Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Law of International Watercourses: Non-Navigational Uses

I. INTRODUCTION 1. Human Use of Water and the Coming Era of Water Scarcity 2. The Concept of the International Watercourse System II. THEORETICAL BASES OF THE LAW OF INTERNATIONAL WATERCOURSES 3. Theoretical Bases of International Watercourse Law: Introductory Considerations 4. International Watercourses as Exclusively National Resources: The 'Harmon Doctrine' in United States Practice 5. The Theoretical Basis of International Watercourse Law: An Examination of the Four Principal Theories III. THE MAJOR CASES AND CONTROVERSIES: A SURVEY OF STATE PRACTICE 6. The Major Cases 7. Selected Case Studies IV. FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS 8. Introduction: The 1997 United Nations Convention A. SUBSTANTIVE OBLIGATIONS 9. The Obligation to Utilize an International Watercourse in an Equitable and Reasonable Manner 10. The Obligation to Prevent Harm to Other Riparian States 11. The Obligation to Protect International Watercourses and their Ecosystems B. PROCEDURAL OBLIGATIONS 12. Procedural Obligations C. GROUNDWATER 13. The Special Case of Groundwater D. DISPUTE AVOIDANCE AND SETTLEMENT 14. Dispute Avoidance and Settlement: Selected Aspects ANNEXES BIBLIOGRAPHY Index
Downsizing goes east? Employment re-structuring in post-socialist Poland

This article reports case study research on the practices of employment restructuring in four Polish organizations in the post-socialist period. It finds that Polish managers have generally adopted less harsh practices than their western counterparts. Key influences in this respect are the values and beliefs of managers, the role of trade unions and the nature of Polish labour law. The article concludes by suggesting that increasing pressures on Polish managers may well see more convergence with western practice and that the implications of this are not favourable for Poland's developing market economy.
The contested future of irrigation in African rural livelihoods - analysis from a water scarce catchment in South Africa

Agricultural improvement is seen as essential for economic growth, poverty reduction and food security in Africa. However, with new and priority demands for water agricultural allocations have come under closer scrutiny, particularly under water scarcity. In post-apartheid South Africa equitable water allocation has become an emblematic policy goal consistent with the imperative to create a fairer society. Catchment managers are now responsible for water allocation decisions across multiple and competing social, economic, environmental and political priorities. This analysis explores these challenges based on a study in the Luvuvhu catchment, Limpopo Province, which comprised (i) socio-economic evaluation of people9s livelihoods across 10 communities, (ii) hydrological modelling studies, and (iii) a detailed performance evaluation for one typical smallholder irrigation scheme. Findings from this study indicate that water allocation for smallholder irrigation provides expected income and food benefits for those with secure irrigation access. However, while increasing water allocation for smallholder irrigation may be argued to redress current inequitable distribution within the national irrigated agricultural sector, there is no convincing evidence to support allocating more water to smallholder irrigation schemes when viewed within the wider development challenges in the Luvuvhu catchment. It is argued that catchment managers should rather consider the hydrological and social benefits associated with improvements in dryland farming for increasing food security under water scarcity.
A formative evaluation of Sacramento State's Leadership Initiative program design

v of A FORMATIVE EVALUATION OF SACRAMENTO STATE’S LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE PROGRAM DESIGN by Haley A. C. Myers Is Sacramento State’s Leadership Initiative well designed? Can the program design be improved? In this thesis, I create a rubric to evaluate the Leadership Initiative program design by extracting approximately 100 program design goals from relevant literature. I condense those goals into roughly 30 themes, and classify the themes by “universe. ” I explain that three communities, each a separate universe, care about leadership program design: the profession, the university, and the students. As an outside observer, I compare the program materials to the rubric to determine which goals have and have not been met. The Leadership Initiative is well designed with respect to student and university goals, but could be improved to meet the following professional standards: acknowledge student success, request comments from staff and partners on program development and implementation, and adapt the program based on feedback. I offer recommendations to improve program design, anticipate challenges, and propose future developments. _______________________, Committee Chair Mary Kirlin, D.P.A. _______________________ Date
Wireless testbed implementation of cognitive topology control for power efficient connected networks

