Atrocities and confrontational tension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Klusemann

2009-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of video-recordings and other micro-level data of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia-and-Herzegovina. It focuses on the sequential unfolding of micro-interactions and emotional dynamics before, and over the course of the atrocity. The paper argues that massacres have a pattern of situational emergence: local emotional dynamics are crucial to explain where and when atrocities do or do not come off and what form they take on the micro-level. It is shown that (1 micro-interactions constitute situational turning-points, towards or away from atrocities and that (2 local emotional dynamics shape the internal structure of atrocities, i.e., their internal dynamics of killings. The analysis is based on recent advances in the micro-sociology of violence by Collins, Katz, and Grossman, as well as Ekman's research tools for identifying emotional cues in micro-data.

The role of small and medium-sized reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kupitz, J.; Mourogov, V.

1999-01-01

The second half of the twentieth century has seen nuclear power evolve from the research and development environment to an industry that supplies 17% of the world's electricity. The past decade, however, has seen stagnation in nuclear power plant construction in the Western industrialized world, slow nuclear power growth in Eastern Europe and expansion only in East Asia. But the turn of the century is potentially a turning-point for nuclear power because of: increasing world energy consumption, with nuclear power's contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, nuclear fuel resources sustainability, and improvements in operation of current nuclear power plants; advanced reactor designs that will improve economics and availability, and further enhance safety; and continued strengthening of the nuclear power safeguards system. This paper looks at the role that small and medium-sized reactors can play in an increasingly competitive global energy market, particularly with regard to maintaining a sustainable mix of energy sources. (author)

French nuclear power plants for heat generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girard, Y.

1984-01-01

The considerable importance that France attributes to nuclear energy is well known even though as a result of the economic crisis and the energy savings it is possible to observe a certain downward trend in the rate at which new power plants are being started up. In July 1983, a symbolic turning-point was reached - at more than 10 thousand million kW.h nuclear power accounted, for the first time, for more than 50% of the total amount of electricity generated, or approx. 80% of the total electricity output of thermal origin. On the other hand, the direct contribution - excluding the use of electricity - of nuclear energy to the heat market in France remains virtually nil. The first part of this paper discusses the prospects and realities of the application, at low and intermediate temperatures, of nuclear heat in France, while the second part describes the French nuclear projects best suited to the heat market (excluding high temperatures). (author)

Identity, storytelling and the philanthropic journey

Science.gov (United States)

Maclean, Mairi; Harvey, Charles; Gordon, Jillian; Shaw, Eleanor

2015-01-01

This article develops theoretical understanding of the involvement of wealthy entrepreneurs in socially transformative projects by offering a foundational theory of philanthropic identity narratives. We show that these narratives are structured according to the metaphorical framework of the journey, through which actors envision and make sense of personal transformation. The journey provides a valuable metaphor for conceptualizing narrative identities in entrepreneurial careers as individuals navigate different social landscapes, illuminating identities as unfolding through a process of wayfinding in response to events, transitions and turning-points. We delineate the journey from entrepreneurship to philanthropy, and propose a typology of rewards that entrepreneurs claim to derive from giving. We add to the expanding literature on narrative identities by suggesting that philanthropic identity narratives empower wealthy entrepreneurs to generate a legacy of the self that is both self- and socially oriented, these ‘generativity scripts’ propelling their capacity for action while ensuring the continuation of their journeys. PMID:26456976

On Tea Bowl from Jianzhan to Tenmoku: Material Culture and Intangible Culture in Cultural Diffusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianping Guan

2014-12-01

Full Text Available According to precise and scientific literature that recorded, Chinese tea culture has a documented history of more than 1700 years. During which period, Yuan Dynasty was considered a crucial turning-point with great changes. The current tea culture in China is an adoption and innovation of Ming and Qing dynasty, especially in the form of processing technology. For those elements inherited from Tang and Song dynasties, however, they were more directly adopted systematically by Japan. Ever since powdered tea culture from Song dynasty was accepted in Japan, Jianzhan, the tea bowl that gained renowned reputation in the Song tea culture was also introduced and became tenmoku (tianmu after localization. As the transformation of Chinese tea culture ended in Japan, Japanese tea culture of wabi-cha was shaped after the tenmoku’s obvious decline in value. Jianzhan’s prosper, and tenmoku’s emergence and transition, all proved a definitive impact from intangible culture.

Venezuela opens up to explorers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kielmas, M.

1995-01-01

The opening of Venezuela's first exploration bidding round since oil nationalisation in 1976 was a turning-point in the country's energy policy. The state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PdVSA), has said that the bidding round could generate investment of some $11 billion eventually in development investment and that over the next 10 years, nearly 20 percent of a planned $55 billion, 10-year state oil company investment programme could also come from foreign or private sector oil investment. Should this optimistic prediction materialise, Venezuela, whose 2.75 million b/d oil production in October was some 400,000 b/d over its Opec quota, will remain both the dominant oil producer in Latin America and the top-ranking oil exporter to the US market. In May this year, Venezuelan oil exports topped 1.43 million b/d, or some 16.8 percent of the US market, compared with Saudi Arabia's 15.7 percent. (author)

Identity, storytelling and the philanthropic journey.

