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Inception
Terms modified by Inception Selected AbstractsTHE YIJING (????) AS CREATIVE INCEPTION OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHYJOURNAL OF CHINESE PHILOSOPHY, Issue 2 2008CHUNG-YING CHENG [source] The innovating region: toward a theory of knowledge-based regional developmentR & D MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2005Henry Etzkowitz This paper sets forth a model of knowledge-based regional development conceived as a set of multi-linear dynamics, based on alternative technological paradigms. Utilizing longitudinal data from a Swedish region, and international comparisons, four stages of development are identified: Inception, Implementation, Consolidation and Renewal. Innovation policy is created ,bottom-up' as an outcome of ,collective entrepreneurship' through collaboration among business, government and academic actors , the ,triple helix'. The key event is the creation of an entrepreneurial university, whether from an existing academic base or a new foundation, which takes initiatives together with government and industry to create a support structure for firm formation and regional growth. The result of these initiatives is a self-sustaining dynamic in which the role of academia and government appears to recede as industrial actors come to the fore and a lineage of firms is created. Nevertheless, as one technological paradigm is exhausted and another one is needed as the base for new economic activity, the role of academia and government comes to the fore again in creating the conditions for the next wave of innovation. [source] Cross-institutional assessment: Development and implementation of the On-line Student Survey SystemCOMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION, Issue 2 2002Raymond Hoare Abstract As ABET has increased the need for routine student assessments, engineering faculty are faced with the problem of doing this in an efficient manner that minimizes the time required to conduct, tabulate, and analyze the requisite surveys. To meet this need, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed the On-line Student Survey System (OS3) to facilitate EC 2000 assessment and cross-institutional benchmarking. OS3 allows multiple engineering schools to conduct customized, routine program evaluations using Web-based surveys specifically designed to meet EC 2000 objectives. Since its inception, seven engineering schools have adopted OS3. This article provides an overview of the system, a des-cription of its survey instruments, and an evaluation of the system. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 10: 88,97, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com.); DOI 10.1002/cae.10013 [source] Serious Games: Broadening Games Impact Beyond EntertainmentCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2007Ben Sawyer Computer and videogames for many years has been an island of technology and design innovation largely left to itself as it morphed from a cottage business into a global media and software industry. While there have been pockets of derivative activity related to games and game technology only in the last half-dozen years has there been a real movement toward exploiting this industry in many new and exciting ways. Today the general use of games and game technologies for purposes beyond entertainment is collectively referred to as serious games. The Serious Games Initiative was formed in 2002 and since its inception has been among a number of critical efforts that has helped open up the world and many disciplines to the ideas and innovations that may be sourced from the commercial, independent, and academic game fields. This has been a person-by-person, project-by-project effort that not only has informed us about the potential of games but also in how you merge innovation and innovators from one discipline with those in another. In this talk we will explore the total gamut of the serious games field identifying past the obvious how games and game technologies are being applied to problems in a wide array of areas including healthcare, productivity, visualization, science, and of course training and education. Once a proper definition of serious games is established the talk will focus on the current state of the field as it relates to research and infrastructure issues that are needed to make the difference between seeing serious games take hold as a major new practice or having it devolve into another trend of the moment lost to history. [source] Families and children with hearing loss: Grief and copingDEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESEARCH REVIEW, Issue 4 2003Ellen Kurtzer-White Abstract Parental coping with the diagnosis of their child's hearing impairment has not received a great deal of research attention, despite the evident importance of it. Parental coping has been changing with the inception of newborn screening as we move from a parent-initiated model of diagnosis to an institution-initiated model. Coping now begins without any preparation, and without any time for parents to "enjoy" their child as "normal." The grief models, based on the death experience, usually employed to describe parental reactions to the diagnosis may also be inappropriate. Death grief is terminable whereas parental grief is chronic. There is not sufficient research on the long-term effects of chronic grief and how that impacts on parent-child bonding. There is evidence that our screening endeavors have far outstripped our habilitation efforts, leaving parents with a diagnosis but without support. This gap must be closed. MRDD Research Reviews 2003;9:232,235. