bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Slow‐wave high‐Q coplanar striplines in CMOS technology and their RLCG model
Authors: Aziz M. Abdel , Podevin F. , Safwat A. M. E. , Vilcot A. , Ferrari P.
Published: January 2012

Slow‐wave coplanar striplines (S‐CPS) have been implemented in the standard AMS 0.35 μm CMOS technology. Compared to conventional coplanar striplines (CPS), at 20 GHz, the proposed S‐CPS line has more than 675% increase in quality factor, 54% improvement in the attenuation constant and 72% reduction in the electrical length. The RLCG model has also been extracted and the sources of losses have been identified. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 54:650–654, 2012; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26645
Bayesian algorithm using spatial priors for multiexponential T2 relaxometry from multiecho spin echo MRI
Authors: Kumar Dushyant , Nguyen Thanh D. , Gauthier Susan A. , Raj Ashish
Published: January 2012

Multiexponential T2 relaxometry is a powerful research tool for detecting brain structural changes due to demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. However, because of unusually high signal‐to‐noise ratio requirement compared with other MR modalities and ill‐posedness of the underlying inverse problem, the T2 distributions obtained with conventional approaches are frequently prone to noise effects. In this article, a novel multivoxel Bayesian algorithm using spatial prior information is proposed. This prior takes into account the expectation that volume fractions and T2 relaxation times of tissue compartments change smoothly within coherent brain regions. Three‐dimensional multiecho spin echo MRI data were collected from five healthy volunteers at 1.5 T and myelin water fraction maps were obtained using the conventional and proposed algorithms. Compared with the conventional method, the proposed method provides myelin water fraction maps with improved depiction of brain structures and significantly lower coefficients of variance in white matter. Magn Reson Med, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Quality aspects for component‐based systems: A metrics based approach
Authors: Kumar Vijai , Sharma Arun , Kumar Rajesh , Grover P.S.
Published: January 2012

In component‐based development, software systems are built by assembling components already developed and prepared for integration. To estimate the quality of components, complexity, reusability, dependability, and maintainability are the key aspects. The quality of an individual component influences the quality of the overall system. Therefore, there is a strong need to select the best quality component, both from functional and nonfunctional aspects. The present paper produces a critical analysis of metrics for various quality aspects for components and component‐based systems. These aspects include four main quality factors: complexity, dependency, reusability, and maintainability. A systematic study is applied to find as much literature as possible. A total of 49 papers were found suitable after a defined search criteria. The analysis provided in this paper has a different objective as we focused on efficiency and practical ability of the proposed approach in the selected papers. The various key attributes from these two are defined. Each paper is evaluated based on the various key parameters viz. metrics definition, implementation technique, validation, usability, data source, comparative analysis, practicability, and extendibility. The paper critically examines various quality aspects and their metrics for component‐based systems. In some papers, authors have also compared the results with other techniques. For characteristics like complexity and dependency, most of the proposed metrics are analytical. Soft computing and evolutionary approaches are either not being used or much less explored so far for these aspects, which may be the future concern for the researchers. In addition, hybrid approaches like neuro‐fuzzy, neuro‐genetic, etc., may also be examined for evaluation of these aspects. However, to conclude that one particular technique is better than others may not be appropriate. It may be true for one characteristic by considering different set of inputs and dataset but may not be true for the same with different inputs. The intension in the proposed work is to give a score for each metric proposed by the researchers based on the selected parameters, but certainly not to criticize any research contribution by authors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Impact of bias in crown–rump length measurement at first‐trimester screening for trisomy 21
Authors: Kagan K. O. , Hoopmann M. , Baker A. , Huebner M. , Abele H. , Wright D.
Published: January 2012

Objective

To assess the repeatability of crown–rump length (CRL) measurement and examine the effect of its over‐ and underestimation on first‐trimester combined screening.

Methods

Intra‐ and interoperator repeatability of CRL measurement at 11–13 weeks of gestation was assessed in 124 cases by two operators. Raw data were transformed into gestational age and intra‐ and interoperator repeatability was evaluated by within‐operator standard deviation (SD) and the SD of differences in measurements between both operators. Modeling techniques were used to assess the impact of CRL measurement error on general population screening and on the operator‐specific screening performance. The impact of errors in CRL measurement were investigated by simulating fetal nuchal translucency (NT) measurements and multiple of the median (MoM) values for pregnancy‐associated plasma protein A (PAPP‐A) and free β‐human chorionic gonadotropin (β‐hCG) for 500 000 euploid and 500 000 trisomy 21 pregnancies at 12 weeks and 9 weeks of gestation, and adding to or subtracting from each CRL value up to 10 mm and recalculating patient‐specific risks.