Science.gov (United States)

Maclean, Mairi; Harvey, Charles; Gordon, Jillian; Shaw, Eleanor

2015-10-01

This article develops theoretical understanding of the involvement of wealthy entrepreneurs in socially transformative projects by offering a foundational theory of philanthropic identity narratives. We show that these narratives are structured according to the metaphorical framework of the journey , through which actors envision and make sense of personal transformation. The journey provides a valuable metaphor for conceptualizing narrative identities in entrepreneurial careers as individuals navigate different social landscapes, illuminating identities as unfolding through a process of wayfinding in response to events, transitions and turning-points. We delineate the journey from entrepreneurship to philanthropy, and propose a typology of rewards that entrepreneurs claim to derive from giving. We add to the expanding literature on narrative identities by suggesting that philanthropic identity narratives empower wealthy entrepreneurs to generate a legacy of the self that is both self- and socially oriented, these 'generativity scripts' propelling their capacity for action while ensuring the continuation of their journeys.

Universal relations for differentially rotating relativistic stars at the threshold to collapse

Science.gov (United States)

Bozzola, Gabriele; Stergioulas, Nikolaos; Bauswein, Andreas

2018-03-01

A binary neutron star merger produces a rapidly and differentially rotating compact remnant whose lifespan heavily affects the electromagnetic and gravitational emissions. Its stability depends on both the equation of state (EOS) and the rotation law and it is usually investigated through numerical simulations. Nevertheless, by means of a sufficient criterion for secular instability, equilibrium sequences can be used as a computational inexpensive way to estimate the onset of dynamical instability, which, in general, is close to the secular one. This method works well for uniform rotation and relies on the location of turning points: stellar models that are stationary points in a sequence of equilibrium solutions with constant rest mass or angular momentum. Here, we investigate differentially rotating models (using a large number of EOSs and different rotation laws) and find that several universal relations between properly scaled gravitational mass, rest mass and angular momentum of the turning-point models that are valid for uniform rotation are insensitive to the degree of differential rotation, to high accuracy.

Olympic Games promote the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in Beijing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Jisong; Zhang Yongjie

2008-01-01

Global climate change is one of the most serious global environmental problems faced by humankind at present. Serious attention should be paid and precautions should be taken before disasters occur. The amount of CO 2 emissions in China has increased during the past few years and the Chinese government and people have attached great importance to this phenomenon and treated it seriously. With the instruction of scientific development viewpoint, Beijing has made significant progress in emissions reduction through technological innovation, industrial structure adjustment, promoting energy efficiency and utilization of renewable energy, and absorption of CO 2 using forest and wetland, since bidding for Olympic Games. At the same time, energy conservation and emissions reduction measures taken in the construction of Beijing Olympic stadiums just incarnate the Beijing Green Olympics. Using the Beijing Olympic Games as a turning-point, adopting energy conservation and emissions reduction measures, Beijing will make contributions to reduction of greenhouse gases and slowing down climate changes and Beijing Olympic Games will leave behind an inheritance for future generations to enjoy

Beyond WKB quantum corrections to Hamilton-Jacobi theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jurisch, Alexander

2007-01-01

In this paper, we develop quantum mechanics of quasi-one-dimensional systems upon the framework of the quantum-mechanical Hamilton-Jacobi theory. We will show that the Schroedinger point of view and the Hamilton-Jacobi point of view are fully equivalent in their description of physical systems, but differ in their descriptive manner. As a main result of this, a wavefunction in Hamilton-Jacobi theory can be decomposed into travelling waves in any point in space, not only asymptotically. Using the quasi-linearization technique, we derive quantum correction functions in every order of h-bar. The quantum correction functions will remove the turning-point singularity that plagues the WKB-series expansion already in zeroth order and thus provide an extremely good approximation to the full solution of the Schroedinger equation. In the language of quantum action it is also possible to elegantly solve the connection problem without asymptotic approximations. The use of quantum action further allows us to derive an equation by which the Maslov index is directly calculable without any approximations. Stationary quantum trajectories will also be considered and thoroughly discussed

Museums and Modernization: The Football Kit, the Tractor, and the Plastic Doll

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Kovačević

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The paper looks at the modernization of museum displays as well as at resistance to this process. This slow process of modernization and the resistance that the transformation of museum practice has encountered from the first are exemplified by two exhibitions at the Museum of Ethnography in Belgrade (“Football Fans’ Uniforms and Gear” in 1986 and “The Plastic 1990s” in 2010 and the events that accompanied these exhibitions. The paper then proceeds to reflect on an exhibition that was to have been held, and which could have marked a turning-point had it been held at that particular time. The conclusion that can be drawn from the three examples is that this transformation could have been achieved at a much faster pace, and that an opportunity was missed for museum ethnology to become, through the transformation of museum exhibits and displays, a leader in the modernization of the field, which at the time was fossilized both in a thematic and in an interpretational sense.