It is of paramount importance to Army to understand if cognitive algorithms can enhance network survivability and robustness. An essential function towards achieving survivability and robustness is topology control for forming power efficient connected topologies, so that network lifetime is extended without affecting the performance and functionality of the network. We have proposed a fully distributed game theoretic (GT) topology control (TC) approach, which aims on the assignments of transmission power to nodes so that a power efficient connected topology is formed. We have modeled and analyzed GT TC under CERDEC's C-NEDAT tool, where we discover its very promising performance characteristics. In this paper we present our effort to implement the GT TC approach on a realistic testbed, for verifying and validating the C-NEDAT performance characteristics and for identifying and understanding the key challenges on implementing such an approach on a realistic setting. The details of the implementation and the key findings and observations from the implementation of GT TC on the wireless testbed are highlighted. Furthermore, the validity of the expected theoretical performance and its comparison with the actual measured performance are indicated through the use case scenarios.
The implementation of a stakeholder management strategy during stadium development: a case study of Arsenal Football Club and the Emirates Stadium

The relocation to new stadium developments has been a key trend within the football industry since 1990. For a stadium development to contribute positively to the area in which it is built and maximize the benefits for a range of stakeholder groups, it is important that a stakeholder management strategy is implemented consisting of two key components: stakeholder engagement and stakeholder participation. This article presents a case study of the stakeholder management strategy implemented by Arsenal Football Club during the development of the Emirates Stadium. Based primarily on the analysis of documentary secondary data supported by a small number of semi-structured interviews, the case study uses the theoretical literature on stakeholder management as a framework. It evaluates the extent to which the football club considered the needs and interests of different stakeholder groups during the development of the Emirates Stadium. Case study analysis shows that the stakeholder management strategy consisted of resident consultations, a communications strategy, a Stadium Liaison Committee, a Stadium Management Plan, and supporter consultations. The case study concludes by emphasizing that the stakeholder management strategy implemented by the football club, while clearly demonstrating evidence of stakeholder engagement, did not extend further with little opportunity for stakeholder participation and a lack of opportunities for involvement in decision-making processes.
Labor Productivity : Sagacity in Production and Consumption

The fact of our society is that if people have good feeling about a special work, they will definitely succeed in it. Organizations are also not exempted from this. Because if organizations have higher self confidence, they will get more energy for working and the chance of their success will be greater. Employees are the worthy assets of each organization. Achieving the objectives of any organization depends on intelligent management of these worthy resources. In this article, definitions, significance of productivity and also affective factors in enhancement of required condition for improvement of labor productivity and affective factors in decrease of labor productivity are briefly expressed.
Work-related learning and changing the nature of work

This paper argues that dominant constructions of vocational education and training are too narrow and derived from technicist notions of work. With respect to the employment contract associated with waged work such constructions are presented as being in the general interests of employers. For this reason, the concept of workrelated learning is proposed. Within this broader framework the democratic right of working people to contribute to the organisation and structure of work is explored. Some case studies of workplaces organised in different ways are presented. This is followed by further exploration of alternate forms of political economy. Contact details:
“All together better?” Single status and union recognition in the chemical industry

In the debate leading up to the publication of the proposed Government White Paper Fairness at Work, companies which have de‐recognised unions have been portrayed by the unions as looking backwards to “Victorian” employment practices. This paper traces the development of “single status” ‐ effecively the de‐recognition of trade unions ‐ at BP Chemicals. It indicates that, after an initial phase of “macho” tactics at its Baglan Bay site, management adopted an apparently more consensual approach at its two other main sites utilising ballots of workers for the “single status” package. Further, the package introduced Employee Forums on each site which formed the basis of the establishment of a European Works Council. As such it leads to a questioning of the effectiveness of measures in the White Paper to bring about a return to trade union recognition.
Food Aid and Malnutrition in Developing Countries: Evidence from Global Food Aid Allocation

Abstract This study investigates the allocation of dietary energy, iron, vitamin A and zinc within global food aid. The response of US and non-US donors to nutritional needs and donor interests is estimated with a dynamic correlated random effects Tobit model. Aid flows of the period 1993–2007 are analysed. The empirical results show that nutrient shipments in emergency food aid have been allocated towards poorer countries, but also face inertia and media bias. Project food aid from the US is found to be targeted towards politically stable and rural regions, while non-US project aid focuses on populations with high nutritional requirements.
Effects of a Prenatal Care Intervention for Adolescent Mothers on Birth Weight, Repeat Pregnancy, and Educational Outcomes at One Year Postpartum

About one-third of adolescent mothers receive inadequate prenatal care, and babies born to young mothers are more likely to be of low birth weight. The objective of this study is to evaluate a peer-centered prenatal care program for adolescent mothers. Pregnant adolescents were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group in a mastery modeling peer-support intervention designed to improve long- and short-term perinatal outcomes. A sample of 282 urban pregnant adolescents (94% African American, 4% Caucasian, 2% other) participated in the study. Participants were recruited from five clinics located mainly in Detroit, Michigan. Participants in the experimental group received care in a small group setting and learned to perform critical measurements with a peer partner during prenatal visits. Participants in the control group received individual prenatal care in the same clinics. Outcome measures included birth weight, years of schooling completed at one year postpartum, planned and unplanned pregnancy at one year postpartum, and employment and school attendance at one year postpartum. Mothers in the experimental group had a lower rate of low birth weight (6.6% vs. 12.5%, p=0.08). The rate of unplanned pregnancy was also lower for adolescents in the experimental group (13.4% vs. 15.9%), although this difference was not statistically significant. Adolescents who participated in the intervention were more likely to have continued their education during the pregnancy and the postpartum year. The mastery modeling, peer-centered, prenatal care program produced some positive pregnancy outcomes for adolescent mothers.
Issue salience in the European policy process: what impact on transposition?

