TINA as a virtual market place for telecommunication and information services: the VITAL experiment

The VITAL (Validation of Integrated Telecommunication Architectures for the Long-Term) project has defined, implemented and demonstrated an open distributed telecommunication architecture (ODTA) for deploying, managing and using a set of heterogeneous multimedia, multi-party, and mobility services. The architecture was based on the latest specifications released by TINA-C. The architecture was challenged in a set of trials by means of a heterogeneous set of applications. Some of the applications were developed within the project from scratch, while some others focused on integrating commercially available applications. The applications were selected in such a way as to assure full coverage of the architecture implementation and reflect a realistic use of it. The VITAL experience of refining and implementing TINA specifications and challenging the resulting platform by a heterogeneous set of services has proven the openness, flexibility and reusability of TINA. This paper describes the VITAL approach when choosing the different services and how they challenge and interact with the architecture, focusing especially on the service architecture and the Ret reference point definitions. The VITAL adjustments and enhancements to the TINA architecture are described. This paper contributes to proving that the TINA-based VITAL ODTA allows for easy and cost-effective development and deployment of advanced end-user and operator services, and can indeed act as the basis for a virtual market place for telecommunications service

Purine twisted-intercalating nucleic acids: a new class of anti-gene molecules resistant to potassium-induced aggregation

Sequence-specific targeting of genomic DNA by triplex-forming oligonucleotides (TFOs) is a promising strategy to modulate in vivo gene expression. Triplex formation involving G-rich oligonucleotides as third strand is, however, strongly inhibited by potassium-induced TFO self-association into G-quartet structures. We report here that G-rich TFOs with bulge insertions of (R)-1-O-[4-(1-pyrenylethynyl)-phenylmethyl] glycerol (called twisted intercalating nucleic acids, TINA) show a much lower tendency to aggregate in potassium than wild-type analogues do. We designed purine-motif TINA–TFOs for binding to a regulatory polypurine-polypyrimidine (pur/pyr) motif present in the promoter of the KRAS proto-oncogene. The binding of TINA–TFOs to the KRAS target has been analysed by electrophoresis mobility shift assays and DNase I footprinting experiments. We discovered that in the presence of potassium the wild-type TFOs did not bind to the KRAS target, differently from the TINA analogues, whose binding was observed up to 140 mM KCl. The designed TINA–TFOs were found to abrogate the formation of a DNA–protein complex at the pur/pyr site and to down-regulate the transcription of CAT driven by the murine KRAS promoter. Molecular modelling of the DNA/TINA–TFO triplexes are also reported. This study provides a new and promising approach to create TFOs to target in vivo the genome

Resilience, moorings and international student mobilities - exploring biographical narratives of social science students in the UK

Whilst research into the changing landscape of the UK Higher Education (HE) has produced a burgeoning literature on ‘internationalisation’ and ‘transnational student mobility’ over the past few years, still fairly little is known about international students’ experiences on their way to and through the UK higher and further education. Frequently approaching inter- and transnational education as ‘neutral’ by-products of neoliberal globalisation, elitism and power flows, much HE policy and scholarly debate tend to operate with simplistic classifications of ‘international students’ and therefore fail to account for the multifaceted nature of students’ aspirations, mobilities and life experiences. Drawing on the notion of ‘resilience’ and insights from the ‘new mobilities paradigm’, this paper envisages alternative student mobilities which run parallel or counter to the dominant flows of power, financial and human capital commonly associated with an emerging global knowledge economy. Engaging with ‘resilient’ biographies of social science students studying at three UK HE institutions, the paper challenges narrow student classification regimes and calls for a critical re-evaluation of the relationship between international student mobility and other contemporary forms of migration, displacement and diaspora

Transport Policy in the European Union from an Eastern Perspective

Although the intention of developing a common transport policy was mooted in the early stages of the European Communities, it took the form in practice of regulation of isolated transport activities, with the aim in every case of removing advantages inadmissible in competitionpolicy terms. Only in the 1980s were the sights raised from such institutional matters to that of developing corridors between regions on a continental scale. This period brought the Union’s first White Paper on transport, under the motto “a single network for the single market”, aimed principally at removing regulatory, institutional and physical barriers to links between member-states. The next White Paper, appearing in 2001, displayed a strong change of outlook with enhanced attention to environmental constraints. The main demand was for curbs on traffic volume, including a decrease in the proportion of road transport. The 2006 revision of the 2001 White Paper marked a significant departure from the progressive change of outlook that had been initiated, leading to a serious degree of backtracking and reformulation of aims

Rural transport and older people in Lincolnshire : research report in association with the Policy Studies Research Centre and Lincoln Business School

