Towards consolidated presence

hauswirth2010aInternational audiencePresence management, i.e., the ability to automatically identify the status and availability of communication partners, is becoming an invaluable tool for collaboration in enterprise contexts. In this paper, we argue for efficient presence management by means of a holistic view of both physical context and virtual presence in online communication channels. We sketch the components for enabling presence as a service integrating both online information as well as physical sensors, discussing benefits, possible applications on top, and challenges of establishing such a service

Why Should Central and Eastern European Societies still be considered as Democracies at Risk? An Analysis of Labour Structure and Preferences for One-Party System

This article asks whether Central and Eastern European societies should be seen as fully consolidated democracies or whether they should still be considered as democracies at risk. Using the concept of embedded democracy developed by Wolfgang Merkel and the members of the project on Defective Democracies, this paper argues that Central and Eastern European societies should be defined as semi-consolidated democracies, since one of the three rings of external embeddedness (the ring concerning the social and economic requisites of democracy) still shows significant deficiencies. The main argument is that due to the presence of shortcomings in the socio-economic environment, the process of democratic stabilization in the region is still far from finished. This is primarily reflected in the attitudes of Eastern European citizens towards non-democratic forms of government. Due to the important democratizing role of welfare institutions, this paper also proposes the inclusion of welfare state efficiency as a key element in the measurement of democratic consolidation.East-Central Europe; East-Central Europe; democracy; democratization; democratization; welfare state

Italy

This report is part of the project The Factbook on the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products. It focuses on Italy, where the illicit trade in tobacco seems to have grown in recent years. This fact, combined with the geographical location of the country and the consolidated presence of organised crime, makes Italy an interesting country to explore in terms of ITTP flows in the Mediterranean basin and towards North European countries

Far from champions, close to midgets : international production sharing in Central and South America

This paper assesses the relative participation of Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala and Nicaragua in fragmented world production. Based on trade statistics from 2000 to 2004, it analyses whether the trade flows of these economies have evolved towards production sharing schemes, and how great this type of trade is, in order to sustain their presence in the world economy. Guatemala and Nicaragua have reached a moderate insertion in a production sharing scheme, following a North-South trade pattern. Nonetheless, their participation is still small, being threatened not only by international competition, but also by their dependence on a unique market. Brazil has consolidated participation in a few chains, showing a more diversified North–South trade pattern. Argentina has attained insertion in the automotive chain of production, whereas its participation in other ones seems still quite limited. The country has a more South-South trade pattern, which exposes it to a certain degree of dependence.

Microstructure and texture development during solid consolidation recycling of Ti-6Al-4V

Ti-6Al-4V machining chips were recycled using equal channel angular pressing (ECAP). The microstructural and texture evolution of the recycled Ti-6Al-4V have been investigated using scanning electron microscopy, electron backscattered diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. For samples consolidated at 500 °C with a back-pressure of 100 MPa, the as-pressed density reached up to 99.9% after 8 passes. Pronounced grain refinement was also observed with increasing number of passes. The morphology of the grains has been changed from elongated and coarse to equiaxed and ultrafine as the number of passes increases. Strong textures were also introduced during multiple passes via Bc route. Texture has been developed with basal planes parallel to the inclination direction which is at 21° of the extrusion direction. After 4 and 8 passes, basal planes were rotated towards the transverse direction. No oxide can be detected at the chip-chip boundaries when the Ti-Al-4 V machining chips was consolidated at 500 °C. When the sample was processed at 550 °C, significant grain growth and clear oxide layers at the chip-chip interface were observed. In addition, the c-axis were rotated towards the longitudinal direction due to the non-basal slip activity. TEM observation revealed the dislocations presence in the 550 °C ECAP-processed sample

Comparing the Paulson Blueprint With the Geithner White Paper

Compares the financial reform recommendations and discussions of structural financial models from Treasury Department officials of the Bush and Obama administrations. Examines issues including consumer protection and the role of the Federal Reserve

Formulating the International Tax Debate: Where Does Formulary Apportionment Fit?

