Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
‘Media Events’ reconsidered: from ritual theory to simulation and performativity

Abstract This paper re-examines the long-established notion of ‘media events’ by contrasting and critically appraising three distinct approaches to the question of media events. These are: ritual theory associated with Daniel Dayan and Elihu Katz, secondly, Jean Baudrillard’s approach rooted in his notions of simulation and ‘non-events’ and, finally, the more recent performative approaches to media and mediation. I take Sarah Kember and Joanna Zylinska’s reading of media events presented in Life After New Media (2012) as exemplary of the performative approach. An argument is made that the accounts of media events offered by performative approaches add very little, and, indeed, lack the critical insightfulness of the earlier approaches. Both ritual theory and Baudrillard’s thought are briefly reappraised and, against Nick Couldry, I try to show that these accounts are not characterised by binary and reductive thinking. The major misunderstandings concern the nature of the sacred and profane dualism and the further dualisms developed in Baudrillard’s thought, particularly the figures of implosion and reversibility. Finally, Baudrillard’s position on technology is addressed and the paper concludes with the suggestion that his account is not solely negative, since technological developments are not only at the mercy of ironic reversals they may also enable new rituals of disappearance.
Our Right to a Steady Ground: Perceived Rights Violations Motivate Collective Action Against Human-Caused Earthquakes

We surveyed 351 inhabitants of a part of the Netherlands that suffers from gas-extraction-induced (and thus “human-caused”) earthquakes. Based on geological reports, we distinguished between three differently affected subregions. We first tested whether being more strongly, objectively affected also implies a stronger subjective disadvantage. Second, we tested whether objective disadvantage moderates which type of perceived rights violations (i.e., perceived violations of personal/family, or collective rights to safety, health, and financial stability) predict collective action intentions. In line with our hypotheses, the participants living in the objectively most affected area perceived their rights to be violated the most, and their collective action intentions were motivated by perceived violations of personal/family rights. In contrast, the collective action intentions of those in the least affected areas were motivated by perceived violations of collective rights. We discuss the importance of understanding the interplay between objective disadvantage, perceived rights violations, and collective action.
A BDDC ALGORITHM FOR A MIXED FORMULATION OF FLOW IN POROUS MEDIA

The BDDC (balancing domain decomposition by constraints) algorithms are similar to the balancing Neumann-Neumann methods, with a small number of continuity constraints enforced across the interface throughout the iterations. These constraints form a coarse, global component of the preconditioner. The BDDC methods are powerful for solving large sparse linear algebraic systems arising from discretizations of elliptic boundary value problems. In this paper, the BDDC algorithm is extended to saddle point problems generated from the mixed nite element methods used to approximate the scalar elliptic problems for o w in porous media. Edge/face average constraints are enforced and the same rate of convergence is obtained as for simple elliptic cases. The condition number bound is estimated and numerical experiments are discussed. In addition, a comparison of the BDDC method with an edge/face-based iterative substructuring method is provided.
A Rational Probabilistic Method for Spatially Distributed Landslide Hazard Assessment

First-order, second-moment (FOSM) approximations of limit equilibrium slope stability equations can be combined with digital elevation models to perform spatially distributed probabilistic landslide hazard analyses. This is most easily accomplished using the infinite slope idealization, which is the basis of many published reconnaissance-level slope stability assessments. Comparisons of FOSM and Monte Carlo results show that FOSM approximations yield accurate results when input distributions are symmetric, or nearly symmetric, probability density functions. Contrary to the assumptions of previous authors, however, the Monte Carlo results suggest that factors of safety may be better represented by log-normal distributions than by normal distributions. A 3- × 2-km area near Wheeling, West Virginia, covered by a pre-existing landslide hazard map was used to illustrate the application of the spatially distributed FOSM approach. This area was chosen specifically because it includes active translational landslides as well as several map units that likely violate the infinite slope idealization to one degree or another: large dormant landslides, actively moving cove landforms, and areas deemed susceptible to sliding by virtue of underlying bedrock lithology. Using a 50 percent probability of sliding threshold to delineate unstable areas, the FOSM model predicted 74 percent of the mapped active landslide area to be unstable and 77 percent of the area without mapped slope hazards to be stable (both on a raster-by-raster basis). The overall degree of correspondence for all hazard map units was 54 percent if dormant landslides were considered to be unstable and 65 percent if considered to be stable. The degree of correspondence varies as a function of the threshold probability but is similar to values reported for pairs of landslide inventory maps prepared by different geologists.
Entitled Women – but Not Men – Make Tougher Strategic Demands as Proposers in the Ultimatum Game