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Cracking the code: the genesis, use and future of the Code of ConductDISASTERS, Issue 4 2005Peter Walker Abstract This paper reflects on the genesis of the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Disaster Relief, on the tenth anniversary of its adoption. The origins, usage and future of the code are examined with respect to three debates, current at the time of its inception, namely: the debate about the core content of humanitarianism; the debate about coherence and the consensual nature of the humanitarian community; and the debate about the need for, and the ability to demonstrate, accountability. The paper concludes that although the Code of Conduct was very much a product of its time, its content remains relevant today. However, its future application hinges on the capacity of those who purport to follow it to realise true accountability, and on proving that the code, written essentially for natural disasters, is relevant to contemporary complex emergencies. [source] The legacy of a community mobilisation project to reduce alcohol related harmDRUG AND ALCOHOL REVIEW, Issue 1 2005RICHARD MIDFORD Associate Professor Abstract The Community Mobilisation for the Prevention of Alcohol Related Injury (COMPARI) project was established to investigate how alcohol related harm could be reduced within the Geraldton community through community action. Twenty-two major component activities were carried out over three years. On completion of the demonstration phase the project was taken over by the community and evolved into the region's main alcohol and drug service provider. This research seeks to identify the legacy of COMPARI from interviews with 23 key informants and from serial measures of alcohol consumption and harm. Key informants indicated that the original community prevention focus of the project has been diluted and there is more emphasis on individual prevention through education and training. A culture of intersectoral collaboration on alcohol issues has endured and this contributes to better use of resources and higher levels of treatment referral. There was also strong acknowledgement that the local committee was crucial in sustaining the project. Since the inception of COMPARI, local alcohol consumption has decreased and a proxy measure of alcohol harm, weekend, night, hospital accident and emergency occasions of service, also indicates better outcomes in Geraldton. The original project initiated cultural and structural change in the way alcohol problems are dealt with in Geraldton and this has produced on-going benefit for the community. [source] Numerical simulation of the inception of channel meanderingEARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 9 2005Jennifer G. Duan Abstract The inception of channel meandering is the result of the complex interaction between flow, bed sediment, and bank material. A depth-averaged two-dimensional hydrodynamic model is developed to simulate the inception and development of channel meandering processes. The sediment transport model calculates both bedload and suspended load assuming equilibrium sediment transport. Bank erosion consists of two interactive processes: basal erosion and bank failure. Basal erosion is calculated from a newly derived equation for the entrainment of sediment particles by hydrodynamic forces. The mass conservation equation, where basal erosion and bank failure are considered source terms, was solved to obtain the rate of bank erosion. The parallel bank failure model was tested with the laboratory experiments of Friedkin on the initiation and evolution processes of non-cohesive meandering channels. The model replicates the downstream translation and lateral extension of meandering loops reasonably well. Plots of meandering planforms illustrate the evolution of sand bars and redistribution of flow momentum in meandering channels. This numerical modelling study demonstrates the potential of depth-integrated two-dimensional models for the simulation of meandering processes. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Brief screening questionnaires to identify problem drinking during pregnancy: a systematic reviewADDICTION, Issue 4 2010Ethel Burns ABSTRACT Aims Although prenatal screening for problem drinking during pregnancy has been recommended, guidance on screening instruments is lacking. We investigated the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of brief alcohol screening questionnaires to identify problem drinking in pregnant women. Methods Electronic databases from their inception to June 2008 were searched, as well as reference lists of eligible papers and related review papers. We sought cohort or cross-sectional studies that compared one or more brief alcohol screening questionnaire(s) with reference criteria obtained using structured interviews to detect ,at-risk' drinking, alcohol abuse or dependency in pregnant women receiving prenatal care. Results Five studies (6724 participants) were included. In total, seven instruments were evaluated: TWEAK (Tolerance, Worried, Eye-opener, Amnesia, Kut down), T-ACE [Take (number of drinks), Annoyed, Cut