Study of interconnection networks /

A multi-stage N x N interconnection network is said to be universal if it realizes the set of all permutations on N objects. A new bound on the number of stages required for the universality of shuffle-exchange network as well as the analysis of the combinational power for the block-structured networks are given. Finally, the complexity of the verification of a new sufficient condition for rearrangeability due to Benes B5 is analyzed

On the impact of communication complexity in the design of parallel numerical algorithms

This paper describes two models of the cost of data movement in parallel numerical algorithms. One model is a generalization of an approach due to Hockney, and is suitable for shared memory multiprocessors where each processor has vector capabilities. The other model is applicable to highly parallel nonshared memory MIMD systems. In the second model, algorithm performance is characterized in terms of the communication network design. Techniques used in VLSI complexity theory are also brought in, and algorithm independent upper bounds on system performance are derived for several problems that are important to scientific computation

Prosopis, an Alien among the Sacred Trees of South India

The problematic of invasive species in an alien environment has aroused the attention of scientists all over the world for quite some time. One of the exotic tree species that has provoked special attention in the tropical drylands is Prosopis juliflora. Originating in South America, prosopis (hereafter referred to as prosopis) has been introduced in the hot and semi-arid zones of the world particularly to provide fuelwood, to stabilize sand dunes and to combat desertification. The tree has become an essential source for fuelwood and a provider of several other products and services in areas where it has become established. However, despite the numerous benefits the tree provides to rural people, in several regions prosopis has become a noxious weed with a negative impact on the environment and to the economy of farmers and landowners. In India, prosopis was introduced in Andhra Pradesh in 1877. The tree was then proclaimed as the precious child of the plant world by scientists and local people alike. The purpose of this study was to investigate the overall impact of prosopis on local rural livelihoods in the drylands of South India. Of particular interest was the examination of the different usages of the tree, especially as fuelwood, and people s perceptions of it. Furthermore, the study examined the negative impacts of the uncontrolled invasion of prosopis on croplands, and its occupation of the banks of irrigation canals and other water sources. As another central theme, this study analysed the Hindu classification system for nature and for trees in particular. In India, several tree species are regarded as sacred. This study examined the position of the exotic prosopis among sacred trees, such as the bodhi, banyan and neem trees. The principle method for collecting the field data was by using individual and thematic group interviews. These interviews were semi-structured with open ended questions. Moreover, unstructured interviews as well as general observations provided complementary information. The data were gathered during two fieldwork periods in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, in South India. The results confirmed that prosopis both provides benefits and causes hazards to different stakeholders. Farmers and agriculturalists suffer economic losses in areas where prosopis has invaded crop fields and competes with other plants for water and nutrients. On the other hand, for a significant number of poor rural people, prosopis has become an important source of livelihood benefits. This tree, which grows on government wastelands, is commonly a free resource for all and has thus become a major local source of fuelwood. It also provides several other goods and services and cash income that contributes to improve livelihoods in rural communities. Prosopis ranked lowest in the tree classificatioin system of the Hindus of South India. Although it is appreciated for many benefits it provides for poor people, it has remained an outsider compared with the indigenous tree species. On the other hand, the most sacred trees, such as the bodhi or the banyan, are completely excluded from extraction and it is seen as a sacrilege to even cut branches from any of these trees. An unexpected finding was that, in a few cases, prosopis had also been elevated to the status of a sacred tree. Goods and services from prosopis are not utilized in the most beneficial way. Silvicultural management practices are suggested that would provide additional income and employment opportunities. Interventions are recommended to control further invasion of the tree that might cause serious negative