Analyses of agenda setting and decision making have highlighted that issue salience plays an important role in those stages of the policy process. This article investigates the role of issue salience in the implementation stage, focusing on transposition. We examine the extent to which issue salience – the relative importance attached to an issue in relation to others – influences the timeliness of transposing European Union directives in national legislation. We analyse 143 European Union environmental directives adopted in the period 1996–2008 in ten member states. We operationalize issue salience as the salience of hazardous substances and materials, salience for political parties in government and salience for the general public. Our results show faster transposition when environmental issues are salient for the governing political parties, Green political parties are included in the government, and the general public ranks environmental issues as a top priority.
KCNE2 confers background current characteristics to the cardiac KCNQ1 potassium channel

Mutations in HERG and KCNQ1 (or KVLQT1) genes cause the life‐threatening Long QT syndrome. These genes encode K+ channel pore‐forming subunits that associate with ancillary subunits from the KCNE family to underlie the two components, IKr and IKs, of the human cardiac delayed rectifier current IK. The KCNE family comprises at least three members. KCNE1 (IsK or MinK) recapitulates IKs when associated with KCNQ1, whereas it augments the amplitude of an IKr‐like current when co‐expressed with HERG. KCNE3 markedly changes KCNQ1 as well as HERG current properties. So far, KCNE2 (MirP1) has only been shown to modulate HERG current. Here we demonstrate the interaction of KCNE2 with the KCNQ1 subunit, which results in a drastic change of KCNQ1 current amplitude and gating properties. Furthermore, KCNE2 mutations also reveal their specific functional consequences on KCNQ1 currents. KCNQ1 and HERG appear to share unique interactions with KCNE1, 2 and 3 subunits. With the exception of KCNE3, mutations in all these partner subunits have been found to lead to an increased propensity for cardiac arrhythmias.
EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF THE BID‐ASK SPREAD ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF CRSP DAILY RETURNS

It is widely recognized that Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP) returns may differ from "true" returns because of the bid-ask effect. Using a large sample of New York Stock Exchange and American Stock Exchange securities, the author confirms a discernible bid-ask effect, the magnitude and importance of which decrease with the security's price level (increase with the spread). The author finds volatility estimates using CRSP returns to be greater than those based on quote returns. However, market model properties, such as I² and ["R" superscript 2], are generally unaffected. Bid-ask effects are clearly apparent in event studies, but because of certain offsetting effects commonly used test statistics remain unaffected. Low-priced stocks (below $2.00) do not conform to these patterns. Finally, the evidence raises the possibility that the existing literature on filter rule tests may underestimate the bid-ask spread component of transaction costs.
Comparison of Polyethylene Glycol-Conjugated Recombinant Human Acetylcholinesterase and Serum Human Butyrylcholinesterase as Bioscavengers of Organophosphate Compounds

Comparative protection studies in mice demonstrate that on a molar basis, recombinant human acetylcholinesterase (rHuAChE) confers higher levels of protection than native human butyrylcholinesterase (HuBChE) against organophosphate (OP) compound intoxication. For example, mice challenged with 2.5 LD50 of O-isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate (sarin), pinacolylmethyl phosphonofluoridate (soman), and O-ethyl-S-(2-isopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothiolate (VX) after treatment with equimolar amounts of the two cholinesterases displayed 80, 100, and 100% survival, respectively, when pre-treatment was carried out with rHuAChE and 0, 20, and 60% survival, respectively, when pretreatment was carried out with HuBChE. Kinetic studies and active site titration analyses of the tested OP compounds with acetylcholinesterases (AChEs) and butyrylcholinesterases (BChEs) from different mammalian species demonstrate that the superior in vivo efficacy of acetyl-cholinesterases is in accordance with the higher stereoselectivity of AChE versus BChE toward the toxic enantiomers comprising the racemic mixtures of the various OP agents. In addition, we show that polyethylene glycol-conjugated (PEGy-lated) rHuAChE, which is characterized by a significantly extended circulatory residence both in mice and monkeys ( Biochem J357:795-802, 2001 ; Biochem J378:117-128, 2004 ), retains full reactivity toward OP compounds both in vitro and in vivo and provides a higher level of protection to mice against OP poisoning, compared with native serum-derived HuBChE. Indeed, PEGylated rHuAChE also confers superior prophylactic protection when administered intravenously or intramuscularly over 20 h before exposure of mice to a lethal dose of VX (1.3-1.5 LD50). These findings together with the observations that the PEGylated rHuAChE exhibits unaltered biodistribution and high bioavailability present a case for using PEGylated rHuAChE as a very efficacious bioscavenger of OP agents.
Measurement of Vital Signs: Temperature [Tutorial]