down, Eye-opener], CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilt, Eye-opener], NET (Normal drinker, Eye-opener, Tolerance), AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test), AUDIT-C (AUDIT-consumption) and SMAST (Short Michigan Alcohol Screening Test). Study quality was generally good, but lack of blinding was a common weakness. For risk drinking sensitivity was highest for T-ACE (69-88%), TWEAK (71,91%) and AUDIT-C (95%), with high specificity (71,89%, 73,83% and 85%, respectively). CAGE and SMAST performed poorly. Sensitivity of AUDIT-C at score ,3 was high for past year alcohol dependence (100%) or alcohol use disorder (96%) with moderate specificity (71% each). For life-time alcohol dependency the AUDIT at score ,8 performed poorly. Conclusion T-ACE, TWEAK and AUDIT-C show promise for screening for risk drinking, and AUDIT-C may also be useful for identifying alcohol dependency or abuse. However, their performance as stand-alone tools is uncertain, and further evaluation of questionnaires for prenatal alcohol use is warranted. [source] THE ECONOMICS OF ACHIEVING COMPETITIVE BALANCE IN THE AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, 1897,2004ECONOMIC PAPERS: A JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECONOMICS AND POLICY, Issue 4 2004Ross Booth This paper summarises some key aspects of a theoretical and empirical analysis of whether various labour market devices and revenue-sharing rules used in the Victorian Football League/Australian Football League (VFL/AFL) since its inception in 1897 have increased competitive balance by reducing the inequality in the distribution of player talent between clubs. The history of labour market intervention and revenue sharing in the VFL/AFL is discussed, with six different periods between 1897 and 2004 identified for analysis. Fort and Quirk's (1995) model of US professional team sports leagues is used to analyse the effectiveness of the various devices that have been used in the VFL/AFL, but only after adapting the model to allow for VFL/AFL clubs being win maximisers (subject to a budget constraint) rather than profit maximisers. The various devices used by the VFL/AFL are assessed in terms of their likely impact on competitive balance, with some significantly different theoretical predictions than under profit maximisation. It is found that free agency results in a less equal distribution of player talent under win maximisation, whilst both gate sharing and increases in shared league-revenue tend to equalise playing strengths (which is not the case under profit maximisation). Moreover, the invariance principle, that the effect of a player draft will be undermined by the sale (and/or trade) of player talent, is found not necessarily to hold under win maximisation and can be reduced or eliminated with a team salary cap. Whether the trade of players and draft choices can undermine a player draft is also considered. The conclusion reached is that a player draft, a team salary cap, and revenue sharing is the combination most likely to succeed in achieving higher levels of competitive balance. The evidence of competitive balance in the VFL/AFL is consistent with these predictions. [source] Social Studies Education in the Age of Testing and AccountabilityEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 3 2005Susie Burroughs With 3 years and counting since its inception, the scope and impact of No Child Left Behind is now being felt in classrooms across the nation. Although some successes have been identified, concerns about the implementation and expectations of the legislation are emerging. As a result of the legislation's emphasis on the development of standards and assessment systems in reading, mathematics, and science, educators of other core and elective subjects are weighing the impact of being left out of the No Child Left Behind formula of testing and accountability. In an attempt to ascertain the perceptions and sentiments of social studies teachers concerning the impact of No Child Left Behind and the concomitant issue of state-level testing and accountability policy, a tristate study was conducted. The findings of this research indicate that although elementary, middle, and high school social studies educators recognize the negative consequences of being left out of No Child Left Behind, they are not convinced that being included would be better for them, their students, or social studies education in general. [source] Community-Led Social Venture CreationENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 2 2007Helen Haugh The addition of new enterprises to the economy has long been considered essential to economic growth. The process of venture creation in the private sector has been heavily researched and frequently modeled, although few models explain the process of nonprofit enterprise creation. Nonprofit social ventures pursue economic, social, or environmental aims, generating at least part of their income from trading. They fill market gaps between private enterprise and public sector provision, and, increasingly, policy makers consider them to be valuable agents in social, economic, and environmental regeneration and renewal. This article presents findings from a qualitative study of the inception of five community-led nonprofit social ventures, producing a model of the stages of venture creation: (1) opportunity identification, (2) idea articulation, (3) idea