In a laboratory experiment subjects are matched in pairs and interact in an Ultimatum Game. In the Entitlement treatment, the right to be the proposer is allocated to the personin the pair who performed better in a previously conducted math task. Compared to behavior in the control treatment, where the roles are randomly allocated, the proposers increase their strategic demands and offer a smaller share of the pie to the responder in the Entitlement treatment. This result is drivenentirely by female proposers; when earning their role, they significantly lower their offers, whereas male proposers do not behave differently than when roles are randomly allocated. This is in line with previous research suggesting that women are more sensitive to contextual factors and social cues, meaning that strengthening feelings of entitlement could be a way to decrease gender differences innegotiation behavior.
Patterns of Insect Abundance and Distribution in Urban Domestic Gardens in Bangalore, India

Domestic gardens may play a vital role in supporting urban insect biodiversity, despite their small size. This paper assesses the abundance, diversity and distribution of insects in urban domestic gardens in the tropics, through a study in the rapidly expanding Indian city of Bangalore. Fifty domestic gardens were studied using a combination of light traps and pitfall traps. We recorded a large number of insects, 2,185 insects from 10 orders, of which ants, bugs, beetles and flies were the most common. We found 25 species of trees (from 160 individuals) and 117 species of herbs and shrubs in the 50 sampled domestic gardens. The number of insect orders encountered was significantly related to the number of tree and herb/shrub species. Garden management practices also influenced the abundance and richness of insect orders. Thus, greater numbers of insects were observed in gardens with a greater proportion of bare soil relative to grass area and with less intensive weeding practices. More insect orders were encountered in gardens with a composting pit. Insect numbers were significantly reduced in gardens subjected to pesticide application. Most residents avoided application of pesticides and herbicides, citing health concerns.
Variational representations for continuous time processes

A variational formula for positive functionals of a Poisson random measure and Brownian motion is proved. The formula is based on the relative entropy representation for exponential integrals, and can be used to prove large deviation type estimates. A general large deviation result is proved, and illustrated with an example. 1 Introduction In this paper we prove a variational representation for positive measurable functionals of a Poisson random measure and an in nite dimensional Brownian motion. These processes provide the driving noises for a wide range of important process models in continuous time, and thus we also obtain variational representations for these processes when a strong solution exists. The representations have a number of uses, the most important being to prove large deviation estimates. The theory of large deviations is by now well understood in many settings, but there remain some situations where the topic is not as well developed. These are often settings where technical issues challenge standard approaches, and the problem of nding nearly optimal or even reasonably weak su¢ cient conditions is hindered as much by technique of proof as any other issue. Variational representations of the sort developed in this paper have been shown to be particularly useful, when combined with weak convergence methods, for analyzing such systems. For example, Brownian motion representations have been used by [1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30] in the large deviation analysis of solutions to SPDEs in the small noise limit, and recently in [5] for interacting particle limits. Other Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. Research supported in part by the Army Research O¢ ce (Grant W911NF-0-1-0080). yLefschetz Center for Dynamical Systems, Division of Applied Mathematics, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02912, USA. Research supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the Army Research O¢ ce, and the Air Force O¢ ce of Scienti c Research. zInstitute for Mathematics and its Applications, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
Multiscale Fama‐French model: application to the French market

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to discuss a multiscale pricing model for the French stock market by combining wavelet analysis and Fama-French three-factor model. The objective is to examine the relationship between stock returns and Fama-French risk factors at different time-scales. Design/methodology/approach - Exploiting the scale separation property inherent to the maximal overlap discrete wavelet transform, the data set are decomposed into components associated with different time-scales. This wavelet-based decomposition scheme allows the three Fama-French models to be tested over different investments periods. Findings - The obtained results show that the explanatory power of the Fama-French three-factor model becomes stronger as the wavelet scale increases. Besides, the relationship between the portfolio returns and the risk factors (i.e. the market, size and value factors) depends significantly upon the considered time-horizon. Practical implications - The proposed methodology offers investors the opportunity to construct dynamic portfolio management strategies by taking into account the multiscale nature of risk and return. Moreover, it gives a new insight to fund rating and fund selection issues in relation to heterogeneous investments periods. Originality/value - The paper uses wavelets as a relatively new and powerful tool for statistical analysis that allows a new understanding of pricing models. The paper will be of interest not only for academics in the field of asset pricing but also for fund managers and financial market investors.
Origin of the Asymmetry in the Magnitude of the Statistical Variability of n- and p-Channel Poly-Si Gate Bulk MOSFETs