The four vital signs represent a simple assessment of the physiological and physical status of an individual. They are used by clinicians as a quick and general evaluation of their patients and often are measured by a medical assistant before a patient's office visit. They are also regularly measured for hospital inpatients for periodic assessment of their status. The four basic signs are: body temperature; heart rate; breathing rate; blood pressure. We will examine the methods of measuring each of these. Although this will not be an extensive survey of the literature, it is designed to review the basic methods of measuring body temperature and to look at some of the newer methods that have been applied in clinical practice.
The Effects of Charter School Competition on School District Resource Allocation

Purpose: This article examines two questions: (a) How does resource allocation change in school districts experiencing sustained charter school competition? (b) Among districts exposed to charter competition, are there differences in the resource allocation adjustments between those that do and do not succeed in stemming further enrollment loss to charters? Research Design: The authors utilize fixed effect models to analyze a statewide panel data set of Michigan school districts from 1994 to 2006. The authors consider several dimensions of resource allocation—for example, average class size, teacher salaries, and spending shares devoted to a variety of disaggregated instructional and noninstructional functions, including administration. Findings: Overall, the results do not support the hypothesis that competition from charter schools spurs regular public schools to shift resources to achievement-oriented activities. Charter competition has had remarkably little impact on standard measures of district resource use in Michigan schools. On the other hand, higher levels of charter competition clearly generate fiscal stress in districts. Moreover, changes in resource allocation cannot explain the differing trajectories of districts that do and do not turn back the competitive challenge. There are no significant differences in the resource allocation changes made by districts that stabilize enrollment loss to charters and those that continue to spiral down. Conclusions: The authors find no support for the hopeful prediction that competition from charter schools will compel school district leaders to shift resources to achievement-oriented activities.
Valuation of Guaranteed Annuity Options Using a Stochastic Volatility Model for Equity Prices

Guaranteed annuity options are options providing the right to convert a policyholder's accumulated funds to a life annuity at a fixed rate when the policy matures. These options were a common feature in UK retirement savings contracts issued in the 1970's and 1980's when interest rates were high, but caused problems for insurers as the interest rates began to fall in the 1990's. Currently, these options are frequently sold in the US and Japan as part of variable annuity products. The last decade the literature on pricing and risk management of these options evolved. Until now, for pricing these options generally a geometric Brownian motion for equity prices is assumed. However, given the long maturities of the insurance contracts a stochastic volatility model for equity prices would be more suitable. In this paper explicit expressions are derived for prices of guaranteed annuity options assuming stochastic volatility for equity prices and either a 1-factor or 2-factor Gaussian interest rate model. The results indicate that the impact of ignoring stochastic volatility can be significant.
Merging With-Profits and Unit-Linked Life Funds in a Proprietary Company: Actuarial Considerations Based on a Case Study

ABSTRACT In the current financial climate takeovers of proprietary life companies by other life companies, amalgamations of mutuals and demutualisations have become more and more prevalent. However in respect of takeovers, the process does not end with the purchase, but normally results in the transfer of the long-term business of one of the companies to the other. To optimise synergy and administrative efficiency, there may be a need to reconstruct the amalgamated funds. The author has been involved as Appointed Actuary and internal project manager in such transfers of business within proprietary companies and has also acted as an independent actuary and as an external project manager for other transfers. One of these transfers involved four companies transacting both with-profits and unit-linked business in which the interests of both policyholders and shareholder had to be protected. He considered this transfer to be of sufficient interest to merit the preparation of a paper discussing the issues which arose. Although the paper is principally based on that transfer as a case study, relevant and related factors arising in other transfers have been included where appropriate, as have references to the role of the actuary before, during and after reconstruction. In the case study, the scheme of transfer and the associated reconstruction of corporate structure involved merging three separate with-profits funds, merging many unit-linked funds (including unitised with-profits) and, subject to appropriate compensation, rationalisation of the rights to surplus attributable to both with-profits policyholders and shareholder.