ownership, (4) stakeholder mobilization, (5) opportunity exploitation, and (6) stakeholder reflection. A formal support network and a tailor-made support network are also part of the model, contributing resources to the new venture and assisting progression through the stages. The model highlights the resource acquisition and network creation that precede formal venture creation. In the nonprofit sector, these activities are undertaken by volunteers who do not have a controlling interest in the new venture. For practitioners, the model identifies critical stages in the process of community-led social venture creation and two areas where assistance is most needed: pre-venture business support and postcreating effective networks. [source] The Early History (1909,1961) of Epilepsia, the Journal of the International League Against Epilepsy, and Its Echoes TodayEPILEPSIA, Issue 1 2007Simon Shorvon Summary:, This paper records the history of Epilepsia, the journal of the International League Against Epilepsy, from its inception in 1908/1909 until the beginning of its fourth series in 1961. During this time, publication was interrupted on three occasions and so the journal appeared in four series, with a complex numbering system. Over the years, the content and format of the journal has varied. Its role has changed over the years, at times primarily as a scientific organ and at other times as a source of ILAE news and reports. Concerns throughout its history have included its role as an historical record, its international representation, financial vicissitude, quality of papers, the balance between basic and clinical science, the value of clinical papers, and issues of overspecialization. Epilepsia is today the leading clinical epilepsy journal; but these are still significant concerns, and a knowledge of the history of Epilepsia is important for understanding the current position of the journal. [source] The Drosophila PRR GNBP3 assembles effector complexes involved in antifungal defenses independently of its Toll -pathway activation functionEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 5 2010Alexey A. Matskevich Abstract The Drosophila Toll -signaling pathway controls the systemic antifungal host response. Gram-negative binding protein 3 (GNBP3), a member of the ,-glucan recognition protein family senses fungal infections and activates this pathway. A second detection system perceives the activity of proteolytic fungal virulence factors and redundantly activates Toll. GNBP3hades mutant flies succumb more rapidly to Candida albicans and to entomopathogenic fungal infections than WT flies, despite normal triggering of the Toll pathway via the virulence detection system. These observations suggest that GNBP3 triggers antifungal defenses that are not dependent on activation of the Toll pathway. Here, we show that GNBP3 agglutinates fungal cells. Furthermore, it can activate melanization in a Toll -independent manner. Melanization is likely to be an essential defense against some fungal infections given that the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana inhibits the activity of the main melanization enzymes, the phenol oxidases. Finally, we show that GNBP3 assembles "attack complexes", which comprise phenoloxidase and the necrotic serpin. We propose that Drosophila GNBP3 targets fungi immediately at the inception of the infection by bringing effector molecules in direct contact with the invading microorganisms. [source] Testing of insulation systems with respect to high-frequency voltage stressEUROPEAN TRANSACTIONS ON ELECTRICAL POWER, Issue 5 2002M. Paede Due to the increasing use of power electronics high frequency working voltages are occurring rather frequently. This means a very high stress for any kind of insulatation. This situation is further aggravated by decreasing dimensions due to miniaturization. Therefore this situation has to be taken into account during dimensioning and testing. Different test methods with respect to withstand and partial discharge inception are described. The necessary test equipment and the dimensioning of the test circuits are specified. The aspects of periodic non-sinusoidal voltages are taken into account by harmonic analysis. [source] Development of an Expert System Shell Based on Genetic Algorithms for the Selection of the Energy Best Available Technologies and their Optimal Operating Conditions for the Process IndustryEXPERT SYSTEMS, Issue 3 2001D.A. Manolas The development of genetic algorithms started almost three decades ago in an attempt to imitate the mechanics of natural systems. Since their inception, they have been applied successfully as optimization methods, and as expert systems, in many diverse applications. In this paper, a genetic-algorithm-based expert system shell is presented that, when combined with a proper database comprising the available energy-saving technologies for the process industry, is able to perform the following tasks: (a) identify the best available technologies (BATs) among the available ones for a given process industry, and (b) calculate their optimal design parameters in such a way that they comply with the energy requirements of the process. By the term BAT is meant the available energy-saving technology, among the existing ones in the market, that is the best for the case. [source] GEOGRAPHERS AND THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 1 2004RONALD REED BOYCE ABSTRACT. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was the largest, most comprehensive, and most controversial regional development and planning project in U.S. history. Geographers were involved from its inception and made impressive contributions. Aside from the unit area method of data gathering and mapping, little is known about their contributions, some of which were truly ahead of their time. Although their work and recommendations were often discarded and unheeded because of political turbulence, the geographers rarely complained or entered into the political arena. Their work in the TVA has generally gone unheralded and even unappreciated within the geography profession. The primary purpose of this article is to document their contributions. [source] The Breakthrough of Another West European Populist Radical Right Party?GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 4 2010The Case of the True Finns The True Finn Party (PS), which gained virtually 10 per cent of the national vote at the 2009 European Parliament election, lacks a place in the comparative party literature and also defies ready classification. It has been perceived by its supporters as the most left-wing of the non-socialist parties; by Finnish media commentators as a case of right-wing populism; and by researchers as a distinctive centred-based populist party when viewed in a wider European perspective. Based on a careful study of its programmatic output since its inception in 1995, this article seeks to characterize the PS by reference to its core ideological features. It argues that it is in fact a populist radical right party , with national identity or Finnishness as its pivotal concept , albeit without the xenophobic extremism of such continental counterparts as the Danish People's Party or Austrian Freedom Party. [source] The 550th Anniversary of the Universität Basel, 1460,,,2010: Paracelsian Beginnings and ChemistryHELVETICA CHIMICA ACTA, Issue 9 2010G. Wayne Craig Abstract This year marks the 550th anniversary of the founding of the Universität Basel. After its inception, the development of chemistry has played a major role in its evolution as an academic institution to meet the needs of industry and the educational community. Chemistry evolved in Basel as a dominant industry because of its central location and connection to the Rhine. The dyestuff industry and later the pharmaceutical industry established the Basel location as a major center of distribution. Companies like Sandoz AG, Ciba AG, J.,R. Geigy AG, and F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG influenced the defining role of chemistry not only in Europe but throughout the world. This article highlights some of the academic personalities that contributed to the development of chemistry in the remarkable history of the Universität Basel since the time of Paracelsus. [source] Collaborative opportunities for the study of the country house: the Yorkshire Country House Partnership*HISTORICAL RESEARCH, Issue 200 2005C. L. Ridgway The article outlines the work, since its inception in 1999, of the Yorkshire Country House Partnership, a collaboration between the University of York and seven leading country houses in the county. It identifies the difficulties and the achievements in developing cross-sectoral research projects. [source] The Politics of Sir Thomas Fairfax ReassessedHISTORY, Issue 300 2005LUKE DAXON Sir Thomas Fairfax (1612,71) was one of the most distinguished parliamentarian soldiers of the Great Civil War. He assumed command of the New Model Army at its inception in 1645 and was at its head during the succeeding five years when it was transformed from a victorious military force into an engine of political revolution. An inarticulate and in some respects a staid and conservative figure, Fairfax has often been depicted as an impotent opponent of the army's radicalization or as a political innocent manipulated by his subordinates, principally Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton, for their own ends. This article seeks to challenge these conceptions. It examines the political connotations of his conduct during the war and his readiness to stand by his men throughout their conflict with the parliamentary Presbyterians after it. It further probes his response to the upheavals of 1648,9 and his attitude to the new republican regime. Whatever his reticence, Fairfax's actions do not resemble those of an apolitical neutral and a balanced assessment of his sympathies has the virtue of explaining much about how the army was able to retain a remarkable unity of purpose, albeit sometimes tenuous, as it stepped onto the political stage. [source] The Concentration Camps of the South African (Anglo-Boer) War, 1900,1902HISTORY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009Elizabeth Van Heyningen The concentration camps of the South African War or Anglo-Boer War, where Boer women and children, as well as many black families, were interned as a result of the British military sweeps to clear the veld, incited controversy from their inception. The high mortality, primarily from measles, caused much bitterness but the history of the camps has never been properly investigated. Instead, a mythology was created by emergent Afrikaner nationalists who deployed the women's testimonies, in particular, to establish a ,paradigm of suffering'. Recently a number of historians have demonstrated