Turning point or selection? The effect of rustication on subsequent health for the Chinese Cultural Revolution cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Wen

2016-05-01

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-76), Chairman Mao sent 17 million urban youth to rural areas to be "reeducated." These "sent-down" youth spent years working alongside peasants, enduring inadequate diets, shelter and medical attention. What were the consequences for subsequent health? Was there a benefit to individuals in the leading or trailing edges of this cohort? Was this a fundamental turning point or were selection process at work? Drawing on the 1994 State and Life Chances in Urban China Survey, I find the health disadvantage at midlife is mostly borne by members of the trailing-edge sub-cohort who lived in the countryside for more than five years. Results from propensity-score analysis indicate a selection process: those who suffered most came from disadvantaged backgrounds. Life chances following the rusticates' return home, however, either do not differ from those who stayed in cities or do not relate to health, refuting the turning-point view, at least in terms of midlife health. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Olympic Games promote the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in Beijing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu Jisong [China Centre of Recycle Economy Research, School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing 100083 (China)], E-mail: js_wub@buaa.edu.cn; Zhang Yongjie [China Centre of Recycle Economy Research, School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing 100083 (China)

2008-09-15

Global climate change is one of the most serious global environmental problems faced by humankind at present. Serious attention should be paid and precautions should be taken before disasters occur. The amount of CO{sub 2} emissions in China has increased during the past few years and the Chinese government and people have attached great importance to this phenomenon and treated it seriously. With the instruction of scientific development viewpoint, Beijing has made significant progress in emissions reduction through technological innovation, industrial structure adjustment, promoting energy efficiency and utilization of renewable energy, and absorption of CO{sub 2} using forest and wetland, since bidding for Olympic Games. At the same time, energy conservation and emissions reduction measures taken in the construction of Beijing Olympic stadiums just incarnate the Beijing Green Olympics. Using the Beijing Olympic Games as a turning-point, adopting energy conservation and emissions reduction measures, Beijing will make contributions to reduction of greenhouse gases and slowing down climate changes and Beijing Olympic Games will leave behind an inheritance for future generations to enjoy.

Olympic Games promote the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in Beijing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Jisong; Zhang, Yongjie [China Centre of Recycle Economy Research, School of Economics and Management, Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Beijing 100083 (China)

2008-09-15

Global climate change is one of the most serious global environmental problems faced by humankind at present. Serious attention should be paid and precautions should be taken before disasters occur. The amount of CO{sub 2} emissions in China has increased during the past few years and the Chinese government and people have attached great importance to this phenomenon and treated it seriously. With the instruction of scientific development viewpoint, Beijing has made significant progress in emissions reduction through technological innovation, industrial structure adjustment, promoting energy efficiency and utilization of renewable energy, and absorption of CO{sub 2} using forest and wetland, since bidding for Olympic Games. At the same time, energy conservation and emissions reduction measures taken in the construction of Beijing Olympic stadiums just incarnate the Beijing Green Olympics. Using the Beijing Olympic Games as a turning-point, adopting energy conservation and emissions reduction measures, Beijing will make contributions to reduction of greenhouse gases and slowing down climate changes and Beijing Olympic Games will leave behind an inheritance for future generations to enjoy. (author)

Predicting human age using regional morphometry and inter-regional morphological similarity

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xun-Heng; Li, Lihua

2016-03-01

The goal of this study is predicting human age using neuro-metrics derived from structural MRI, as well as investigating the relationships between age and predictive neuro-metrics. To this end, a cohort of healthy subjects were recruited from 1000 Functional Connectomes Project. The ages of the participations were ranging from 7 to 83 (36.17+/-20.46). The structural MRI for each subject was preprocessed using FreeSurfer, resulting in regional cortical thickness, mean curvature, regional volume and regional surface area for 148 anatomical parcellations. The individual age was predicted from the combination of regional and inter-regional neuro-metrics. The prediction accuracy is r = 0.835, p Pearson correlation coefficient between predicted ages and actual ages. Moreover, the LASSO linear regression also found certain predictive features, most of which were inter-regional features. The turning-point of the developmental trajectories in human brain was around 40 years old based on regional cortical thickness. In conclusion, structural MRI could be potential biomarkers for the aging in human brain. The human age could be successfully predicted from the combination of regional morphometry and inter-regional morphological similarity. The inter-regional measures could be beneficial to investigating human brain connectome.

On the stability and maximum mass of differentially rotating relativistic stars

Science.gov (United States)

Weih, Lukas R.; Most, Elias R.; Rezzolla, Luciano

2018-01-01

The stability properties of rotating relativistic stars against prompt gravitational collapse to a black hole are rather well understood for uniformly rotating models. This is not the case for differentially rotating neutron stars, which are expected to be produced in catastrophic events such as the merger of binary system of neutron stars or the collapse of a massive stellar core. We consider sequences of differentially rotating equilibrium models using the j-constant law and by combining them with their dynamical evolution, we show that a sufficient stability criterion for differentially rotating neutron stars exists similar to the one of their uniformly rotating counterparts. Namely: along a sequence of constant angular momentum, a dynamical instability sets in for central rest-mass densities slightly below the one of the equilibrium solution at the turning point. In addition, following Breu & Rezzolla, we show that 'quasi-universal' relations can be found when calculating the turning-point mass. In turn, this allows us to compute the maximum mass allowed by differential rotation, Mmax,dr, in terms of the maximum mass of the non-rotating configuration, M_{_TOV}, finding that M_{max, dr} ˜eq (1.54 ± 0.05) M_{_TOV} for all the equations of state we have considered.