Results

Within‐operator SD of the CRL measurement was 1.27 days of gestation. The SD of the differences in CRL measurement between operators was 1.37 days of gestation. Both intra‐ and interoperator 95% limits of agreement were around ± 5 mm. In general population‐based screening, a CRL measurement error SD of 5 mm accounts for an estimated 5% of the SD of log MoM PAPP‐A and less than 1% of the SD of log MoM free β‐hCG. Modeling the effect of removing this measurement error on overall screening performance showed a minimal impact. For a risk cut‐off of 1 in 100, the benefit in terms of overall screening performance would be an increase in detection rate of about 1% and a reduction in false‐positive rate of less than 0.1%. With regard to the operator‐specific screening performance, a consistent 5‐mm underestimation of CRL reduces the detection rate from 84% to 79% and the false‐positive rate from 2.4% to 1.2%. With a consistent 5‐mm overestimation the rates would be 88% and 5.6%, respectively.

Conclusion

The impact of the interoperator variability in CRL measurement on patient‐specific risk needs to be taken into account when interpreting first‐trimester screening results. A systematic under‐ or overestimation of CRL should be avoided. Copyright © 2012 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Three‐dimensional transvaginal sonography in third‐trimester evaluation of placenta previa
Authors: Simon E. G. , Fouche C. J. , Perrotin F.
Published: January 2012

In cases of placenta previa, the distance from the placental edge to the internal os is determinant in deciding on the mode of delivery that will minimize the risk of hemorrhage. The reproducibility and interobserver reliability of this measure are unknown. The internal os is not a point, as two‐dimensional (2D) ultrasonography might suggest, but an oval patch that has a measurable width, which may be as wide as the distance separating it from the placenta. It is therefore difficult to determine the exact location of the os using a 2D sectional plane. We report the case of a nulliparous woman admitted for vaginal bleeding at 37 weeks' gestation in whom transvaginal ultrasound examination showed placenta previa, but for which two sonographers reported different measurements for the distance between the placental edge and the internal os. We describe a technique to measure this distance using multiplanar three‐dimensional (3D) ultrasound imaging, which allows the smallest distance between the middle of the os and the edge of the placenta, which appears as a line, to be determined. In this case, measurement using 3D ultrasound showed a shorter distance than was suggested by 2D examination. This led us to schedule a Cesarean section delivery, during which there was minimal bleeding. Standardization of 3D measurements should make it possible to define more relevant cut‐offs for determining the management of cases of placenta previa. Copyright © 2012 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Long‐term Results with the Modified Sugiura Procedure for the Management of Variceal Bleeding: Standing the Test of Time in the Treatment of Bleeding Esophageal Varices
Authors: Voros D. , Polydorou A. , Polymeneas G. , Vassiliou I. , Melemeni A. , Chondrogiannis K. , Arapoglou V. , Fragulidis G. P.
Published: January 2012

Background

The surgical approaches to the treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients have been reduced since the clinical development of endoscopic sclerotherapy, transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS), and liver transplantation. However, when acute sclerotherapy fails, and in cases where no further treatment is accessible, emergency surgery may be life saving. In the present study we retrospectively analyzed the results of the modified Sugiura procedure, performed as emergency and semi‐elective treatment in the patient with bleeding esophageal varices.

Methods

Ninety patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension were managed in our department for variceal esophageal bleeding between January 1985 and December 1992. The modified Sugiura procedure was performed in 46 patients on an emergency (25 patients) or semi‐elective (21 patients) basis. Liver cirrhosis stage according to Child classification was A in 4 patients, B in 16 patients, and C in 26 patients.

Results

Acute bleeding was controlled in all patients. Postoperative mortality was 23.9% (11 of 46 patients). The mortality rate was 34.6% in Child class C patients (9 of 26 patients), and 12.5% in Child class B patients (2 of 16 patients). Twenty‐four patients had long‐term follow‐up extending from 14 months to 22 years (mean 83.1 months). Ten of 24 patients (41.6%) did not develop rebleeding for 5–22 years (mean 10.3 years). Overall 5‐year survival in these 24 patients was 62.5%.

Conclusions

The modified Sugiura procedure remains an effective rescue therapy for patients with bleeding esophageal varices when alternative treatments fail or are not indicated. Moreover, it can be a life‐saving procedure in patients with anatomy unsuitable for shunt surgery or for patients treated in nonspecialized centers where surgical expertise for a shunt operation is not available.
The Use of a Family History Risk Assessment Tool within a Community Health Care System: Views of Primary Care Providers
Authors: Christianson Carol A. , Powell Karen Potter , Hahn Susan Estabrooks , Blanton Susan H. , Bogacik Jessica , Henrich Vincent C. ,   The Genomedical Connection
Published: January 2012

