un état d'hydratation bas. Les études futures visant àétablir la configuration fonctionnelle de chaque région de la face et d'autres régions du corps mettrons en lumière des différences sites-dépendantes plus subtiles, qui nous fourniront des informations importantes pour planifier la stratégie pour commencer le soin de la peau sur mesure si attendu pour chaque partie du corps. [source] A stationary-wave model of enzyme catalysisJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 2 2010Carlo Canepa Abstract An expression for the external force driving a system of two coupled oscillators in the condensed phase was derived in the frame of the Debye theory of solids. The time dependence and amplitude of the force is determined by the size of the cell embedding the coupled oscillators and its Debye temperature (,D). The dynamics of the driven system of oscillators were followed in the two regimes of (a) low ,D and cell diameter, as a model of liquid water, and (b) large ,D and cell diameter, as a model of the core of a protein. The response in potential energy of the reference oscillator was computed for all possible values of the internal parameters of the system under investigation. For protein cores, the region in the parameter space of high maximum potential energy of the reference oscillator is considerably extended with respect to the corresponding simulation for water. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2010 [source] Force-Free Patterning of Polyelectrolyte Multilayers under Solvent AssistanceMACROMOLECULAR MATERIALS & ENGINEERING, Issue 8 2010Lulu Han Abstract Physical patterns were created on hydrated PSS/PDADMAC multilayers without using external force. A typical process was to put a PDMS stamp onto the wet and swollen multilayers, which were then put into an oven and maintained for a period of time to micromold the multilayers. The influence of molding temperature and time, multilayer thickness, solvent quality, and multilayer compositions on pattern formation were elucidated. Evolution of the patterns from double lines, double strips, and meniscus-shaped ridges to high ridges was observed under all conditions, revealing that this is a universal principle for this process. Finally, patterns on PAA/PAH and PSS/PAH multilayers were also prepared at the optimal conditions, highlighting its wide generality on the multilayer patterning. [source] Triple Dumbbell Polymer Nanolayer Frequency ResponseMACROMOLECULAR THEORY AND SIMULATIONS, Issue 6 2008Steven Grisafi Abstract A triple dumbbell sandwich model is developed to predict the frequency response of an interface created within nanolayer polymer films. One dumbbell different from two others is layered between the other two. The interactions among the macromolecules are modeled using Hooke's law for the intramolecular, intermolecular, and an applied external force. The external force is meant to describe incident electromagnetic radiation. The transient response of the system in the frequency domain is presented along with the steady-state response. The frequency response for the central dumbbell differs from its two partners suggesting that birefringence of incident radiation is possible. The phase angle of the oscillations for the two different polymer species shows that the frequency of incident light would be shifted differently by the two when it traverses the polymer film. [source] Normal and Lateral Deformation of Lyotropically Ordered Polymer BrushMACROMOLECULAR THEORY AND SIMULATIONS, Issue 9 2006Alexey A. Polotsky Abstract Summary: Planar polymer brush formed by semirigid chains of freely jointed rigid segments and immersed into a solvent is considered. Brush collapse induced by deterioration of the solvent quality and its deformation by external normal or lateral force is studied. It is demonstrated that these three different situations can be described in the framework of the common approach. It is shown that the collapse is accompanied by liquid-crystalline (LC) ordering within the brush. The LC transition can be jump-like (the first order) or continuous, depending on the segment's aspect ratio and grafting density. Transition point is investigated in detail, the corresponding phase diagrams are calculated. It is shown that the phase diagrams of a normally deformed brush have different structures, with a narrow ,leg' in the good solvent region for sparsely grafted brush, with two coexistence regions and a triple point, in addition, for shorter segment length or without these features if the chains are densely grafted. For the laterally deformed brush, phase diagrams have similar structures with a critical point in the good solvent regime. Polymer brush subjected to deformation by normal (top) and lateral (bottom) external force. [source] Existence and exponential stability in Lr -spaces of stationary Navier,Stokes flows with prescribed flux in infinite cylindrical domainsMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 2 2007Myong-Hwan Ri Abstract We prove existence, uniqueness and exponential stability of stationary Navier,Stokes flows with prescribed flux in an unbounded cylinder of ,n,n,3, with several exits to infinity provided the total flux and external force are sufficiently small. The proofs are based on analytic semigroup theory, perturbation theory and Lr , Lq -estimates of a perturbation of the Stokes operator in Lq -spaces. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A direct method for solving an anisotropic mean curvature flow of plane curves with an external forceMATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 13 2004Karol Mikula Abstract A new method for solution of the evolution of plane curves satisfying the geometric equation v=,(x,k,,), where v is the normal velocity, k and , are the curvature and tangential angle of a plane curve , , ,2 at the point x,,, is proposed. We derive a governing system of partial differential equations for the curvature, tangential angle, local length and position vector of an evolving family of plane curves and prove local in time existence of a classical solution. These equations include a non-trivial tangential velocity functional governing a uniform redistribution of grid points and thus preventing numerically computed solutions from forming various instabilities. We discretize the governing system of equations in order to find a numerical solution for 2D anisotropic interface motions and image segmentation problems. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Globalisation and New Zealand: Anchoring the Leviathan in a Regional ContextNEW ZEALAND GEOGRAPHER, Issue 2 2003LUCY BARAGWANATH ABSTRACT Despite its ambiguity and contentiousness, the term globalisation is widely used in New Zealand, as it is elsewhere, in analyses of contemporary times. Yet the concept of globalisation is frequently invoked at a high level of generality with little consideration of the specificities of the particular contexts to which it is applied; and in the case of New Zealand, the notion seems incongruous in many respects. We therefore seek to anchor the notion in the regional context of Canterbury, where our historical and ethnographic research leads us to suggest that globalisation is a misleading and contentious description of contemporary New Zealand. As a set of discourses, however, globalisation is pervasive and powerful. The contemporary policy climate strongly reflects the hegemonic discourse of hyperglobalism, which emphasises generic globality, novelty and change at the expense of continuity and the particularity of place, limiting the possibilities for action. Thus while empirically, many parallels with the past persist, nevertheless, contemporary policy-makers understand New Zealand's options as determined by globalisation as an external force. This contrasts with past policy discourses which emphasised the scope for domestic decision-making, within the context of inextricable connections with the outside world. Our emphasis on the discursive construction of the globalisation imperative draws attention to possible alternative interpretations of New Zealand's contemporary options. [source] Factitious Purpura in a 10-Year-Old GirlPEDIATRIC DERMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2009Kayo Yamada M.D. Both congenital and autoimmune hemorrhagic disorders were excluded based on her past medical history and physical and laboratory findings. Child abuse was also ruled out as purpura continued to develop after child,family separation. Histologic examination of the skin lesions revealed disruption of collagen fiber bundles. This finding indicated application of external force, leading to a definitive diagnosis of factitious purpura. Although it is very rare in school-age children, the diagnosis of factitious purpura should be included in the differential diagnosis of purpura in children. Histologic analysis of skin biopsies may aid in establishing the diagnosis. [source] The cause of superchronsASTRONOMY & GEOPHYSICS, Issue 6 2001J A Jacobs Superchrons , long periods in the geomagnetic record when the Earth's magnetic field did not reverse its polarity , are a challenge to observers and theorists. Jack Jacobs outlines the problems and some possible solutions. Reversals of polarity are a feature of the geomagnetic record for all the time it has been documented. Although not regular, reversals are sufficiently frequent for their absence to be noticeable. When the Earth's magnetic field retains the same polarity for over 20 million years, a superchron is established. Superchrons demand the attention of geophysicists concerned with the generation of the Earth's field: either they must result from an intrinsic feature of the geodynamo, or they reflect the influence of some external force. Here I discuss internal and external mechanisms for the formation of superchrons, including the role of the inner core, true polar wander, Earth's orbital variations and tides. [source] Characterization of the Biomechanical Properties of T4 Pili Expressed by Streptococcus pneumoniae,A Comparison between Helix-like and Open Coil-like PiliCHEMPHYSCHEM, Issue 9-10 2009Mickaël Castelain Dr. Abstract Adhesion strategies: Open coil-like T4 pili use different adhesion strategies in the presence of external forces (see figure) compared to the helix-like P pili. When exposed to significant forces, bacteria expressing helix-like pili remain attached by distributing the external force among a multitude of pili, whereas bacteria expressing open coil-like pili sustain large forces primarily by their multitude of binding adhesins. Bacterial adhesion organelles, known as fimbria or pili, are expressed by Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria families. These appendages play a key role in the first steps of the invasion and infection processes, and they therefore provide bacteria with pathogenic abilities. To improve the knowledge