effects in the future. For Hindus, the sacred always ranks highest, even above economic gain. The conservation of sacred groves and sacred trees is a tradition that has its roots in ancient history. These socio-religious practices need to be respected and continued. Successful management of tree and forest resources depends on the willingness of the local people to manage their natural resources, and this willingness exists and has always existed in South India. Keywords: South India, drylands, livelihood, fuelwood, invasive, resource, silviculture.Prosopis, vieras puulaji Etelä-Intian pyhissä metsissä Jo melko kauan on kiinnitetty huomiota haitallisiin, uusia ympäristöjä valtaaviin vieraisiin eliölajeihin. Trooppisilla kuivilla alueilla yksi tällainen on Prosopis juliflora puulaji. Tätä trooppisesta Amerikasta kotoisin olevaa lajia on tuotu uusille kuumille ja kuiville alueille polttopuun saannin turvaamiseksi, hiekkadyynien sitomiseksi ja yleisemminkin aavikoitumisen torjumiseksi. Kyseinen laji onkin muodostunut tärkeäksi polttopuun sekä monien muiden tuotteiden ja hyötyjen lähteeksi siellä minne se on kotiutunut. Huolimatta siitä, että tällä puulla on monia hyviä maaseudun asukkaita hyödyttäviä ominaisuuksia, se on myös monin paikoin muodostunut ongelmalliseksi rikkakasviksi, jolla on haitallinen vaikutus ympäristöön sekä viljelijöiden ja maanomistajien toimeentuloon. Intiassa prosopis tuotiin Andhra Pradeshiin v. 1877, jolloin sekä tutkijat että paikalliset asukkaat kutsuivat sitä kasvimaailman harvinaiseksi aarteeksi. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli tutkia prosopiksen yleisiä vaikutuksia maaseudun asukkaiden toimeentuloon Etelä-Intian kuivilla alueilla. Erityisesti selvitettiin tämän puun erilaisia käyttömuotoja, varsinkin polttopuun ja puuhiilen lähteenä, sekä maaseudun asukkaiden käsityksiä tästä lajista. Lisäksi tutkittiin prosopiksen hallitsemattoman leviämisen vaikutuksia viljelymaalla sekä kastelukanavien ja muiden vesiväylien rannoilla. Toisena keskeisenä teemana tämä tutkimus selvitti hindulaista luonnon luokitusjärjestelmää ja siinä erityisesti puiden merkitystä. Intiassa moneen puulajiin liittyy pyhyyden käsite, ja tässä työssä syvennyttiin vierasperäisen prosopis-puun asemaan kyseisessä järjestelmässä, johon kuuluvat sellaiset alkuperäiset puulajit kuin bodhi (Ficus religiosa), banyan (Ficus benghalensis) ja neem (Azadirachta indica). Kenttäaineisto keruun pääasiallisena menetelminä olivat henkilökohtaiset sekä toisaalta temaattiset ryhmittäiset haastattelut. Haastattelut olivat osittain ennalta suunniteltuja, mutta niihin liittyi myös lisäkysymyksiä. Lisäksi tietoja kerättiin vapaamuotoisten haastattelujen ja havaintojen avulla. Kenttäaineisto kerättiin kahden tutkimusjakson aikana Andhra Pradeshin ja Tamil Nadun osavaltioissa Etelä-Intiassa. Tulokset vahvistivat sen jo kirjallisuuden perusteella tunnetun tuloksen, että prosopis-puu tuottaa sekä hyötyjä että haittoja maaseudun väestölle. Viljelijät ja maanomistajat kärsivät taloudellista vahinkoa siitä, että prosopis valtaa peltomaata ja kilpailee satokasvien kanssa vedestä ja ravinteista. Toisaalta huomattavalle osalle maaseudun asukkaista prosopiksesta on tullut tärkeä toimeentulon lähde. Tämä puu, joka yleisimmin esiintyy valtion omistamilla joutomailla, on useimmiten kenen tahansa hyödynnettävissä, mistä johtuen siitä on tullut erityisen tärkeä polttopuun ja puuhiilen lähde. Se tuottaa myös monia muita hyödykkeitä ja antaa rahatuloja, jotka kaikki parantavat maaseudun asukkaiden toimeentuloa. Hindulaisuuden puuluokituksessa prosopis oli Etelä-Intiassa alimmaksi arvioitu. Vaikka sitä arvostetaan sen varsinkin köyhimmille ihmisille tuottamien monien hyötyjen vuoksi, se on edelleen muukalainen paikallisiin alkuperäisiin puulajeihin verrattuna. On huomattava, että kaikkein pyhimmät puut, kuten bodhi tai banyan, ovat kokonaan hakkuulta suojeltuja ja jopa oksien katkominen niistä katsotaan pyhyyden loukkaukseksi. Yllättävä havainto oli kuitenkin, että joissakin tapauksissa prosopis oli paikallisesti ylennetty pyhien puiden joukkoon. Prosopiksen tuottamia hyödykkeitä tai palveluja ei tutkimuksen mukaan käytetä hyväksi parhaalla mahdollisella tavalla. Työssä ehdotetaan metsänhoidollisia toimenpiteitä, joiden avulla tämä puu antaisi vielä enemmän myynti- ja työtuloja. Myös torjuntatoimia tarvitaan, puun leviämisen pysäyttämiseksi ja sen mahdollisesti aiheuttamien tulevien, vielä suurempien haittojen estämiseksi. Hindulaisuudessa pyhä ylittää kaiken muun, jopa taloudellisen hyödyn. Pyhien metsien ja pyhien puiden suojelulla on syvät historialliset juurensa Intiassa. Yhteiskunnan uskonnollisia perinteitä on siellä kunnioitettava ja niiden on annettava jatkua. Tuloksellinen puu- ja metsävarojen hoito riippuu paljon paikallisten asukkaiden halusta olla mukana tässä toiminnassa. Tämän halun olemassa olo on ja on aina ollut selvä Etelä-Intiassa