Primary care providers (PCPs) offered input regarding the incorporation of a family health history (FHH) risk assessment tool into a community health care system (CHCS). Sixteen PCPs participated in one of three focus groups. Perceived impediments included the lack of standard screening guidelines, effective screening tests, genetic counseling resources, and services for high‐risk patients. The PCPs were concerned about their level of expertise, the cost of preventive health care, and genetic discrimination. They also were concerned about the use of a FHH tool by oncologists within the CHCS because of communication gaps between oncologists and PCPs, lack of clarity regarding follow‐up and legal liability, and reimbursement issues. To integrate a FHH tool into a CHCS, PCPs will need consultation and referral services, evidence‐based recommendations, and “just‐in‐time” educational resources. Oncologists who use the tool will need to develop a streamlined communication system with PCPs, establish clearly defined roles, and ensure patient follow‐up.
Consideration on the Relationship Between Dielectric Breakdown Voltage and Water Content in Fatty Acid Esters
Authors: Kasahara Yasutoshi , Kato Masashi , Watanabe Satoshi , Iwahashi Makio , Wakamatsu Rieko , Suzuki Takashi , Kanetani Akinori , Kano Takaaki , Tamura Takamitsu
Published: January 2012

Mineral oil is commonly used as an electrical insulating oil in transformers because of its relatively high electrical insulating ability and fluidity. Considering the depletion of resources and environmental problems, however, fatty acid esters synthesized from natural plant oils are attracting attention as an environmentally friendly insulating oil. In addition, fatty acid esters such as methyl octanoate, methyl dodecanoate, 2‐ethylhexyl octanoate, and 2‐ethylhexyl dodecanoate have high fluidity, and also show excellent moisture tolerance against dielectric breakdown compared to mineral oil. In the present study, to clarify the reason for the superior moisture tolerance of fatty acid esters, the status of dissolved water in esters is investigated with IR spectroscopic measurements and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It is revealed that water molecules in fatty acid esters are trapped by the ester moiety of fatty acid esters. As a result, fatty acid esters have a higher moisture tolerance against dielectric breakdown than mineral oil.
Site fidelity and residence times of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) on the Brazilian coast
Authors: Baracho-Neto Clarêncio G. , Neto Elitieri Santos , Rossi-Santos Marcos R. , Wedekin Leonardo L. , Neves Mariana C. , Lima Flavio , Faria Deborah
Published: January 2012

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate between their feeding grounds, located in high latitudes, and their breeding grounds, located in low latitudes, exhibiting certain levels of site fidelity to their migratory destinations. The residence time, also known as occupancy rate, can be defined as the minimum number of days that those individuals remained in the same area. In this paper, site fidelity and residence time of humpback whales that breed off the northern coast of Bahia, Brazil were investigated. Data were collected between 2000 and 2009 on-board research cruises and whale watching vessels. This paper also studies possible differences between males and females with respect to site fidelity off the Brazilian coast, using data collected since 1989. A total of 841 whales were photo-identified. The vast majority of the whales (96%, N = 809) were seen only once in the studied area, while 4% (32 individuals) were seen twice. Most of the resights occurred within the same season (72%, N = 23), while 9 resights (28%) occurred in different years. None of the individuals were seen more than twice. The average site fidelity rate was 1% and the occupancy rate varied from one up to 21 days (mean = 5.3; SD = 5.4, N = 23).
On the history of the international protection of refugees
Authors: Jaeger Gilbert
Published: January 2012

L'histoire de la protection internationale des réfugiés commence à
l'époque de la Société des Nations, en réponse aux flux de réfugiés pendant
et après la Première Guerre mondiale, notamment en Russie et dans les
Balkans. Suite è une proposition émise lors d'une conférence convoquée par
le CICR et la Fédération internationale, la Société des Nations nomma, en
septembre 1921, un haut commissaire pour les réfugiés en la personne de
Fridtjof Nansen. L'auteur retrace l'histoire des mesures internationales
prises en faveur des réfugiés au cours de l'entre-deux-guerres, puis pendant
la période qui suivit immédiatement la Seconde Guerre mondiale. C'est
pendant cette dernière période, marquée par des mouvements de réfugiés de
grande ampleur, qu'un droit moderne des réfugiés vit le jour — notamment
avec l'adoption en 1951 de la Convention relative au statut des réfugiés —
et que le Haut Commissariat des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés fat
créé.
Influence of soil structure and root water uptake strategy on unsaturated flow in heterogeneous media
Authors: Kuhlmann A. , Neuweiler I. , van der Zee S. E. A. T. M. , Helmig R.
Published: January 2012

We analyze the combined effects of the spatial variability of soil hydraulic properties and the water uptake by plant roots on unsaturated water flow. For this analysis, we use a simplified macroscopic root water uptake model which is usually applied only for homogeneous or layered soil and therefore we also determine whether it is applicable for multidimensional heterogeneous media. Analytical solutions for mean and variance of pressure head (first‐order second‐moment approximations) in layered media and numerical solutions of two‐dimensional (2‐D) autocorrelated multi‐Gaussian and non multi‐Gaussian parameter fields are analyzed for steady state and transient flow conditions. For non‐Gaussian topological features, that have little influence on the mean and the variance of the pressure field if root water uptake is ignored, we test whether the influence is significant if root water uptake is accounted for. The results reveal that, in field structures with large patches of coarse material, local regions with pressure head values at the wilting point develop; these are surrounded by wet material. Without a compensation mechanism for local stress, the global transpiration demand is not met if local wilting occurs. Various compensation mechanisms are tested that depend, respectively, on the saturation, the relative conductivity or a strategy where the deficit in the global uptake rate is equally distributed to unstressed locations. The strategies lead to a global actual transpiration rate at the potential value and attenuate the formation of locally wilted areas. Wilted regions can, however, still occur, and may be an artifact of the simplified model concept as root‐soil interactions are neglected. Therefore simplified macroscopic models for root water uptake should be used with caution in heterogeneous media.
DDT and Other Chlorinated Insecticides
Authors: Smith Andrew G
Published: January 2012