of pili-mediated bacterial adhesion to host cells and how these pili behave under the presence of an external force, we first characterize, using force measuring optical tweezers, open coil-like T4 pili expressed by Gram-positive Streptococcus pneumoniae with respect to their biomechanical properties. It is shown that their elongation behavior can be well described by the worm-like chain model and that they possess a large degree of flexibility. Their properties are then compared with those of helix-like pili expressed by Gram-negative uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC), which have different pili architecture. The differences suggest that these two types of pili have distinctly dissimilar mechanisms to adhere and sustain external forces. Helix-like pili expressed by UPEC bacteria adhere to host cells by single adhesins located at the distal end of the pili while their helix-like structures act as shock absorbers to dampen the irregularly shear forces induced by urine flow and to increase the cooperativity of the pili ensemble, whereas open coil-like pili expressed by S. pneumoniae adhere to cells by a multitude of adhesins distributed along the pili. It is hypothesized that these two types of pili represent different strategies of adhering to host cells in the presence of external forces. When exposed to significant forces, bacteria expressing helix-like pili remain attached by distributing the external force among a multitude of pili, whereas bacteria expressing open coil-like pili sustain large forces primarily by their multitude of binding adhesins which presumably detach sequentially. [source] Interactive animation of virtual humans based on motion capture dataCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 5-6 2009Franck Multon Abstract This paper presents a novel, parameteric framework for synthesizing new character motions from existing motion capture data. Our framework can conduct morphological adaptation as well as kinematic and physically-based corrections. All these solvers are organized in layers in order to be easily combined together. Given locomotion as an example, the system automatically adapts the motion data to the size of the synthetic figure and to its environment; the character will correctly step over complex ground shapes and counteract with external forces applied to the body. Our framework is based on a frame-based solver. This ensures animating hundreds of humanoids with different morphologies in real-time. It is particularly suitable for interactive applications such as video games and virtual reality where a user interacts in an unpredictable way. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Wind projection basis for real-time animation of treesCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 2 2009Julien Diener This paper presents a real-time method to animate complex scenes of thousands of trees under a user-controllable wind load. Firstly, modal analysis is applied to extract the main modes of deformation from the mechanical model of a 3D tree. The novelty of our contribution is to precompute a new basis of the modal stress of the tree under wind load. At runtime, this basis allows to replace the modal projection of the external forces by a direct mapping for any directional wind. We show that this approach can be efficiently implemented on graphics hardware. This modal animation can be simulated at low computation cost even for large scenes containing thousands of trees. [source] Influence of nanocrystalization on magnetoelastic Villari effect in Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 alloyCRYSTAL RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 3-5 2003R. Szewczyk Abstract The results of an investigation of the influence of thermal annealing on the magnetoelastic properties of Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 soft magnetic alloy in both amorphous and nanocrystalline state are presented. A new method developed was used to apply uniform compressive stresses to the investigated ring core made of the alloy. The compressive stresses produced by external mechanical forces were applied perpendicularly to the direction of the magnetizing field. Due to the uniform distribution of stresses in the core brittle nanocrystalline alloys may be tested for stresses up to 10 MPa. The results revealed, that process of nanocrystallisation causes significant increase in the stress sensitivity of the Fe73.5Nb3Cu1Si13.5B9 alloy. Moreover the influence of stresses caused by external forces is more significant at relatively low values of the magnetizing field suggesting that these nanocrystalline soft magnetic materials are stress sensitive in the range of technical operation of inductive components based on such materials. [source] Transformative Teaching: Restoring the teacher, under erasureEDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY, Issue 2 2009Jenny Steinnes Abstract In the large and complex landscape of pedagogy, the focus seems to have turned away from the concept of teaching and towards a stronger emphasis on learning, probably supported by neo-liberal ideology. The teacher is presented more as part of the force of production than as an autonomous performer of a mandate given to him/her by society. He/she is supposed to supply knowledge that is considered useful to a society geared to production and consumption. During the past few decades, enlightenment as a legitimising concept