Straight into the Eyes - Jacek Łumiński and the Silesian Dance Theatre (1991-2011

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alicja Iwańska

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The final decade of the 20th century was the turning-point for the development of Polish contemporary dance. In 1991 Jacek Łumiński established the Silesian Dance Theatre in Bytom. The theatre is said to be in the avant-garde of all activities related to contemporary dance development in Poland. It was J. Łumiński and his theatre who pioneered new trends in contemporary dance at the beginning of the nineties of the 20th century, at the same time they have conducted educational activity over the intervening twenty years. The aim of this article is to present the artistic and educational activity of the Silesian Dance Theatre of the recent twenty years. In the beginning the author presents a choreographic portrait of J. Łumiński, the founder and choreographer of the Silesian Dance Theatre, and creator of the Polish contemporary dance technique. Then an analysis of J. Łumiński’s dance style is carried out, and the review of the Silesian Dance Theatre’s choreographic attainments is presented. The final part of the article discusses the wide spectrum of educational activities undertaken in the field of contemporary professional dance by the Silesian Dance Theatre, and the phenomenon of the theatre on the Polish stage.

Physical education in practical elementary schools in the historical view

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alena Lejčarová

2012-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to outline how physical education taught at special schools intended primarily for children with mild intellectual disability has evolved. The institutions in question are special schools (officially referred to as "practical elementary schools", which have existed since 1948. Research of both historical and contemporary legislation and other sources related to the education of children with specific educational needs indicates that there has essentially been no change in the weekly allotment of physical education. With the exception of periods 1953-1960 and 1978-1993, three hours a week have always been and continue to be set aside for physical education in every class. Any changes observed apply instead to the content of these lessons and organisational matters related to teaching. This fact is undoubtedly linked to the social changes that have taken place in all fields of human activity and the gradual formation and improvement of the legal conditions for the education of people with various disabilities. Given the quantity of legislation enacted it is fair to say that since the turning-point year of 1989 the legislation has paid considerably more attention to individuals with special educational needs, such as mild intellectual disability, than in previous periods - not only is there more legislation, it is also more detailed and thorough.

The reality of the other: dreaming of the analyst.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferruta, Anna

2009-02-01

The author discusses the obstacles to symbolization encountered when the analyst appears in the first dream of an analysis: the reality of the other is represented through the seeming recognition of the person of the analyst, who is portrayed in undisguised form. The interpretation of this first dream gives rise to reflections on the meaning of the other's reality in analysis: precisely this realistic representation indicates that the function of the other in the construction of the psychic world has been abolished. An analogous phenomenon is observed in the countertransference, as the analyst's mental processes are occluded by an exclusively self-generated interpretation of the patient's psychic world. For the analyst too, the reality of the other proves not to play a significant part in the construction of her interpretation. A 'turning-point' dream after five years bears witness to the power of the transforming function performed by the other throughout the analysis, by way of the representation of characters who stand for the necessary presence of a third party in the construction of a personal psychic reality. The author examines the mutual denial of the other's otherness, as expressed by the vicissitudes of the transference and countertransference between analyst and patient, otherness being experienced as a disturbance of self-sufficient narcissistic functioning. The paper ends with an analysis of the transformations that took place in the analytic relationship.

Microstability of the sloshing ions in TMX-U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berzins, L.V.

1988-03-01

We have measured the microstability of the sloshing ions in the Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U). This is the first experimental measurement of the microstability of a sloshing-ion distribution. We found that the sloshing ions were unstable to the drift cyclotron loss-cone instability. This instability was driven at the outer turning-point of the sloshing ions. We compare the experimental observations with the theoretical predictions for the drift cyclotron loss-cone instability. It is on the basis of these comparisons that we identify this instability as the drift cyclotron loss-cone intability. This instability affected the lifetime of the sloshing ions. We compare the observed scaling of the sloshing-ion lifetime with the amplitude of the instability to the results of a quasilinear theory where ion trapping is important. We show that this instability can be stabilized by two diferent cold-ion populations in TMX-U. We observe warm plasma stabilization of the instability by the cold ion endlosses. The amoun of stream necessary to stabilize the instability is consistent with the theory for the drift cyclotron loss-cone instability. We also show that warm ions trapped at the midplane can stabilize this instability, even though the instability is driven at a location removed from the midplane. This is the first experimental verification of the stabilizign effect of trapped ions for a sloshing-ion distribution. 125 refs., 33 figs

Modeling geologic storage of carbon dioxide: Comparison of non-hysteretic and hysteretic characteristic curves