The use of organochlorine insecticides such as DDT, lindane and cyclodieneshas declined markedly worldwide over the last decades. Most are now banned or not used. At an acute toxicity level they have been relatively safe in use for humans. However, the greatest concerns are their persistence in people, wildlife and the environment due to their slow metabolism. Although their carcinogenicity for humans has not been supported by strong epidemiological evidence, their potential to be modulators of endocrine and immune function at levels remaining in the environment or associated with residual spraying of DDT continue to be of concern. At present, DDT is still allowed by the United Nations for combating malaria, with continual monitoring and assessment where possible. The toxicological consequences of exposure of animals and people to DDT is discussed as well as some analogues and other insecticides such as lindane, dieldrin and chlordecone that, although little used, continue to persist in surroundings and people. Because of circumstances of world health brought about by climate change or human activities that have yet to develop, there may come a time when the importance of some may re-emerge.
Brush border Myosin Ia has tumor suppressor activity in the intestine
Authors: Mazzolini Rocco , Dopeso Higinio , Mateo-Lozano Silvia , Chang Wakam , Rodrigues Paulo , Bazzocco Sarah , Alazzouzi Hafid , Landolfi Stefania , Hernández-Losa Javier , Andretta Elena , Alhopuro Pia , Espín Eloy , Armengol Manel , Tabernero Josep , Ramón y Cajal Santiago , Kloor Matthias , Gebert Johannes , Mariadason John M. , Schwartz Simo , Aaltonen Lauri A. , Mooseker Mark S. , Arango Diego
Published: January 2012

The loss of the epithelial architecture and cell polarity/differentiation is known to be important during the tumorigenic process. Here we demonstrate that the brush border protein Myosin Ia (MYO1A) is important for polarization and differentiation of colon cancer cells and is frequently inactivated in colorectal tumors by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms.
MYO1A
frame-shift mutations were observed in 32% (37 of 116) of the colorectal tumors with microsatellite instability analyzed, and evidence of promoter methylation was observed in a significant proportion of colon cancer cell lines and primary colorectal tumors. The loss of polarization/differentiation resulting from MYO1A inactivation is associated with higher tumor growth in soft agar and in a xenograft model. In addition, the progression of genetically and carcinogen-initiated intestinal tumors was significantly accelerated in
Myo1a
knockout mice compared with
Myo1a
wild-type animals. Moreover, MYO1A tumor expression was found to be an independent prognostic factor for colorectal cancer patients. Patients with low MYO1A tumor protein levels had significantly shorter disease-free and overall survival compared with patients with high tumoral MYO1A (logrank test
P
= 0.004 and
P
= 0.009, respectively). The median time-to-disease recurrence in patients with low MYO1A was 1 y, compared with >9 y in the group of patients with high MYO1A. These results identify MYO1A as a unique tumor-suppressor gene in colorectal cancer and demonstrate that the loss of structural brush border proteins involved in cell polarity are important for tumor development.
The first luminal loop confers insulin responsiveness to glucose transporter 4
Authors: Kim Ju Youn , Kandror Konstantin V.
Published: January 2012

Glucose transporter isoform 4 (GLUT4), is the sole glucose transporter responsible for the effect of insulin on postprandial blood glucose clearance. However, the nature of the insulin sensitivity of GLUT4 remains unknown. In this study, we replaced the first luminal loop of cellugyrin, a 4-transmembrane protein that does not respond to insulin, with that of GLUT4. The chimera protein is targeted to the intracellular insulin-responsive vesicles and is translocated to the plasma membrane upon insulin stimulation. The faithful targeting of the chimera depends on the expression of the sorting receptor sortilin, which interacts with the unique amino acid residues in the first luminal loop of GLUT4. Thus the first luminal loop may confer insulin responsiveness to the GLUT4 molecule.
A Jamesian State
Authors: Schoenbach Lisi
Published: January 2012

Abstract in production.
Introduction
Authors: Nazzini Renato
Published: January 2012

Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union prohibits any abuse by one or more undertakings of a dominant position within the internal market. It is a fundamental element of the economic law of the European Union. However, its objective and scope are undefined. This introductory chapter first sets out the purpose of the book, which is to understand the objective of Article 102. Only once the objective has been identified, can the legal tests for dominance and abuse be understood and developed consistently with the teleological hermeneutics that the case law mandates. The chapter then describes the methodology used for the analysis followed by an overview of the subsequent chapters.
Normative Theory of Competition Law
Authors: Nazzini Renato
Published: January 2012