We present measurements for the standard deviation of the threshold voltage in n- and p-channel MOSFETs from the 45-nm low-power platform of STMicroelectronics. The measurements are compared with 3-D statistical simulations carried out with the Glasgow ldquoatomisticrdquo device simulator, considering random discrete dopants, line edge roughness, and the polysilicon granularity of the gate electrode. It was found that the surface potential pinning at the poly-Si grain boundaries (GBs), which is important for explaining the magnitude of the statistical variability of the n-channel MOSFETs, plays a negligible role in the p-channel case. First-principle simulation of low-angle silicon GBs is performed in order to explain the systematically observed differences in the threshold voltage standard deviation of the measured n- and p-channel MOSFETs.
Effectiveness of Group-Delivered Cognitive Therapy and Treatment Length in Women Veterans with PTSD

The effectiveness and length of group-delivered cognitive treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was examined in a sample of women veterans. The sample included 271 primarily non-Hispanic white (61%) and Hispanic (25%) women veterans treated in 8-, 10-, or 12-group length sessions with manualized cognitive therapy for PTSD. Outcome was measured with the PTSD Symptom Checklist (PCL) in an intention-to-treat analysis (N = 271), in completer subjects (n = 172), and with group as the unit of analysis (n = 47 groups). Significant decreases in PTSD were found in the full sample (effect size [ES] range = 0.27 to 0.38), completers (ES range = 0.37 to 0.54), and group as the unit of analysis (ES range = 0.71 to 0.92), suggesting effectiveness of cognitive group treatment for PTSD. PCL scores significantly improved in the 8, 10, and 12 group lengths, with no differences between each. Clinical improvement showed a third decreasing 10 or more PCL points and 22% no longer meeting PTSD diagnostic criteria, with the best results in the 10-session group. The results suggest group-delivered cognitive therapy is an effective, efficient, time-limited treatment for PTSD.
Anxiety and psychosocial stress as predictors of headache and abdominal pain in urban early adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To examine the relations among anxiety, psychosocial stress, and headache and abdominal pain complaints within the context of the Biobehavioral Model of Pediatric Pain. METHODS Adolescents from urban schools serving a predominantly African-American population completed measures of pain, anxiety, witnessing violence, problem situations, and victimization at the end of the seventh grade (N = 502) and 6 months later (longitudinal N = 289). RESULTS A high prevalence of weekly headaches (40%) and abdominal pain (36%) was reported. Anxiety partially mediated relations between psychosocial stress and pain at Time 1, particularly for problem situations. Longitudinal models showed that adolescents reporting higher levels of pain at Time 1 reported greater increases in victimization and anxiety at Time 2. Changes in pain were positively correlated with changes in anxiety and stress variables. CONCLUSIONS Implications for understanding the causes and correlates of headache and abdominal pain in normal children are discussed.
Seasonal population dynamics and the genetic structure of the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti in São Paulo, Brazil

Population genetic studies of insect vectors can generate knowledge to improve epidemiological studies focused on the decrease of pathogen transmission. In this study, we used nine SNPs across the Aedes aegypti genome to characterize seasonal population variations of this important dengue vector. Mosquito samples were obtained by ovitraps placed over Botucatu SP from 2005 to 2010. Our data show that, regardless of the large variation in mosquito abundance (deduced from the number of eggs obtained from ovitraps), the effective population size remained stable over the years. These results suggest that Ae. aegypti is able to maintain a sufficiently large active breeding population during the dry season to keep genetic frequencies stable. These results open new perspectives on mosquito survey and control methods.
Degradation Network Reconstruction in Uric Acid and Ammonium Amendments in Oil-Degrading Marine Microcosms Guided by Metagenomic Data

Biostimulation with different nitrogen sources is often regarded as a strategy of choice in combating oil spills in marine environments. Such environments are typically depleted in nitrogen, therefore limiting the balanced microbial utilization of carbon-rich petroleum constituents. It is fundamental, yet only scarcely accounted for, to analyze the catabolic consequences of application of biostimulants. Here, we examined such alterations in enrichment microcosms using sediments from chronically crude oil-contaminated marine sediment at Ancona harbor (Italy) amended with natural fertilizer, uric acid (UA), or ammonium (AMM). We applied the web-based AromaDeg resource using as query Illumina HiSeq meta-sequences (UA: 27,893 open reading frames; AMM: 32,180) to identify potential catabolic differences. A total of 45 (for UA) and 65 (AMM) gene sequences encoding key catabolic enzymes matched AromaDeg, and their participation in aromatic degradation reactions could be unambiguously suggested. Genomic signatures for the degradation of aromatics such as 2-chlorobenzoate, indole-3-acetate, biphenyl, gentisate, quinoline and phenanthrene were common for both microcosms. However, those for the degradation of orcinol, ibuprofen, phenylpropionate, homoprotocatechuate and benzene (in UA) and 4-aminobenzene-sulfonate, p-cumate, dibenzofuran and phthalate (in AMM), were selectively enriched. Experimental validation was conducted and good agreement with predictions was observed. This suggests certain discrepancies in action of these biostimulants on the genomic content of the initial microbial community for the catabolism of petroleum constituents or aromatics pollutants. In both cases, the emerging microbial communities were phylogenetically highly similar and were composed by very same proteobacterial families. However, examination of taxonomic assignments further revealed different catabolic pathway organization at the organismal level, which should be considered for designing oil spill mitigation strategies in the sea.
The Signaling Effect of Raising Inflation