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doughty, Christine

2007-01-01

Numerical models of geologic storage of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in brine-bearing formations use characteristic curves to represent the interactions of non-wetting-phase CO 2 and wetting-phase brine. When a problem includes both injection of CO 2 (a drainage process) and its subsequent post-injection evolution (a combination of drainage and wetting), hysteretic characteristic curves are required to correctly capture the behavior of the CO 2 plume. In the hysteretic formulation, capillary pressure and relative permeability depend not only on the current grid-block saturation, but also on the history of the saturation in the grid block. For a problem that involves only drainage or only wetting, a non-hysteretic formulation, in which capillary pressure and relative permeability depend only on the current value of the grid-block saturation, is adequate. For the hysteretic formulation to be robust computationally, care must be taken to ensure the differentiability of the characteristic curves both within and beyond the turning-point saturations where transitions between branches of the curves occur. Two example problems involving geologic CO 2 storage are simulated with TOUGH2, a multiphase, multicomponent code for flow and transport through geological media. Both non-hysteretic and hysteretic formulations are used, to illustrate the applicability and limitations of non-hysteretic methods. The first application considers leakage of CO 2 from the storage formation to the ground surface, while the second examines the role of heterogeneity within the storage formation

Propagation and diffusion-limited extinction of nonadiabatic heterogeneous flame in the SHS process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Makino, Atsushi

1994-01-01

Nonadiabatic heterogeneous flame propagation and extinction in self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) are analyzed based on a premixed mode of propagation for the bulk flame supported by the nonpremixed reaction of dispersed nonmetals in the liquid metal. The formulation allows for volumetric heat loss throughout the bulk flame, finite-rate Arrhenius reaction at the particle surface, and temperature-sensitive Arrhenius mass diffusion in the liquid. Results show that, subsequent to melting of the metal, the flame structure consists of a relatively thin diffusion-consumption/convection zone followed by a relatively thick convection-loss zone, that the flame propagation rate decreases with increasing heat loss, that at a critical heat-loss rate the flame extinguishes as indicated by the characteristic turning-point behavior, that the surface reaction is diffusion limited such that the nonlinear, temperature-sensitive nature of the system is actually a consequence of the Arrhenius mass diffusion, and that extinction is sensitively affected by the mixture ratio, the degree of dilution, the initial temperature of the compact, and the size of the nonmetal particles. An explicit expression is derived for the normalized mass burning rate, which exhibits the characteristic turning point and shows that extinction occurs when this value is reduced to e -1/2 , which is the same as that for the nonadiabatic gaseous premixed flame. It is further shown that the theoretical results agree well with available experimental data, indicating that the present formulation captures the essential features of the nonadiabatic heterogeneous SHS processes and its potential for extension to describe other SHS phenomena

INTERSECTION DETECTION BASED ON QUALITATIVE SPATIAL REASONING ON STOPPING POINT CLUSTERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Zourlidou

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to propose and test a method for detecting intersections by analysing collectively acquired trajectories of moving vehicles. Instead of solely relying on the geometric features of the trajectories, such as heading changes, which may indicate turning points and consequently intersections, we extract semantic features of the trajectories in form of sequences of stops and moves. Under this spatiotemporal prism, the extracted semantic information which indicates where vehicles stop can reveal important locations, such as junctions. The advantage of the proposed approach in comparison with existing turning-points oriented approaches is that it can detect intersections even when not all the crossing road segments are sampled and therefore no turning points are observed in the trajectories. The challenge with this approach is that first of all, not all vehicles stop at the same location – thus, the stop-location is blurred along the direction of the road; this, secondly, leads to the effect that nearby junctions can induce similar stop-locations. As a first step, a density-based clustering is applied on the layer of stop observations and clusters of stop events are found. Representative points of the clusters are determined (one per cluster and in a last step the existence of an intersection is clarified based on spatial relational cluster reasoning, with which less informative geospatial clusters, in terms of whether a junction exists and where its centre lies, are transformed in more informative ones. Relational reasoning criteria, based on the relative orientation of the clusters with their adjacent ones are discussed for making sense of the relation that connects them, and finally for forming groups of stop events that belong to the same junction.

Harmonisation of European Migration Policies: The Failure of Immigration Control Policies in the Seventh and Eighth Decades of the 20th Century

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milan Mesić

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Until the middle of the 1970s, the migration policies of developed European countries were based on the assumption that controlling immigration was possible. Due to various reasons discussed in this article, such policies proved unsuccessful. The result was an increase in the total number of foreigners and a change in the composition of immigrant communities, i.e. the proportion of supported family members increased. During the 1980s there was increasing convergence in the migration policies of European immigration countries and traditional overseas emigration countries. Policies were more and more oriented towards preventing illegal migration flows, on regulating refugee flows and on balancing labour migration with family migration. The turning-point in the direction of “harmonising” West European migration policies was marked by the Schengen agreement (1985 on gradual elimination of border controls between the signing parties (France, Germany and the Benelux countries. Fear in the face of a possible invasion of Eastern Europeans after the collapse of socialism in 1989 was a further strong stimulus towards the harmonisation of migration policies in the developing EU. As opposed to migration control, the integration of immigrants has remained so far the prerogative of nation-states. The text further presents an overview of migration policy reforms in individual member states of the EU and of multilateral actions. The post-1989 migration regime in Europe has four major traits: 1 an extension of the agenda; 2 an accent on joint actions; 3 defensiveness; 4 confusion and an overload of issues. While on the one hand the EU continues to seek ways of protecting itself from undesired external migration, on the other hand the process of regional integration continues to “erase” its internal borders.