for education has been challenged from different angles, both by a self-critique from within and from external forces. One angle of approach is the questioning of the relationship between the state and education, by way of a critique of modernity. Another approach comes from a critique of knowledge, which has lost most of its universal implications and is left with more pragmatic and utilitarian considerations. Into this landscape of lost legitimisation, I will make an attempt to visualise an impossible/possible position for teaching, featuring ancient, contemporary and phantom-like figures. I am suggesting the concept of transformation as an alternative to development or improvement, which I find to be concepts with a close link to modernity and its linearity. By a careful and conscious use of the word transformation, taking Derrida's intensified focus of language into account, a possible active position might be intimated in spite of the fundamental critique, which has been directed at pedagogy and its imperialistic implications from different angles. [source] The diffusion of environmental policy innovations: cornerstones of an analytical frameworkENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2005Kerstin Tews Abstract Comparative policy analysis increasingly faces the challenge of incorporating external forces on national policy developments into its analytical framework. Scholars of international relations have recognized that the behaviour of states , in terms of policy outputs , converges even in the absence of binding international agreements. These two branches of research can be bridged by the concept of policy diffusion. Diffusion analysis asks for those conditions that favour or hinder the spread of policy innovations within the international system. However, the scientific community struggles with different meanings and notions of the term policy diffusion. Thus, the aim of this paper is to offer a general conceptual framework for the study of diffusion processes within the international system. Understanding the process of policy diffusion requires an analysis of the complex interplay between transnational and international forces, national factors and the characteristics of policy innovations. By providing a conceptual framework this paper hopes not only to contribute to the theoretical debate but also to give guidance for empirical research. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Our Common European Model of AgricultureEUROCHOICES, Issue 3 2006Juha Korkeaoja Our Common European Model of Agriculture Future internal and external forces on European agriculture mean that the CAP may look very different after 2013. However large these changes, the CAP will need to retain its common principles based on the European Model of Agriculture (EMA). This became clear in an informal September meeting of EU agriculture ministers in Oulu, arranged by the Finnish Presidency. A strong CAP will be needed in the future but it will have to evolve to meet upcoming challenges. Work on the future CAP will need to start soon and the Oulu meeting may become known as the starting point for those discussions. The CAP will have to provide a reasonable environment for practicing agriculture for very different farmers in very diverse conditions, and facilitate the supply of a wide variety of goods and services to consumers and taxpayers as only truly multifunctional agriculture can. If the CAP can maintain these characteristics it has an important role to play in a future Europe. The meeting in Oulu was also an important milestone for a very special reason: for the first time, all ten New Member States took an active part in the EMA-debate with full rights and responsibilities as part of the Union. Once again this underlines the central role of our common European Model of Agriculture. Unser gemeinsames Europäisches Land wirts chafts modell Die zukünftigen internen und externen Einflüsse auf die europäische Landwirtschaft könnten zur Folge haben, dass die GAP nach dem Jahr 2013 ganz anders aussieht. Wie umwälzend diese Veränderungen auch sein mögen, die GAP wird ihre allgemeinen, auf dem Europäischen Landwirtschaftsmodell (EMA) beruhenden Grundsätze beibehalten müssen. Dies wurde im September bei einem von der finnischen Präsidentschaft arrangierten informellen Treffen der EU-Landwirtschaftsminister in Oulu deutlich. In der Zukunft brauchen wir eine starke GAP, die jedoch weiterentwickelt werden muss, um den kommenden Herausforderungen gerecht zu werden. Die Arbeit an der zukünftigen GAP muss in nächster Zeit beginnen, und das Treffen in Oulu könnte möglicherweise als Ausgangspunkt dieser Diskussionen gelten. Die GAP wird ein angemessenes Umfeld schaffen müssen, um sehr unterschiedlichen Landwirten mit sehr unterschiedlichen Arbeitsbedingungen die Ausübung der Landwirtschaft sowie Verbrauchern und Steuerzahlern die Versorgung mit einer großen Vielfalt an Waren und Dienstleistungen zu ermöglichen, wie es nur eine wirklich multifunktionale Landwirtschaft zu leisten vermag. Wenn es der GAP gelingt, diese Merkmale beizubehalten, wird ihr im zukünftigen Europa eine wichtige Rolle zukommen. Bei dem Treffen in Oulu handelt es sich auch aus einem ganz besonderen Grund um einen bedeutenden Meilenstein: Zum ersten Mal beteiligte sich jeder der zehn neuen Mitgliedsstaaten mit allen Rechten und voller Verantwortung als Teil der Union aktiv an der Debatte zum Europäischen Landwirtschaftsmodell. Wieder