Satellite Networks: Architectures, Applications, and Technologies

Since global satellite networks are moving to the forefront in enhancing the national and global information infrastructures due to communication satellites' unique networking characteristics, a workshop was organized to assess the progress made to date and chart the future. This workshop provided the forum to assess the current state-of-the-art, identify key issues, and highlight the emerging trends in the next-generation architectures, data protocol development, communication interoperability, and applications. Presentations on overview, state-of-the-art in research, development, deployment and applications and future trends on satellite networks are assembled

Exploring the Efficacy of Social Media Based HIV Prevention Strategies for Hispanic College Students

Hispanics now constitute the largest ethnic minority group in the U.S. As the country’s fastest growing demographic, social welfare and public health professionals should focus on ameliorating health issues affecting this population. However, Hispanics continue to experience health disparities including high rates of HIV infection. Moreover, South Florida, is home to two counties with the highest per capita incidence of HIV in the U.S. Risks for HIV are heightened in college settings where individuals may have multiple partners and inconsistent condom use. As such, Hispanic college students in a minority serving institution in Miami, FL comprise an ideal group for the implementation of targeted prevention efforts to decrease health disparities related to HIV. This dissertation evaluated the implementation of an HIV prevention effort that utilized social media based technologies to engage Hispanic college students in HIV prevention conversations and services. This dissertation (1) evaluated the effectiveness of exposure to a social media based campaign using an experimental design and (2) provided a systematic review of the campaign’s content and user interactivity. Participants were recruited from students electing to receive free HIV testing on-campus as part of a SAMHSA-funded project. Hispanic young adults (ages 18-24 years) completed baseline and follow-up assessments—reporting demographic and background characteristics as well as perceptions and incorporation of HIV preventive behaviors. Participants were randomized to social media exposure (n=30) or control (n=30) conditions. The exposure condition received three updates per week in the form of social media post updates. Follow-up assessments occurred 4 weeks after HIV testing. Mixed ANOVA and logistic regression analysis were used to examine the impact of exposure over time by comparing mean scores of baseline and follow-up responses between conditions. This dissertation examined the following outcomes: awareness of HIV testing and prevention services, confidence of using condoms, perceived benefits of using condoms, and frequency of reported protected sex acts. While analyses revealed no statistically significant differences between groups, McNemar’s test results indicated a statistically significant increase in awareness of HIV prevention services on the university campus for participants in both study conditions (p\u3c .001). These exploratory results indicate further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of social media based strategies and how such technologies should be harnessed to achieve HIV prevention goals

Trade in the Safavid Port City Bandar Abbas and the Persian Gulf Area (ca.1600-1680): A Study of Selected Aspects.

This dissertation presents and discusses some results of archival research into aspects of intra- and interregional trade in the Persian Gulf Area during the XVIIth century. It illustrates movements of selected non-luxury goods and explores the ways in which the regional network of port cities (and the connecting caravan trade) functioned on a variety of levels, such as distribution of goods and price formation. In this context individual operations and strategies of some merchants and merchant groups are traced. The study is informed by the conviction that the workings of pre-modern Persian Gulf trade can best be captured by an approach which focuses on commercial regions as sustained by a network of trading places irrespective of their political allegiance, whether Safavid, Ottoman, Afrasiyab or Yacariba. Models developed by economic anthropologists and social geographers to describe the spatial dimension of exchange systems underlie the analysis and are presented in the General Introduction. A survey of the development of interregional trade patterns in the Persian Gulf Area (Ch.1) is followed by a sketch of the political processes which shaped the institutional framework for trade and comments on the relationship of merchants and state officials (Ch.2). Among the area's exports (Part 1), the horse trade is discussed as an example of highly regulated administered exchange (Ch.3). Conversely, the bulk trade of foodstuffs (dates, wheat) was completely open to commercial enterprise (Ch.4). Part 2 on imports is introduced by a presentation of wholesale price lists for widely traded Asian goods (spices, dyestuffs, metals). An excursus discusses problems inherent in the study of consumption and retail patterns in the pre-modern Persian Gulf Area. Imports of Indian textiles (Ch.5) and foodstuffs (rice, sugar; Ch.6) are described as (also) targeting mass markets. The reaction of local crafts and industries is commented upon, as is the position of the Persian Gulf Area in wider Indian Ocean circuits of exchange