Water Use Efficiency of China's Terrestrial Ecosystems and Responses to Drought

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y.; Xiao, J.; Ju, W.; Zhou, Y.; Wang, S.; Wu, X.

2015-12-01

Yibo Liu1, 2, Jingfeng Xiao2, Weimin Ju3, Yanlian Zhou4, Shaoqiang Wang5, Xiaocui Wu31 Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, School of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China, 2Earth Systems Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA, 3 International Institute for Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China, 4 School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China, 5 Key Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China Water use efficiency (WUE) measures the trade-off between carbon gain and water loss of terrestrial ecosystems, and better understanding its dynamics and controlling factors is essential for predicting ecosystem responses to climate change. We assessed the magnitude, spatial patterns, and trends of WUE of China's terrestrial ecosystems and its responses to drought using a process-based ecosystem model. During the period from 2000 to 2011, the national average annual WUE (net primary productivity (NPP)/evapotranspiration (ET)) of China was 0.79 g C kg-1 H2O. Annual WUE decreased in the southern regions because of the decrease in NPP and increase in ET and increased in most northern regions mainly because of the increase in NPP. Droughts usually increased annual WUE in Northeast China and central Inner Mongolia but decreased annual WUE in central China. "Turning-points" were observed for southern China where moderate and extreme drought reduced annual WUE and severe drought slightly increased annual WUE. The cumulative lagged effect of drought on monthly WUE varied by region. Our findings have implications for ecosystem management and climate policy making. WUE is expected to continue to change under future climate

Student perceptions of gamified audience response system interactions in large group lectures and via lecture capture technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Pettit, Robin K; McCoy, Lise; Kinney, Marjorie; Schwartz, Frederic N

2015-05-22

Higher education students have positive attitudes about the use of audience response systems (ARS), but even technology-enhanced lessons can become tiresome if the pedagogical approach is exactly the same with each implementation. Gamification is the notion that gaming mechanics can be applied to routine activities. In this study, TurningPoint (TP) ARS interactions were gamified and implemented in 22 large group medical microbiology lectures throughout an integrated year 1 osteopathic medical school curriculum. A 32-item questionnaire was used to measure students' perceptions of the gamified TP interactions at the end of their first year. The survey instrument generated both Likert scale and open-ended response data that addressed game design and variety, engagement and learning features, use of TP questions after class, and any value of lecture capture technology for reviewing these interactive presentations. The Chi Square Test was used to analyze grouped responses to Likert scale questions. Responses to open-ended prompts were categorized using open-coding. Ninety-one students out of 106 (86 %) responded to the survey. A significant majority of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the games were engaging, and an effective learning tool. The questionnaire investigated the degree to which specific features of these interactions were engaging (nine items) and promoted learning (seven items). The most highly ranked engagement aspects were peer competition and focus on the activity (tied for highest ranking), and the most highly ranked learning aspect was applying theoretical knowledge to clinical scenarios. Another notable item was the variety of interactions, which ranked in the top three in both the engagement and learning categories. Open-ended comments shed light on how students use TP questions for exam preparation, and revealed engaging and non-engaging attributes of these interactive sessions for students who review them via lecture capture

Formation and distribution of fragments in the spontaneous fission of 240Pu

Science.gov (United States)

Sadhukhan, Jhilam; Zhang, Chunli; Nazarewicz, Witold; Schunck, Nicolas

2017-12-01

Background: Fission is a fundamental decay mode of heavy atomic nuclei. The prevalent theoretical approach is based on mean-field theory and its extensions where fission is modeled as a large amplitude motion of a nucleus in a multidimensional collective space. One of the important observables characterizing fission is the charge and mass distribution of fission fragments. Purpose: The goal of this Rapid Communication is to better understand the structure of fission fragment distributions by investigating the competition between the static structure of the collective manifold and the stochastic dynamics. In particular, we study the characteristics of the tails of yield distributions, which correspond to very asymmetric fission into a very heavy and a very light fragment. Methods: We use the stochastic Langevin framework to simulate the nuclear evolution after the system tunnels through the multidimensional potential barrier. For a representative sample of different initial configurations along the outer turning-point line, we define effective fission paths by computing a large number of Langevin trajectories. We extract the relative contribution of each such path to the fragment distribution. We then use nucleon localization functions along effective fission pathways to analyze the characteristics of prefragments at prescission configurations. Results: We find that non-Newtonian Langevin trajectories, strongly impacted by the random force, produce the tails of the fission fragment distribution of 240Pu. The prefragments deduced from nucleon localizations are formed early and change little as the nucleus evolves towards scission. On the other hand, the system contains many nucleons that are not localized in the prefragments even near the scission point. Such nucleons are distributed rapidly at scission to form the final fragments. Fission prefragments extracted from direct integration of the density and from the localization functions typically differ by more than