einmal unterstreicht dies die zentrale Rolle unseres gemeinsamen Europäischen Landwirtschaftsmodells. Ce modèle agricole européen qui nous est commun Du fait des forces internes et externes qui vont bientôt s'exercer sur l'agriculture européenne, la physionomie de la PAC après 2013 pourrait bien être très différente de ce qu'elle est maintenant. Quelque soit cependant l'importance de ces changements, la PAC devra conserver sa base commune actuelle, qui repose sur le « modèle agricole européen » (MAE). La chose est apparue clairement lors d'une réunion informelle des ministres de l'agriculture européens organisée par la présidence finnoise à Oulu, en septembre dernier. Une politique agricole musclée sera nécessaire à l'avenir, mais elle devra évoluer pour répondre à de nouveaux défis. Il va bientôt falloir commencer à travailler cette nouvelle PAC, et la réunion d'Oulu restera peut être comme le point de départ des discussions sur le sujet. La PAC devra fournir un environnement convenable pour la pratique d'agricultures diverses, par des agriculteurs différents les uns des autres, dans un vaste éventail de conditions. Elle devra permettre la production d'une grande variété de biens et de services financés par le consommateur ou le contribuable, comme seule une agriculture multifonctionnelle peut le faire. Si la PAC arrive à conserver ces caractéristiques, elle aura un grand rôle à jouer dans l'Europe de demain. Il y a encore une raison plus spécifique pour marquer d'une pierre blanche la réunion d'Oulu : pour la première fois, les dix nouveaux membres de l'Union ont activement participé et de plein droit aux discussions sur le MAE. Cela, une fois de plus, souligne le rôle essentiel du « modèle agricole européen » qui nous est commun. [source] Geography's Emerging Cross-Disciplinary Links: Process, Causes, Outcomes and ChallengesGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002J.H. Holmes In Australian universities the discipline of Geography has been the pace-setter in forging cross-disciplinary links to create multidisciplinary departments and schools, well ahead of other disciplines in humanities, social sciences and sciences, and also to a greater extent than in comparable overseas university systems. Details on all cross-disciplinary links and on immediate outcomes have been obtained by surveys of all heads of departments/schools with undergraduate Geography programs. These programs have traced their own distinctive trajectories, with ramifying links to cognate fields of enquiry, achieved through mergers, transfers, internal initiatives and, more recently, faculty-wide restructuring to create supradisciplinary schools. Geography's ,exceptionalism' has proved short-lived. Disciplinary flux is now extending more widely within Australian universities, driven by a variety of internal and external forces, including: intellectual questioning and new ways of constituting knowledge; technological change and the information revolution; the growth of instrumentalism and credentialism, and managerialism and entre-preneurial imperatives; reinforced by a powerful budgetary squeeze. Geographers are proving highly adaptive in pursuit of cross-disciplinary connections, offering analytical tools and selected disciplinary insights useful to non-geographers. However, this may be at cost to undergraduate programs focussing on Geography's intellectual core. Whereas formerly Geography had high reproductive capacity but low instrumental value it may now be in a phase of enhanced utility but perilously low reproductive capacity. [source] Changing patterns of human resource management in contemporary China: WTO accession and enterprise responsesINDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 4 2004Ying Zhu ABSTRACT This study examines the increasingly complex challenges facing human resource management (HRM) in China following the country's accession to the WTO and, consequently, the implications for further reform of government policy and enterprise-level HRM practices. The article concludes that current HR practices among enterprises vary depending on ownership, industrial sector, location and history. The direction of future changes may depend on the level of involvement from external forces as well as internal strategies adopted by Chinese enterprises to survive. [source] An experimental method for determining the effects of strain gradients in a granular materialINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 8 2003Matthew R. Kuhn Abstract The paper presents an algorithm for use with the discrete element method to study possible strain-gradient effects in granular materials. The algorithm produces an intentionally non-uniform displacement pattern by applying external (body) forces to the particles within a simulated granular assembly. The paper describes a method for adjusting the external forces to attain the intended gross displacement pattern, but while allowing individual particles to be in equilibrium among neighbouring particles. The performance of the algorithm is tested in an example of quasi-static deformation, and the algorithm's performance is measured in three respects. The algorithm is shown to enforce the intended displacement pattern, to allow particles to equilibrate among neighbouring particles, and to produce a smooth distribution of the external forces among particles. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] State-space time integration with energy control and fourth-order accuracy for linear dynamic systemsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN ENGINEERING, Issue 5 2006Steen Krenk Abstract A fourth-order accurate time integration algorithm with exact energy conservation for linear structural dynamics is presented. It is derived by integrating the phase-space representation and evaluating the resulting displacement and velocity integrals via integration by parts, substituting the time derivatives from the original differential equations. The resulting algorithm has an exact energy equation, in which the change of energy is equal to the work of the external forces minus a quadratic form of the damping matrix. This implies unconditional stability of the algorithm, and the relative phase error is of fourth-order. An optional high-frequency algorithmic damping is constructed by optimal combination of three different damping matrices, each proportional to either the mass or the stiffness matrix. This leads to a modified form of the undamped algorithm with scalar weights on some of the matrices introducing damping of fourth-order in the frequency. Thus, the low-frequency response is virtually undamped, and the algorithm remains third-order accurate even when algorithmic damping is included. The accuracy of the algorithm is illustrated by an application to pulse propagation in an elastic medium, where the algorithmic damping is used to reduce dispersion due to the spatial discretization, leading to a smooth solution with a clearly defined wave front. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Passivity-based control of a magnetically levitated flexible beamINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ROBUST AND NONLINEAR CONTROL, Issue 6 2009T. Shimizu Abstract This paper solves the asymptotic stabilization problem for a magnetically levitated flexible beam using a nested-loop passivity-based controller design. Passivity analyses reveal that the system can be decomposed into two passive subsystems: a mechanical subsystem that consists of a flexible beam with both ends free and that defines a passive map from external forces to the velocity of the points on the flexible beam at which the external forces act; and an electrical subsystem that consists of a pair of electromagnets and that defines a strictly output-passive map from voltages applied across the electromagnets to magnetic fluxes. The standard method for designing passivity-based controllers leads to a nonlinear feed-forward controller for the electrical subsystem, which enables the electrical subsystem to generate given desired magnetic forces, and an output feedback compensator for the mechanical subsystem, which computes the desired forces required to regulate the position and vibration of the beam. The asymptotic stability of each controller may be proven using Lyapunov's stability theory and LaSalle's invariant set theorem. Numerical simulations confirm the asymptotic stability of the equilibrium configuration of the closed-loop system formed by the magnetically levitated flexible beam together with the proposed controllers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] A simple method for motorized alignment of Osmic confocal opticsJOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2006John R. Ruble A system for the remote alignment of X-ray optics has been designed to address safety considerations related to manual optic adjustment. The described system also addresses some of the common problems associated with the alignment process, such as binding of components and the effects of external forces due to user contact that lead to irreproducibility of the process. The system as described should be applicable to most home laboratories. [source] Racism in organizations: The case of a county public health departmentJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Derek M. Griffith Racism is part of the foundation of U.S. society and institutions, yet few studies in community psychology or organizational studies have examined how racism affects organizations. This paper proposes a conceptual framework of institutional racism, which describes how, in spite of professional standards and ethics, racism functions within organizations to adversely affect the quality of services, the organizational climate, and staff job satisfaction and morale. Grounded in systems theory and organizational empowerment, the framework is based on data that describe how racism was made manifest in a county public health department. The findings highlight the importance of understanding how organizations are influenced by external forces and can negatively affect clients, communities, and their own staff members. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Preparation for Crisis Management: A Proposed Model and Empirical EvidenceJOURNAL OF CONTINGENCIES AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2004S. Elsubbaugh This article explores the forces restricting effective crisis management in a crisis ridden industry. Models of crisis preparedness have typically been developed based upon research in US or Western business. This study is based upon the Egyptian industry which, until the 1990s was state owned and heavily state supported. Changes in government policy, combined with external forces, not in the least the loss of markets in the previous Soviet bloc, had plunged the industry into serious crisis. Crisis is a cultural embarrassment to most Egyptian managers and this, combined with the depth of economic difficulties faced by the industry, makes it extraordinarily difficult for any level of crisis preparedness to be achieved. Based on interview and questionnaire data, this article extends existing models of crisis preparedness to better accommodate conditions in crisis prone industries outside the West. New dimensions in the proposed model are the stress on national culture and how this limits the range of managerial responses. This in turn requires the active development of an organisational culture to counteract these limitations. [source] Clinician attitudes towards prescribing and implications for interventions in a multi-specialty group practiceJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 6 2008Robert J. Fortuna MD Abstract Background, Prescribing decisions are subject to a myriad of external forces, including patient requests for advertised medications. Although numerous factors influence prescribing, resources to support unbiased evidence-based prescribing are not widely available. Methods, To guide future interventions, we surveyed clinicians about influences on prescribing, awareness of pharmaceutical costs and attitudes towards computerized decision support. A 21-item survey was sent to 604 prescribing clinicians in a large multi-specialty group practice that employs a robust electronic medical record. Results, Surveys were returned from 405 clinicians (67%). Most respondents (87%) felt that direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising prompts patients to request inappropriate medications, and more than one in five clinicians (22%) reported difficulty declining patients' requests for advertised medications. Providers with more clinical sessions per week reported greater difficulty. Although 93% of clinicians felt they have access to the information needed to guide prescribing, only about half (54%) reported they are aware of how much patients pay for prescription medications. Clinicians' awareness of medication costs varied considerably by specialty, with behavioural health clinicians being the most aware. The majority of providers (79%) stated that computerized prescribing alerts are a clinically useful source of information. Conclusions, Although the majority of clinicians reported that DTC advertising leads many patients to request medications that are inappropriate for their condition, a sizable proportion of clinicians reported difficulty declining these requests, and many are unaware of medication costs. Interventions to support prescribing decisions should provide the busiest clinicians with up-to-date, specialty-specific evidence and cost information. [source] Demonstrably Awful: The Right to Life and the Selective Non-Treatment of Disabled Babies and Young ChildrenJOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2004Janet Read Twenty-five years ago it was common practice to bring about the deaths of some children with learning disabilities or physical impairments. This paper considers a small number of landmark cases in the early 1980s that confronted this practice. These cases illustrate a process by which external forces (social, philosophical, political, and professional) moved through the legal system to effect a profound change outside that system , primarily in the (then) largely closed domain of medical conduct/practice. These cases are considered from a socio-legal perspective. In particular, the paper analyses the reasons why they surfaced at that time, the social and political contexts that shaped the judgments, and their legacy. [source] Reforming practice or modifying reforms?: Elementary teachers' response to the tools of reformJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING, Issue 3 2007Leigh K. Smith Understanding the interaction between internally constructed and externally imposed aspects of the teaching context may be the missing link between calls for school reform and teachers' interpretation and implementation of that reform. Although the context of the local school culture has a profound impact on teachers, there are other external forces that are specifically aimed at influencing teachers' pedagogical and curricular decisions. These externally imposed aspects of context include some of the existing tools of reform, such as national standards, mandated state core curricula, and related criterion-referenced testing. However, little is known about how these reform tools impact teachers' thinking about science and science teaching or how teachers respond to such tools. This study examined the interactions between individual teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning science in elementary school and the tools of reform that are imposed upon them. Comparative case studies were conducted in which two elementary teachers' science instruction, teaching context, and related beliefs were examined, described, and analyzed. In this study, the teachers' fundamental beliefs about science and what it means to teach and learn science influenced their interpretations of the sometimes contradictory messages of reform as they are represented in the standards, mandated curriculum, and end-of-level tests. Suggestions about what these findings mean for needed aspects of teacher professional development are offered. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 396,423, 2007 [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||