This chapter examines potential objectives of competition law. It discusses the non-welfare objectives that have been assigned to competition law in the literature and the law and argues that none of them is capable of being an objective of competition law by itself. From this analysis, the need for a welfare objective emerges. The various concepts of efficiency are relative to the achievement of a given measure of welfare and, while relevant, cannot be objectives of competition law in themselves. Social or consumer welfare is then discussed and the superiority of long-term social welfare over consumer welfare is demonstrated. The relevance of consumer welfare is that consumer harm can, in certain circumstances, be a test for anti-competitive behaviour which achieves the objective of maximizing long-term social welfare. The concepts of economic freedom and fairness can also be properly understood only in the light of this objective.
The Objective of Article 102
Authors: Nazzini Renato
Published: January 2012

This chapter identifies the objective of Article 102 through a process of literal and teleological interpretation. The conclusions reached through this hermeneutical process are tested by looking at the travaux préparatoires of the Treaty of Rome. Then, the case law on Articles 101 and 102 and the EU Merger regime are examined. Finally, conclusions are drawn.
The Tests of Intent
Authors: Nazzini Renato
Published: January 2012

This chapter discusses the naked abuse test in EU law and then examines the role that intent plays as an element of the test in predation, abuse of rights, and tying. The relevance of evidence of intent is discussed next. It concludes that, contrary to the received wisdom, intent plays an important role in determining whether conduct runs counter to the purpose of Article 102. Abuse, however, remains an objective concept because evidence of subjective intent is never sufficient, by itself, to establish a prima facie case of abuse. The conduct must be capable in its market context of causing competitive harm. Furthermore, intent can be inferred from purely objective factors so that direct proof of subjective intent is not necessary. With these important qualifications, intent plays three roles in shaping the abuse tests under Article 102.
The Consumer Harm Test
Authors: Nazzini Renato
Published: January 2012

The consumer harm test asks whether the conduct of the dominant undertaking results in higher prices, lower output, or reduced product innovation. The test is not necessarily the manifestation of a consumer welfare objective of the competition rules but is consistent with the achievement of long-term social welfare. Therefore, the test may be applied under Article 102 even if this provision does not aim at maximizing some measure of consumer welfare but long-term social welfare. This chapter examines the consumer harm test in vertical foreclosure, focusing on refusal to supply and the margin squeeze. Next, it discusses the exploitative abuse test, which requires actual consumer harm. Then, it analyses the possibility that consumer harm may be the default test under Article 102 for practices that do not follow under other tests either directly or by analogy. Finally, conclusions are drawn.
Sources of European Union Administrative Law
Authors: Hofmann Herwig C.H. , Rowe Gerard C. , TÜrk Alexander H.
Published: January 2012

This chapter focuses on the sources of European administrative law. It addresses the sources of administrative law more from the perspective of setting the framework for such forms of administrative action and the procedures, prerequisites, and processes of supervision which apply to them. Such sources arise from European Treaty provisions, and legislative, delegated, and implementing measures. To a certain, albeit limited, degree they may also arise from customary public international law or international agreements. Further, in certain contexts, they may arise from national law. The chapter presents such sources with special emphasis on their connection with administrative action in the EU.
Principles Underlying the Relationship Between the European Union and the Member States
Authors: Hofmann Herwig C.H. , Rowe Gerard C. , TÜrk Alexander H.
Published: January 2012

This chapter deals with certain central structural principles of the EU which underlie the relationship between the EU and the Member States, in particular the principles of attributed powers, subsidiarity, and proportionality, as well as the effects of the exercise of EU competences in the national legal systems.
Rule-Making by Private Parties
Authors: Hofmann Herwig C.H. , Rowe Gerard C. , TÜrk Alexander H.
Published: January 2012

This chapter focuses on administrative rule-making by private or semi-private parties. It discusses important developments in EU administrative law in this direction, including coregulation and self-regulation, especially the practically relevant subject of European standard setting.
Administrative Agreements
Authors: Hofmann Herwig C.H. , Rowe Gerard C. , TÜrk Alexander H.
Published: January 2012

Within European administrative law, single-case implementation of European Union legal policy can occur not just through unilateral measures, but also by means of agreements or contracts concluded by EU or Member State authorities. In the EU, administrative law agreements have always featured as a commonly used form of act. Europe's developing integrated administration has increased the need for, and the sophistication of, the use of such measures. Despite their substantial relevance in practice for the implementation of EU policy and law, however, agreements as form of action in EU administrative law have so far remained largely unexplored. This chapter focuses on their use in the context of the regulation of single-case situations.
Forces of Local Association
Authors: Bennett Robert J.
Published: January 2012