Greece and the idea of the Balkan Union according to the materials of magazine Les Balkans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ann Lubotskaya

2009-12-01

Full Text Available El primer tercio del siglo XX fue un punto de inversión en la historia del desarrollo del Estado griego. El reemplazo de la Idea Griega (en general, una idea de conquista, por la idea de paz se reflejó de forma resplandeciente en la política exterior del nuevo gobierno, encabezado por el líder del Partido Liberal, Elefterios Vénselos. En la agenda de su política se encontraba la cuestión del mantenimiento de la posición griega en los Balcanes y el Mediterráneo. La vitalidad política del tema escogido es la importancia del problema de la paz en la región balcánica incluso a día de hoy. Este objeto de estudio tiene además un gran interés científico, puesto que ni en la historiografía rusa ni internacional se ha analizado desde el punto de vista periodístico. El estudio del semanario Les Balkans permitió reproducir en detalle la atmósfera de la vida política y social griega a comienzos de la tercera década del siglo XX y la propia existencia de esta publicación.____________________ABSTRACT:The end of the 20th – begining of the 30th of the XXth centuary was a turning-point in the history of development of the Greek state. Replacement of the Great Idea (in general the idea of the conquest by the idea of peace brightly reflected in the foreign policy of new-formed government, headed by the leader of the Liberal party, Elefterios Venizelos. On the agenda of its policy there was set a question of the maintenance of Greek position in the Balkan and Mediterranean regions. The political vitality of the theme chosen is in the importance of the question of peace in the Balkan region even in time beings. This theme moreover has a scientific vitality – neither in foreign nor in the russian historography it hasn’t been investigated from the journal’s point of view. Study of Les Balkans allowed to reproduce in detail the atmosphere of the greek social and political life at the begining of the 1930th and the history of journal�

World population trends in 1960-70.

Science.gov (United States)

Tabah, L; Kono, S

1974-01-01

The rapid rise in world population for the 4 periods 1950-1955, 1955 -1960, 1960-1965, and 1965-1970 is mainly due to a decline in the crude death rate from 24/1000 in 1950-1955 to 16.1/1000 in 1965-1970. 1950 was a turning-point in mortality rates because for the first time public health measures became widely available in less developed regions. These less developed regions contained 63.4% of the world population in 1930, 65.5% in 1950, and 70.0% in 1970. World population increased by 22% in 1960-1970, compared to 20% in 1950-1960, which was twice as much as the 20% registered for the 20 years 1930-1950. Developed regions contributed a 14% increase between 1950-1960 and 12% between 1960-1970; in less developed regions the increases were 23% and 27% respectively. Demographic conferences have begun to neglect mortality, but this is still a vital part of total population growth. Evidence is that the mortality decline in less developed countries is beginning to level off so that previous population projections may not be reached. What decline has been seen in crude birth rates in less developed countries is largely attributable to declines in East Asia, notably in the People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, and other Chinese or Chinese culture-related populations, as well as some of the smaller Latin American countries and some small islands off Africa. Such demographic giants as India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and sub-Saharan Africa have shown little change. In areas with high fertility there are more mothers under age 20 and more births to women over age 35 while in low-fertility areas births are concentrated in the 20-35 year groups. An interesting example is Japan which has 50% of its births to mothers 25-29 years of age. Less developed countries have a larger proportion o f the population under age 14 while developed countries which have had lower fertility for a number of years have larger numbers in the older age groups. In less developed areas the greatest

The Institution of the Family in Pauline theology and Byzantium in Despotat Epirus’s Church Court Opinions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Borkowski

2016-12-01

Full Text Available St Paul teaches that family life is founded on the union of a man and woman, which symbolises the relation between Christ and His Church. A second guideline to family life is the education and upbringing of children “in Christ.” The Apostle Paul, in his letters provides parents with advice on how they should raise their children, and children on how they should behave in relation to their parents. In this advice, although limited in number and extend, one can distinguish the basic elements of Christian education for children. For the Apostle Paul, the cultivation of healthy relations is indispensable, not only in the relations between husbands and wives, but also in the relationship between parents and children. Parents have the main responsibility for the creation of pedagogic relation with their children and they can contribute to their education, by providing them social stimuli. The institution of the family has long attracted the interest of Byzantine scholars. Influenced by, among other things, the social sciences, the focus has expanded in recent years to include the function of the family as a social and economic unit in Byzantine society. Since marriage is the basis for the formation of a family, the field of study embraces the rules governing the contracting of a marriage (age, criteria for the selection of a spouse, betrothal, impediments to marriage, the institution of marriage portions and bridal gifts, the status of the wife and children, divorce and so on. Under the Romans, marriage was a civil act. As Christianity spread, the Church gradually came to intervene and acquire a role in the institution. The purpose of marriage is procreation and the perpetuation of the human race, and in this sense, it is of interest to both church and state. A turning-point was reached with the promulgation by Leo VI the Wise (886-912 of Novella 89, which laid down that only marriages blessed by the Church were legal. Later statues, beginning