the way in which commemoration of the concentration camps in South Africa has also been politicised. This article surveys the literature on the camps, highlighting some of the omissions. [source] Interferons as pathogenic effectors in autoimmunityIMMUNOLOGICAL REVIEWS, Issue 1 2005Roberto Baccala Summary:, Interferons (IFNs) type-1 (IFN ,/,) and type-II (IFN-,) are the most pleiotropic molecules in the intricate cytokine network. This dominance arises from three crucial factors: (i) initiation of IFN-,/, and IFN-, production at the inception of most innate immune responses, which primes for the ensuing adaptive immune responses, primarily through the sine qua non upregulation of major histocompatibility complex and costimulatory molecules; (ii) magnification of their production and signaling by cross-talk between themselves, and synergistic or antagonistic effects on other cytokines; and (iii) direct or indirect initiation of transcription of hundreds of immunologically relevant genes. Considering that aberrant immune responses against self-molecules seem to depend on the same constituents and pathways as those against exogenous antigens, it follows that IFNs are also major effectors in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity. Here, we review the diverse biological effects of IFNs on the immune system, discuss findings pertaining to the nature of exogenous and endogenous stimuli that might induce IFN production through the engagement of Toll-like receptors, and summarize the detrimental and, in some instances, beneficial effects of IFNs in systemic and organ-specific autoimmune diseases. [source] Do functional subsets of leukocytes arise by divergent or linear differentiation?IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 4 2002Alistair Noble Summary The T helper type 1 (Th1)/Th2 paradigm has been extended to a wide variety of leukocyte lineages since its inception, including innate immune cells such as dendritic cells and natural killer (NK) cells. Recently, studies of human NK cells have led to the proposition of a new model of linear differentiation in which cell phenotype is controlled by regulation of proliferation versus differentiation, rather than by divergent differentiation programmes. It was suggested that this model might also apply to T cells. Here we discuss the relevance of each model to different leukocyte lineages and argue that the linear differentiation model does not apply to ,, T cells. [source] When infants grow up in multiperson relationship systemsINFANT MENTAL HEALTH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2007James P. Mchale Despite prompts from the field of family therapy since its inception, contemporary infant mental health theory and practice remain firmly rooted in and guided by dyadic-based models. Over the past 10 years, a groundswell of new empirical studies of triadic and family group dynamics during infancy have substantiated that which family theory has contended for decades: looking beyond mother-infant or father-infant dyads reveals a myriad of critically important socialization influences and dynamics that are missed altogether when relying on informant reports or dyad-based interactions. Such family-level dynamics emerge within months after infants are born, show coherence through time, and influence the social and emotional adjustment of children as early as the toddler and preschool years. This report summarizes key findings from the past decade of empirical family studies, highlights several areas in need of further conceptual development and empirical study by those who work with infants and their families, and outlines important implications of this body of work for all practicing infant mental health professionals. [source] Nanotechnologies: Tools for sustainability in a new wave of water treatment processesINTEGRATED ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2006Jean-Yves Bottero Abstract In the environmental technology industry alone, nanomaterials will enable new means of reducing the production of industrial wastes, using resources more sparingly, remediating industrial contamination, providing potable water, and improving the efficiency of energy production. This paper discusses three new kinds of nanotechnology materials that should be developed in the future: Membranes, oxidants, and adsorbents. Nanoscale control of membrane architecture may yield membranes of greater selectivity and lower cost in both water treatment and water fabrication. Fullerene-based oxidant nanomaterials such as C60 have a high electron affinity and reactivity, and are capable of producing reactive oxygen species such as singlet oxygen and superoxides. Fullerenes might be used in engineered systems to photocatalytically oxidize organic contaminants, or inhibit or inactivate microbes. The ability to tailor surfaces can help to increase adsorbing capacities or recognize specific contaminants. The potential environmental risks are that nanomaterials could interact with biota and that their toxicity adversely may affect ecosystems. As nanochemistry emerges as an important force behind new environmental technologies, we are also presented with the responsibility of considering the environmental implications of an emerging technology at its inception and taking every precaution to ensure that these technologies develop as tools of sustainability rather than becoming future liabilities. [source] Financial