This chapter reviews the main academic and practitioner discussions of what gives chambers their USP. It explores how unity of voice is developed through deliberation. It shows that earlier academic views of instability of early chambers are overstated. The forces underpinning collective action and free-rider behaviour are examined to demonstrate how chamber service bundles develop: as trust goods based on transaction costs and networking advantages. Institutional benefits and social capital assist chamber development. Additions to service bundles from government contracts are shown to have tensions of ‘non-preferred’ goods. Political non-alignment, and social networks are critical aspects of the historical and modern chamber brand. However, at critical points chambers have been ‘elite’ social movements that have participated in changing frames and policy repertoires; especially during times of extreme contention.
Governance, Management, and Resources
Authors: Bennett Robert J.
Published: January 2012

This chapter shows how the resources underpinning the early chambers predominantly came from subscriptions, but shifted progressively to user fees, and after the 1970s were supplemented by government contracts. This has changed the relation between members and the chambers, but analysis of management practices demonstrates that subscriptions were, and remain, a critical influence on member decisions. The governance of chambers has evolved from purely voluntary elected officers to a professional staff of contract managers. The tensions in this shift are analysed, together with possible influences on ‘management sorting’. Analysis of committee structures shows a broadening to encompass wider interests and sector structures, and to respond to government threats.
Milieus for Discourse and Deliberation
Authors: Bennett Robert J.
Published: January 2012

This chapter breaks new ground in showing how early chambers were intimately involved in commercial coffee house, exchanges and other initiatives to providing meeting places and drop-in facilities for discussion. More than half of the early chambers were joint developers of coffee rooms, hotels, subscription libraries, or exchanges. This was critical to their need for deliberation on policy threats, but also interrelated with their underpinning networks in local communities. Entirely new material on Liverpool, Waterford, Cork, Glasgow, Dublin, Dundee, and Newcastle reveals some of the strongest links. Analysis of the content of chamber reading rooms and libraries shows their economic focus, but overlap with social exchange and politeness. Subsequent developments demonstrate milieus as critical parts of the USP until modern times; replaced by web and e-communications in the modern chamber.
Membership Motives: Benefits and Costs
Authors: Bennett Robert J.
Published: January 2012

This chapter gives the first analysis comparing historical and modern information on membership motives for joining, retaining membership, and lapsing. It tackles the classic issues of exit, voice, involvement, loyalty and commitment; assessing purposive, expressive, solidarity, material selective, and insurance benefits. It also demonstrates strong membership persistence, and the importance of subscriptions as crucial pricing decisions influencing lapsing (despite historic underpricing of chamber services). Increasing small business membership has shifted demands towards more direct and tailored services.
Membership Dynamics
Authors: Bennett Robert J.
Published: January 2012

This chapter gives the first estimates of long-term joining and lapsing rates. These were very stable until the 1970s, much more stable than non-commercial societies, trade unions, or many sector organizations. However, a rapid evolution took place after 1970, but mainly in the 1980s and 1990s to very high rates of membership turnover. This has become one of the major challenges of the modern chamber. Econometric analysis shows that economic crises have little effect on this. The main features associated with lapsing are changes in subscriptions, and changes in services and other costs. Comparison or independent chambers with those that merged with government-financed TECs, show the latter to have had higher lapse rates.
Raise the Floor
Authors: Kenworthy Lane
Published: January 2012

One of the principal goals of antipoverty efforts should be to improve the absolute living standards of the least well-off. This book aims to enhance our understanding of how to do that.
How Trickle Down Can Fail: The U.S. Case
Authors: Kenworthy Lane , Bentele Keith
Published: January 2012

Like some other affluent countries, the United States since the 1970s has experienced lengthy periods of economic growth with little or no improvement in the incomes of poor households. Both employment hours and wages are implicated in America’s trickle down failure. With the exception of the late 1990s, economic growth has not translated into wage growth for Americans at the low end of the labor market. Employment hours for low-income working-age households did tend to rise fairly sharply during the growth years of the 1980s and 1990s business cycles. But in the 2000s that ended abruptly. Moreover, in the years during and shortly after the recessions of the early 1980s, early 1990s, and early 2000s, work hours for these households fell precipitously, offsetting the gains achieved during growth years. It is, as many commentators have urged, worth considering ways to increase both the wages and the employment hours of working-age persons at the bottom of the distribution. Yet the U.S. experience, coupled with that of other rich nations, suggests it is helpful to think about using social policy to boost incomes directly.
Tradeoffs?
Authors: Kenworthy Lane
Published: January 2012

If we commit to improvement in the absolute living standards of the least well-off, must we sacrifice other desirable outcomes? The comparative empirical evidence suggests not.
Introduction
Authors: Uriagereka Juan
Published: January 2012