This paper argues that central bankers should temporarily raise inflation when anticipating liquidity traps to signal their credibility to forward guidance policies. As stable inflation in normal times either stems from central banker's credibility, e.g. through reputation, or from his aversion to inflation, the private sector is unable to infer the central banker's type from observing stable inflation, jeopardizing the efficiency of forward guidance policy. We show that this signaling motive can justify temporary deviations of inflation from target well above 2% but also that the low inflation volatility during the Great Moderation was insufficient to ensure fully efficient forward guidance when needed.
Please Scroll down for Article International Journal of Cultural Policy a Critique of Definitions of the Cultural and Creative Industries in Public Policy a Critique of Definitions of the Cultural and Creative Industries in Public Policy

This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. The article critiques official notions of creative industries with reference to definitions of both culture and creativity. The knowledge economy-based concept of creative industries, it is maintained, has no specific cultural content and ignores the distinctive attributes of both cultural creativity and cultural products. As such it overrides important public good arguments for state support of culture, subsuming the cultural sector and cultural objectives within an economic agenda to which it is ill-suited. We argue against this turn in public policy and for a cultural policy that views its object as all forms of cultural production, both industrial and artisan. Finally we question the longer term motives and consequences for cultural policy of the creative industries agenda.
Teachers’ and learners’ inclinations towards animal organ dissection and its use in problem-solving

In Life Sciences (biology) education, both nationally and internationally, the study of animal and organ morphology has traditionally involved dissection since the early 19 th century. This study focused on the inclinations of teachers and learners towards animal organ dissection, and its use in problem-solving in Grade 11 Life Sciences education in the Gauteng Province, South Africa. A mixed methods research design was used to collect data from 224 learners with a questionnaire, followed by lesson observations and interviews with six teachers. The results show that the majority of the teachers and learners had great interest in performing animal organ dissections, believing that its use could add value to the solving of specific problems that are related to the Grade 11 Life Sciences curriculum. A few teachers were not keen on animal organ dissection and were reluctant to let their learners dissect and use it in problem-solving. The few learners with reservations about animal organ dissection preferred artificial organs due to a blood phobia and squeamishness. This study supports the development of artificial animal organ dissection as a teaching strategy in support of problem-solving in teaching.
VSOP and Ground-based VLBI Imaging of the TeV Blazar Markarian 421 at Multiple Epochs

We present 30 VLBI images of the TeV blazar Markarian 421 (1101+384) at 15 epochs spanning the time range 1994-1997 and at six different frequencies from 2.3 to 43 GHz. The imaged observations include a high-resolution 5 GHz VLBI Space Observatory Programme (VSOP) observation with the HALCA satellite on 1997 November 14; full-track Very Long Base Array (VLBA) observations from 1994 April, 1996 November, and 1997 May at frequencies between 5 and 43 GHz; six epochs of VLBA snapshot observations at frequencies between 2 and 15 GHz from Radio Reference Frame studies; and five geodetic VLBI observations at 2 and 8 GHz from the archive of the Washington VLBI Correlator Facility located at the US Naval Observatory. The dense time coverage of the images allows us to track components unambiguously in the parsec-scale jet over the observed time range. We measure the speeds of three inner jet components located between 0.5 and 5 mas from the core (0.3-3 pc projected linear distance) to be 0.19 ± 0.27c, 0.30 ± 0.07c, and -0.07 ± 0.07c (H0 = 65 km s-1 Mpc-1). If the sole 43 GHz image is excluded, all measured speeds are consistent with no motion. These speeds differ from tentative superluminal speeds measured by Zhang & Bååth from three epochs of data from the early 1980s. Possible interpretations of these subluminal speeds in terms of the high Doppler factor demanded by the TeV variability of this source are discussed.