Times Business School Rankings: A Nontraditional Assurance Case in Three Parts,ACCOUNTING PERSPECTIVES, Issue 1 2007Andrea B. Davies ABSTRACT The Financial Times of London (FT) is a business newspaper, with daily editions published in the United Kingdom, continental Europe, the United States, and Asia, and an estimated daily readership of 10 million people. In 1999 the FT began to publish a ranking of what it considered to be the top business schools in the world. Since their inception, these rankings have become increasingly relied upon by potential students and business school administrators worldwide. The FT's ranking is unique compared with other rankings because of its special international focus. Given the prominence of these rankings and the FT's position as a well-respected business newspaper, the question of providing assurance over the business school rankings that the FT provides is particularly challenging. [source] Tracking the Euro's ProgressINTERNATIONAL FINANCE, Issue 3 2000Menzie D. Chinn The evolution of the euro since its inception has appeared inexplicable. This paper develops a monetary model of the euro/US dollar exchange rate to track the progress of the currency, both before and after Stage 3 EMU. The relationship between the exchange rate, money stocks, GDP, interest and inflation rates, and prices is identified. The observed patterns of behaviour during the 1990s are used to predict the euro's value up to mid-2000; a consistent finding is that the euro is over-predicted by 23,30%. This finding is robust to the use of alternative sample periods and alternative estimation methodologies, as long as each of the variables is treated as endogenous. This monetary model does not give much weight to factors such as productivity. However, the past evolution of European exchange rates suggests that productivity trends are indeed important. Some estimates suggest that an annual one percentage point in the intercountry differential in tradable-nontradable productivity causes a 0.85'1.7% real appreciation of a currency. [source] Propagation of a shear band in sandstoneINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL AND ANALYTICAL METHODS IN GEOMECHANICS, Issue 11 2007J. J. Riedel Abstract Closed-loop, servo-controlled experiments were conducted to investigate the development of a shear band in Berea sandstone at various confining pressures. The tests were performed with the University of Minnesota Plane-Strain Apparatus, which was designed to allow the shear band to develop in an unrestricted manner. Measured load and displacements provided estimates of the stress and deformation states whereby dilatancy and friction were evaluated prior to localization. Experiments were stopped at various stages of shear-band development within the strain-softening regime. The specimens displayed a progression of deformation from inception, where the shear band was characterized by a high density of intragranular microcracks and crushed grains, to the tip where the intragranular microcracks were significantly less dense and separated by intact grains. Decreased slip deformation towards the tip of the shear band indicated that localization developed and propagated in plane. Thin-section microscopy showed porosity increase within the shear band was 3,4 grain diameters wide. Increased porosity did not extend beyond the tip of the shear band. A cohesive zone model of shear fracture, used to examine the stress field near the tip, showed similarities to principal compressive stress orientations interpreted from intragranular microcracks. Thus, propagation of the shear band could be associated with in-plane mode II fracture. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Transient free-surface flow of a viscoelastic fluid in a narrow channelINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN FLUIDS, Issue 6 2004Roger E. Khayat Abstract The interplay between inertia and elasticity is examined for transient free-surface flow inside a narrow channel. The lubrication theory is extended for the flow of viscoelastic fluids of the Oldroyd-B type (consisting of a Newtonian solvent and a polymeric solute). While the general formulation accounts for non-linearities stemming from inertia effects in the momentum conservation equation, and the upper-convected terms in the constitutive equation, only the front movement contributes to non-linear coupling for a flow inside a straight channel. In this case, it is possible to implement a spectral representation in the depthwise direction for the velocity and stress. The evolution of the flow field is obtained locally, but the front movement is captured only in the mean sense. The influence of inertia, elasticity and viscosity ratio is examined for pressure-induced flow. The front appears to progress monotonically with time. However, the velocity and stress exhibit typically a strong overshoot upon inception, accompanied by a plug-flow behaviour in the channel core. The flow intensity eventually diminishes with time, tending asymptotically to Poiseuille conditions. For highly elastic liquids the front movement becomes oscillatory, experiencing strong deceleration periodically. A multiple-scale solution is obtained for fluids with no inertia and small elasticity. Comparison with the exact (numerical) solution indicates a wide range of validity for the analytical result. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||