Executive Summary • The population of the UK is ageing and it is predicted that by 2035 people aged 65 and over will comprise 23% of the total UK population. • These changing demographics are particularly noticeable in rural areas of the UK, where the median age of a rural resident is 42, compared to 36 for an urban resident. The out-migration of younger age groups and the selective re-population of many of England’s rural areas with older age groups, means that the rural population is simultaneously growing and ageing. • Research indicates that among post-retirement older people there is a clear connection between transport and social exclusion, which is especially marked in rural areas. Accessible transport is therefore a key factor in preventing social isolation, facilitating independence and maintaining a high quality of life. • This report was commissioned to examine these issues and investigate the current and future transportation needs of older people in Lincolnshire after transport was listed as one of three top priorities for older people in a consultation with this age group in the county. • The report will form part of a wider proposal to develop a community transport strategy for Lincolnshire, supported by a marketing and communication plan for transport services for older people. • If well planned, community transport can form a vital component of an integrated transport system as it provides an important passenger transport resource, which complements other transport services such as local bus and rail networks and Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) schemes such as CallConnect. • In so doing, community transport helps to provide and enhance passenger transport accessibility and reduce social isolation in rural areas and for particular categories of people (such as older people), who can find it difficult to access public transport. The main conclusions which emerged from the research are as follows: • There was a severe lack of knowledge amongst participants about what community transport schemes existed, how they operated and what services they offered. • There appeared to be a negative relationship between the number of community transport providers and high levels of socio-economic deprivation. For example, in Gainsborough there were no voluntary/community car schemes, whilst in Louth, there was a large scheme, well operated and well used. However, despite these findings, there were still people living in Louth attending the focus group who had little or no idea about what a voluntary/community car scheme was or what other services like CallConnect could do for them. • The dominant role of the car in older people’s lives was noticeable: both men and women were very reluctant to give up driving and continued to drive into their 80s. • While some older people felt that their free bus passes were a ‘lifeline’, others felt they were less useful as there were not enough buses to use them on, could not use them due to mobility issues and the distance from their homes to a bus stop, or were not aware that they could be used on DRT services e.g. CallConnect. • A severe lack of coordination between transport services was reported by older people. These included connection times between different bus operators and also to railway stations. Furthermore there was also a variety of health care providers who older people felt gave little or no consideration as to how they were to get to appointments and how to deal with potential life changing events, e.g. the cessation of driving. • While many older people appeared to own mobile phones, very few used these to send text messages and no participants used their phone to access the internet. • Very few of the people interviewed used a computer, instead relying on their sons and daughters to find out information when they had no other option but to use a computer and access the internet. However, some older people did express a desire to learn more about computer technology and how to access the internet. • There are a lack of public and community transport services that operate during the evenings and at weekends in rural communities. This creates a feeling of isolation amongst the older people interviewed and difficulties in accessing essential amenities and services. Based on the research in this report, a series of short and longer term recommendations are suggested to increase the use of public and community transport services by older people in rural communities: Short term 1. The implementation of a promotional and marketing campaign that would raise awareness of different rural transport services available to older people 2. Further development of the Lincolnshire Community Transport Forum 3. The promotion of voluntary/community transport as a way to access healthcare Longer term 4. Greater opportunities for older people to access and learn about ICT for transport 5. The expansion of the concessionary bus pass scheme to be used on other transport service

Putting Children First: Ending Family Homelessness In Illinois: A Statewide Survey on Family Homelessness

The recent economic recession and resulting layoffs compounded by a severe lack of affordable housing, lack of living wage jobs, and an increase in foreclosures, has caused increasing hardship for families in Illinois, including homelessness. This December 2001 study of seventeen agencies that serve homeless families in fifteen counties throughout Illinois and the eight warming centers (emergency shelters) in Chicago gathered information regarding family homelessness in Illinois. The agencies surveyed indicate an increase in family homelessness over the past year and specifically over the past two months. These results, and other recent research regarding the acute shortage of affordable housing in Illinois points towards the increasing need for Illinois to invest in homelessness prevention initiatives and the development of affordable housing for the benefit of thousands of families and children

Inter-Domain Integration of Services and Service Management

The evolution of the global telecommunications industry into an open services market presents developers of telecommunication service and management systems with many new challenges. Increased competition, complex service provision chains and integrated service offerings require effective techniques for the rapid integration of service and management systems over multiple organisational domains. These integration issues have been examined in the ACTS project Prospect by developing a working set of integrated, managed telecommunications services for a user trial. This paper presents the initial results of this work detailing the technologies and standards used, the architectural approach taken and the application of this approach to specific services