As the contributions in this volume are being written, the Inclusive Framework nations, a group drawn together by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as part of its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, are in the midst of a consultation process intended to revise the international corporate tax profit allocation and nexus rules. At the end of May 2019, the OECD released its Programme of Work to Develop a Consensus Solution to the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy. At the beginning of June 2019, this Programme was endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers during their ministerial meeting in Fukuoka, Japan. To use the OECD’s terminology, the proposals under consideration to revise the current nexus and profit allocation rules would create a ‘new taxing right’ to be allocated to the ‘market jurisdiction’. The Programme of Work describes certain technical issues that must be considered when making such fundamental changes to the international tax architecture. The OECD’s work on these major revisions to international tax norms is being undertaken under the auspices of the Inclusive Framework. The Inclusive Framework arose out of a G20 request that the OECD create a body in which all interested countries – regardless of G20 or OECD membership – could participate in the BEPS project on an equal footing. The subsequently developed Inclusive Framework allows interested countries to work with the OECD/G20 on developing standards on BEPS-related issues. As of this writing, over 125 countries have joined the Inclusive Framework and committed to implementing the comprehensive BEPS package. It was clear from the outset that the Inclusive Framework could be used as a stand-in for a world tax organization. In the current OECD project on profit allocation, it is in effect being used in that manner for the first time. The Inclusive Framework is not currently considering a full move to formulary apportionment, as that term is understood in this volume. Yet evaluation of the proposals under consideration by the Inclusive Framework suggests that each and every one can be improved by reappraising formulary apportionment. Accordingly, the purpose of this chapter is to highlight the relationships between the options under consideration in the current OECD-led process and ‘formulary apportionment’, as that term is used elsewhere in this volume. Section 11.02 of the chapter briefly offers some background on the major developments – arguably, tectonic shifts – of the last few years in the international tax arena. Section 11.03 describes the proposals for revising the profit allocation rules that are currently under consideration by the Inclusive Framework. Section 11.04 fleshes out ‘straw men’ that develop these ideas in greater detail, with the purpose of highlighting that the proposals that are under consideration by the Inclusive Framework at the time of this writing are partially formulary approaches and that lessons from formulary apportionment likely carry over to any partially formulary system that may be developed multilaterally in the future

Advanced SBAS-DInSAR technique for controlling large civil infrastructures: an application to the Genzano di Lucania dam

Monitoring surface deformation on dams is commonly carried out by in situ geodetic surveying, which is time consuming and characterized by some limitations in space coverage and frequency. More recently microwave satellite-based technologies, such as advanced-DInSAR (Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry), have allowed the integration and improvement of the observation capabilities of ground-based methods thanks to their effectiveness in collecting displacement measurements on many non-destructive control points, corresponding to radar reflecting targets. The availability of such a large number of points of measurement, which are distributed along the whole structure and are characterized by millimetric accuracy on displacement rates, can be profitably adopted for the calibration of numerical models. These models are implemented to simulate the structural behaviour of a dam under conditions of stress thus improving the ability to maintain safety standards. In this work, after having analysed how advanced DInSAR can effectively enhance the results from traditional monitoring systems that provide comparable accuracy measurements on a limited number of points, an FEM model of the Genzano di Lucania earth dam is developed and calibrated. This work is concentrated on the advanced DInSAR technique referred to as Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) approach, benefiting from its capability to generate deformation time series at full spatial resolution and from multi-sensor SAR data, to measure the vertical consolidation displacement of the Genzano di Lucania earth dam

Microstructural and XRD analysis and study of the properties of the system Ti-TiAl-B4C processed under different operational conditions

High specific modulus materials are considered excellent for the aerospace industry. The system Ti-TiAl-B4C is presented herein as an alternative material. Secondary phases formed in situ during fabrication vary depending on the processing conditions and composition of the starting materials. The final behaviors of these materials are therefore difficult to predict. This research focuses on the study of the system Ti-TiAl-B4C, whereby relations between microstructure and properties can be predicted in terms of the processing parameters of the titanium matrix composites (TMCs). The powder metallurgy technique employed to fabricate the TMCs was that of inductive hot pressing (iHP) since it offers versatility and flexibility. The short processing time employed (5 min) was set in order to test the temperature as a major factor of influence in the secondary reactions. The pressure was also varied. In order to perform this research, not only were X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses performed, but also microstructural characterization through Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Significant results showed that there was an inflection temperature from which the trend to form secondary compounds depended on the starting material used. Hence, the addition of TiAl as an elementary blend or as prealloyed powder played a significant role in the final behavior of the TMCs fabricated, where the prealloyed TiAl provides a better precursor of the formation of the reinforcement phases from 1100 °C regardless of the pressur