This introductory chapter outlines the overall argument that the book will deploy. It starts by reflecting on the derivational approach to syntax, and then moves into considering different ways in which computational theories for language have been interpreted. When the matter is seen from a biolinguistic perspective, interesting issues arise about whether syntactic computations are to be taken as biologically real, and ultimately what this might mean. The issue is particularly puzzling once it is assumed, as is customary within syntax and reviewed in Section 3, that derivations work their way ‘bottom-up’, while of course processing is ‘from-before-to-after’. Section 4 suggests that derivational cycles can be rationalized in terms of addressing this orthogonality (between syntax and processing), an idea that recalls traditional concerns of the Analysis-by-Synthesis sort, from a contemporary perspective coloured by minimalism. From the minimalist viewpoint one of the central questions, addressed in Section 5, is what one might mean by ‘structural’ conditions — in current parlance, ‘3rd factor’ considerations. Noam Chomsky has rationalized these in terms of issues arising via ‘computational complexity’, but this way of thinking is not traditional within computational linguistics, which as Section 6 shows has led to much debate. The present work suggests, in Sections 7 and 8, a different take on these matters, which coalesces into the sketch of a model of grammar in Section 9, to be developed at the end of the book. Section 10 outlines some questions that this approach poses — which go beyond linguistics — whereas Section 11 centres the discussion in more familiar terms.
Linearization
Authors: Uriagereka Juan
Published: January 2012

How are complex thoughts translated into simple signals? The human motor system makes our inner information public, and our sensory mechanisms reconstruct it back into an intelligible format. Such a feat is very complex, and this chapter addresses only one its aspects: how so-called spell-out linearizes syntactic relations and how, in so doing, the system's architecture gets constrained. It tracks a rationalization of these matters; specifically, how two situations obtain for linearization, depending on how intricate the structure is that needs to be linearized. Topics discussed include conceptualizing the squeezing problem, the finite state limit on phrase structure, context-sensitive dependencies, context-sensitive asymmetries, incremental parsing and information flow, linearizing complex branching, and the Linear Correspondence Axiom vs. the Mirror Linear Correspondence Axiom parsing of complex structures.
The Frustrating Equation
Authors: Uriagereka Juan
Published: January 2012

This chapter introduces dynamical frustration and suggests a role for it in the neurophysiological substrate of language. To explore this possibility, linguistic structuring it presented from the viewpoint of systemic memory limitations that play a crucial role in structuring language, discussing how they might arise when placing computations in time. The putative biophysics of language is considered next, with an eye on going beyond theories that discharge the burden of explanation on stipulated codings. In songbirds no ‘representational’ approach seems necessary and instead — assuming Binder's equivalence among different forms of dynamical frustration — an attempt is made to correlate physiological brain states with externalized patterns on the one hand and computational automata expressible in that sort of dynamics on the other. The underlying frustration at a neurophysiological level was assumed to be of the scale sort, a brain pattern that would externalize in the form of geometrical frustration.
6 Cold Comfort in Hard Times: Do People Drink More Beer during Recessions?
Authors: Freeman Donald G.
Published: January 2012

Do people drink more in hard times? Psychological theories suggest that alcohol consumption increases during recessions as a response to the stresses of economic downturns. In contrast, the conventional view among economists is that beer is a ‘normal’ good: when incomes go up, so does beer consumption. This chapter looks at U.S. state-level data as provided by The Beer Institute to estimate pooled time-series models of annual beer consumption regressed on economic and demographic variables. The empirical analysis confirms the economists' view, with beer consumption falling during recessions. The effect of economic fluctuations on consumption is rather small however; demographics have a far more significant and material effect, with larger shares of young adults in states' populations implying greater consumption of beer per capita.
9 Culture and Beer Preferences
Authors: McCluskey Jill J. , Shreay Sanatan
Published: January 2012

This chapter discusses how culture, in the form of experience and habits, peer influences, identity, and availability, affect preferences for beer. Two factors make social influences especially important for beer preferences. First, beer is a product that is often consumed within a social group. Second, the consumer develops a taste for beer, so that availability and peer influence will affect consumption and preferences. A pilot survey of international students' beer consumption behaviour and preferences in the United States was conducted to investigate how beer preferences change with U.S. influences and product availability. Modeling approaches, survey findings, and future research directions are discussed.
14 How the East was Won: The Foreign Takeover of the Eastern European Brewing Industry
Authors: Swinnen Johan F. M. , Van Herck Kristine
Published: January 2012

The beer market, like all markets in the former communist countries, has been strongly affected by the economic reforms in the beginning of the 1990s. This caused a substantial decline in the production of barley, malt, and beer. However, the brewery sector soon attracted much interest from foreign investors, which faced a problem sourcing sufficient high quality malt in order to produce high quality beer. Therefore, they reintroduced vertical coordination in the supply chain to obtain malt and barley that consistently met their quality requirements. Later, when incomes and economic conditions improved, vertical coordination became less important. This chapter describes and analyzes this dramatic restructuring of the beer industry and changes in the industrial organization of its supply chain over the past two decades, documented by comparative data and detailed case study evidence from the Slovakian beer and malting industry.
16 From Vodka to Baltika: A Perfect Storm in the Russian Beer Market
Authors: Deconinck Koen , Swinnen Johan F. M.
Published: January 2012