Strategic alliances in the high-tech industry

[i]Keywords: high-tech industry; innovation systems in Poland and in the world; strategic management \u2013 value chain; technology management; analisis of innovation \u2013 technology mapping and data mining[/i] S\u142owa kluczowe: przemys\u142 wysokiej techniki; systemy innowacji w Polsce i na \u15bwiecie; zarz\u105dzanie strategiczne \u2013 \u142a\u144cuch warto\u15bci; zarz\u105dzanie technologi\u105; analiza innowacyjno\u15bci \u2013 mapowanie technologii i [i]data mining[/i

The converging world: The social and environmental impact of convergence

This 96-page report undertakes an ecosystem service analysis of SROI (social report on investment from linked investment in renewable energy and forest restoration in Tamil Nadu, India, as a strategic approach to low-carbon development in an international partnership between south west England and India

Living in a global world: ethnobotany, local knowledge and sustainability. 58th Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany: book of abstracts

It gives us great pleasure to welcome you to the 58th Annual Meeting of the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) and the 2nd Hispano-Portuguese Meeting on Ethnobiology (II EHPE), a joint event aiming at connecting economic botanists and ethnobiologists from all over the world. The Society for Economic Botany (SEB) was established in 1959 and the annual meeting brings together people interested in the past, present, and future uses of plants, and the relationship between plants and human societies. SEB fosters and encourages scientific research and education in the transdisciplinary field of economic botany. With members from across the U.S.A. and more than 64 countries around the globe, SEB serves as the world’s largest and most-respected professional society for individuals who are concerned with basic botanical, as well as, with agronomical, anthropological, phytochemical, ethnological and many others studies of plants known to be useful or those which may have potential uses so far undeveloped. Since 1960, SEB Annual Meetings provide a stimulating milieu for scientific exchange amongst SEB members and researchers from different countries and regions. The Hispano-Portuguese Meeting on Ethnobiology (EHPE) highlights previous collaborations between Hispano-Portuguese ethnobiologists and aims to involve the global Hispanic-Portuguese-speaking communities to the greatest extent possible. Albacete, Castilla La Mancha, Spain, hosted the I EHPE in 2010, simultaneously with the 11th Congress of the International Society of Ethnopharmacology (ISE 2010). In Albacete, about 80 Hispano-Portuguese speakers with diverse backgrounds and interest, researching in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia, presented their works and discussed wider importance of Ethnobiological research. Six years later, we promote a second meeting (II EHPE) aiming at updating and strengthening networks between different research groups, experts, students and any people interested in interdisciplinary ethno biological approaches. In 2017, the 58th SEB Annual Meeting and the 2nd Hispano-Portuguese Meeting on Ethnobiology are held in the city of Bragança, Portugal within an ecological and culturally fascinating environment, organized by the Mountain Research Centre (CIMO) of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (IPB) and the Society for Economic Botany (SEB) with the active involvement of local, national and international entities. Several institutions sponsored a comprehensive programme: the William L. Brown Center (USA), Springer Nature (UK), Regional Northern Culture Directorate (DRCN, Portugal), Bragança Municipality (CMB, Portugal), Centro Ciencia Viva de Bragança (Portugal) and Fundação Caixa CA, Bragança (Portugal). The conference theme Living in a global world: ethnobotany, local knowledge and sustainability gathered 230 delegates from 41 countries of Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. A total of 230 abstracts were submitted: 12 plenary lectures and special addresses, 152 papers and 66 posters. Bringing together the European community and a broader international community of scientists and stakeholders, this joint event creates a unique opportunity for individuals and institutions to share experiences and to establish information and collaboration networks, taking advantage of a multicultural, friendly and pleasant environment. Thank you for your contributions and support! We are very grateful to those who helped and contributed to achieve this event.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Federal Register

Daily publication of the U.S. Office of the Federal Register contains rules and regulations, proposed legislation and rule changes, and other notices, including "Presidential proclamations and Executive Orders, Federal agency documents having general applicability and legal effect, documents required to be published by act of Congress, and other Federal agency documents of public interest" (p. ii). Table of Contents starts on page iii