Polish electoral geography and its methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zbigniew Rykiel

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Differences in the understanding of electoral geography between social sciences are discussed in the article. Main fields and spatial scales of Polish electoral geography are identified. Main methods of multidimensional statistics are discussed. A necessity of a proper choice, based on theories of voting behaviour, of explaning variables to statistical models are emphasised. Regression analysis indicates only a formal usefulness in electoral geography, for quantitative relationships between variables in the model can be evidenced, which may be meaningless not only essentially, but even statistically. The application of canonical analysis in electoral geography brought a methodological turning-point to the statistical approach. This method allowed to combine: (1 the foundation of the selection of input variables on theories of voting behaviour; (2 the analysis of dependence of the electoral results on socio-economic characteristics of areas; (3 an identification of electoral options; (4 a quantification of the role of the historical heritage in the contemporary voting behaviour; and (5 the analysis of the stability of the electoral space. A well grounded opinion was weakened about the general competitiveness of right- and left-wing parties in Poland’s political space. Parties with similar rather than different programmes compete in given areas. It was indicated that elections have only formal influence on the structure of Parliament while the electoral system is decisive. Electoral, including territorial, manipulations also play their part. The empirical analysis indicated that Poland’s political space is polarised between the right-wing-oriented areas of the south-eastern half of the country and the left-wing-oriented areas of the north-western half. The political competition between the left and the right operates merely on the national scale, while it is not reflected territorially.The quantification of the influence of the nineteenth

Мотив искушений в драме Флобера «Искушение святого Антония» Le motif des tentations dans La Tentation de saint Antoine de Flaubert

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galina Modina

2009-01-01

soi.Many works by Flaubert have autobiographical features, but the author identified himself only with the hero of his philosophical drama The Temptation of saint Anthony. This image accompanied the writer for almost thirty years and arose in Flaubert's manuscripts in turning-points of his life. However, The Temptation of saint Anthony remains one of Flaubert's least read works. in Russian literary criticism. The article tries to discuss Flaubert's text through a prism of the motive of temptation. This motive organizes the drama's artistic space and dominates in each version. However, in early versions (1849, 1856 and in the version completed in 1874, the motive of temptation is developed in special variations. In the early versions of The Temptation of saint Anthony Flaubert aspires to look into and make “visible” the process of transforming the mortal person into the creator. The artist developing is unwrapped as the mystical sacrament similar to the ceremonies of ancient initiations. The drama composition and sequence of episodes are associated with rituals of Eleusinian mysteries and Temptations are represented as a lure to give up the belief in existence of the Creator and in the opportunity of the creative work. The third version is constructed on the development of motives of knowledge and belief, truth and dogma. Here, the sense of temptations consists in the urge to give up seeking the truth. The motive of temptations is indissolubly connected with the artist’s search of identity. Flaubert's internal experience was reflected in three versions of The Temptation of saint Anthony: overcoming the tragical antithesis of the material and the ideal and transferring from Pascal’s mysticism to aesthetic pantheism. The drama can be read as the history of forming the creative individuality of Flaubert, with the temptation being a perquisite for self-knowledge of the Artist.

La presse italienne, le pouvoir politique et l’autorité judiciaire durant le fascisme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yannick Beaulieu

2004-09-01

ambiguas. Los partidos de izquierda consideraban a la magistratura como un aliado objetivo de la burguesía y del poder político, mientras que los fascistas atacaban a algunos magistrados porque los consideraban demasiado rigurosos con sus correligionarios y pusilánimes con sus adversarios. El asesinato de Giacomo Matteotti fue sinónimo de ruptura radical, pues Benito Mussolini tomó el poder e impuso la solución totalitaria : prohibición de cualquier periódico opuesto a su proyecto de sociedad y control de los periódicos fascistas autorizados. Las informaciones judiciales desaparecieron progresivamente y, poco a poco, la propaganda se añadió al control de la población.The role of the Italian press has been a crucial political issue from the end of the First World War onwards. Italian newspapers responded to, and in some cases created, all the political struggles which divided society in the immediate aftermath of the war, in part resulting in the rise of power of the fascists. There were, at that time, as many newspapers as there were political parties and organisations. Articles were explicitly violent and the civil war was started by various campaigns run by political newspapers. The most intense period of conflict was between 1920 and 1926, at which time the offices of left-wing newspapers were regularly being burnt down by fascist groups. The role played by the judiciary is also an important issue, with judges failing both to restore public safety or to maintain impartiality. Relation between judges and the newspapers were ambiguous. On one hand, left-wing parties viewed the judiciary as a bourgeoisie-closely allied to the government; on the other hand, the fascist groups published blacklists containing the names of Judges they claimed were too weak in dealing with left-wing activists or too biased against fascist defendants. The Giacomo Matteotti case was a turning-point in the consolidation of the Benito Mussolini’s power, using the crisis, he