This chapter documents the spectacular increase of beer consumption in Russia. Over the course of only a few years, beer has become the dominant drink in Russia, with consumption levels now close to European averages. This major shift is explained as the result of improvements in quality (due to FDI), advertising regulations and price changes, all of which combined into a ‘perfect storm’ that made beer a more attractive drink to Russian consumers. It is argued that consumers' choice of beverage is heavily influenced by their peers' behaviour. Once a critical mass of consumers adopted beer, these network effects led to more and more people drinking beer in subsequent years.
The Principles and Objectives of EU Foreign Investment Law
Authors: Dimopoulos Angelos
Published: January 2012

Chapter 4 offers a legal assessment of the orientation of EU foreign investment law. It identifies and analyzes the principles and objectives that determine the exercise of EU competence in the field of foreign investment. Chapter 4 offers firstly an insight into the specific principles and objectives that EU action in the field of foreign investment adheres to and pursues, emphasizing their position within the broader framework of the general objectives of EU external action. Secondly, Chapter 4 considers the application of these principles and objectives in practice, looking at the objectives pursued by existing (and future) EU International investment Agreements and assessing whether the legal mechanisms that are established in EU IIAs are suitable and sufficient for achieving the envisaged objectives.
International Law Effects of EU IIAs
Authors: Dimopoulos Angelos
Published: January 2012

Chapter 5 analyzes the international law effects of EU external action in the field of foreign investment. It addresses the legal ramifications resulting from the nature of EU International Investment Agreements as instruments of international law. In that respect, Chapter 5 explores firstly the question of the EU's and Member States' international responsibility for the performance of the investment obligations undertaken in EU IIAs, taking into account in particular, the nature of EU IIAs as mixed agreements and the international law rules on the responsibility of international organizations. The second part of Chapter 5 deals with the hierarchy of norms between overlapping IIAs from an international law perspective, examining both overlaps between EU IIAs and between EU IIAs and Member States BITs.
From Documented Growth to Method in Reconstruction of Growth
Authors: Carr David M.
Published: January 2012

This chapter applies insights from chapters 2-4 to specific methodological issues in the study of the formation of the Hebrew Bible, particularly the formation of the Hexateuch. Topics covered include textual fluidity and problems with the way words and phrases are often used as source-critical and dating indicators, the need to take into account partial preservation of ancient sources when developing literary models, scribal coordination as another model (besides a theory of post-Priestly composition) for explaining the mix of Priestly and non-Priestly elements in Hexateuchal texts, problems surrounding the identification and analysis of literary dependence, and what documented cases of textual growth can teach us about reachable goals for transmission history.
The Hasmonean Period
Authors: Carr David M.
Published: January 2012

This chapter starts with a brief historical overview of the Hasmonean monarchy. Next comes a discussion of separate texts that are most likely to be dated to this period (e.g. 1 and 2 Maccabees, Judith) in an attempt to form an initial profile of the sorts of texts being produced then. With this profile established, the balance of the chapter argues that the contours of the Torah-Prophets Hebrew biblical canon were initially fixed in this period as well. In particular, we can see the traces of what may be the “final redaction” of the (proto-Masoretic) Hebrew Bible in several documented late revisions distinctive of the proto-MT (particularly found in Deuteronomy, the former prophets, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Ezra-Nehemiah), revisions likely made during the Hasmonean period.
Other Supposedly Solomonic Books
Authors: Carr David M.
Published: January 2012

This chapter adopts criteria developed in chapter 15 (on Proverbs) to assess the extent to which two other purportedly Solomonic books, Song of Songs and Qohelet, might contain early pre-exilic materials. The conclusion is that the evidence for this is better for Song of Songs than for Qohelet. Though elements of Song of Songs may have been added over time, it shows unambivalent dependence on New Kingdom period Egyptian love poetry, and appears to have been the source of several formulations found in Hosea and Deuteronomy. In contrast, the main link of Qohelet to a demonstrable non-Israelite tradition, its links to the song of the alewife in the Old Babylonian edition of Gilgamesh, is relatively isolated. In addition, Qohelet’s orientation to monarchal institutions and other indicators suggest a more likely post-exilic date.
The Sonic Mindedness of the Great War
Authors: Jean Yaron
Published: January 2012

This chapter explores the sonic experience of the First World War from the perspective of soldiers on the ground, in the sea, and in the air. World War I, with its extensive employment of modern warfare technology, created a new sonic experience that was closely linked with the universal human need to survive. Soldiers developed the ability to translate their individual sonic experiences in the battlefield into a collective bipolar distinction between “sounds of safety” and “sounds of danger” and act upon this distinction, called “wartime sonic mindedness.” This sonic mindedness continued long after the First World War, when many heard the hectic sonic “battlefields” of the post-war era through the auditory lenses of war.