Gentle Warlords: The Potential for Violent Non-State Actors to Provide Stability

This paper provides a heuristic to determine the potential effects of violent non-state actors (VNSAs) on stability. It classifies VNSAs by type, categorizing groups as either clientelist, communal, or corporate. It finds that corporate VNSAs, those organized around a shared but non-ascriptive identity, such as membership in a guild or society, generally behave in a manner that is most likely to create stability. This hypothesis is supported through an in-depth examination of the Civil Defense Forces, a corporate VNSA that played a crucial role during the 1991-2002 Sierra Leone Civil War

INSTITUTIONAL DIMENSION OF BUSINESS CLUSTER

To achieve dynamic sustainable development in the contemporary domestic and world economy it is important to develop business clusters which create emerging industries and help to build social capital. In this article the author considers the institutional logic of business cluster and the nature of the transactions process between the members of this structure. The aim of the article was to show that clusters on the one hand are examples of institutions, and on the other hand they co-create institutions that enable the members of the cluster to satisfy their needs, regulate their activity, ensure the continuity of cooperation and integrate members around common goals and values. Dual approach to institutions indicates in this case that their function is to control and trigger the activities in the cluster. The paper presents a business cluster as an example of an institution which plays an essential role in contemporary socio-economic processes. It attempts also analysing the importance of clustering from the perspective of the theory of transaction costs, considering that the business cluster is always seen as a privileged place for the creation of social networks among firms because of the presence of trust and partnership in the economic transactions of colocated actors that is facilitated by their proximity. The author stressed that the business cluster has a beneficial impact on the reduction of opportunistic attitudes of cluster members – and owing to this – on the decrease in transaction costs

THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INDUSTRIAL CLUSTER IN THE CONTEXT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY – A NEW CHALLENGE FOR CLUSTER MANAGEMENT

In the present article, clusters are treated as a form of contemporary organisation, which is created as a result of reciprocal interactions, formal and informal, horizontal and vertical relations between geographically concentrated heterogeneous subjects specialised in a particular area, which represent the environment of: business, science, business support and local public administration. The author assumed that the condition for the achievement of the determined strategic goals of sustainable development within an industrial cluster is, inter alia, its endogenic ability to create eco-innovations. Moreover, he indicated that the realisation of the assumptions of the concept of sustainable development is an integral element of CSR philosophy. Taking into consideration the significance as well as the internal and external dimensions of CSR, the author enumerated multitudinous benefits that ensue from socially responsible cluster management. He emphasised that socially responsible activity of an industrial cluster, which is consistent with the assumptions of sustainable development, can contribute to the permanent improvement of a society’s quality of life, without considerable negative changes in natural environment and loss of socio-cultural values. Hence, it is necessary to prepare and include proper rules of sustainable, socially responsible development in the contents of strategic documents, including the declaration of missions and visions and their constant observance in every area of activity, in internal and external environment

Metody profilaktyki żylnej choroby zakrzepowo-zatorowej u chorych w ostrej fazie udaru mózgu – aktualny stan wiedzy

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and its sequel, pulmonary embolism (PE), are serious complications of stroke. There are pharmacological and physical methods to prevent these complications. The authors review the literature and present the current state of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of each of the DVT and PE prevention methods in stroke patients and cite current Polish, European and American recommendations regarding this issue. Heparins are the method of choice for the prevention of venous thromboembolism in both ischaemic and haemorrhagic stroke patients.Zakrzepica żył głębokich kończyn i jej konsekwencja – zatorowość płucna, są poważnymi powikłaniami udaru mózgu. Istnieją farmakologiczne i fizyczne metody zapobiegania tym powikłaniom. Autorzy dokonują przeglądu piśmiennictwa i prezentują aktualny stan wiedzy na temat skuteczności każdej z metod stosowanych w profilaktyce zakrzepicy żył głębokich kończyn i zatorowości płucnej u chorych po udarze mózgu, a także cytują aktualne zalecenia polskie, europejskie i amerykańskie. Stosowanie heparyn jest metodą z wyboru w zapobieganiu powikłaniom zakrzepowo-zatorowym u unieruchomionych chorych z udarem mózgu, zarówno niedokrwiennym, jak i krwotocznym

Ultrasonic Mapping Needle

When gaining access to a vein or organ for the purpose of ablation or other reasons, the common procedural method of entry is to use the Seldinger technique. This has been the standard entry procedure since its introduction in 1953, and the technique has not been modified during this time. While effective, it is prone to complication as it relies solely on the operator\u27s precision and experience. It is our task and goal to develop a modifying kit for this procedure that would aid the operator in this process. It would make use of mapping technology and standard products used in hospitals and Arrhythmia Centers, including ultrasound and magnetic cardiovascular mapping systems, as well as hypodermic needles and catheters. Ultimately this product will focus on minimizing the time, complexity, and overall complications currently associated with this procedure. This report outlines the ideation process and explains how we came to our concept design. Our concept design comprises of two main components— a handle and tunneller. The handle guides and orients the ultrasound catheter. The tunneller will secure the mapping catheter and guide the needle to the desired spot of insertion. Following approval of the concept design and direction, we moved towards 3-D modeling, prototyping, and testing. This led to the final design of the handle, which comprises of a ultrasound head, handle, and Tuohy-Borst mechanism. The tunneller final design consists of a needle insert, needle shaft, and a Touhy-Borst/Luer Lock mechanism. We outline any changes made from concept design to our final design and describe the final assembly of this project along with manufacturing cost and the next steps to get this project into production

Instantaneous normal modes analysis of amorphous and supercooled silica

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jcp/114/5/10.1063/1.1337040.The dynamics of a model for amorphous and supercooled silica(SiO2), a strong glass former, is studied using instantaneous normal mode (INM) analysis. The INM spectra at a variety of temperatures are calculated via molecular dynamics simulation. At temperatures below the glass transition temperature, the dominant contribution to the soft highly anharmonic modes comprising the imaginary frequency region of the INM spectrum are found to correspond to coupled rotations of SiO4 tetrahedral units, consistent with interpretations of neutron scattering experiments [B. B. Buchenau, H. M. Zhou, and N. Nucker, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60, 1318 (1988)] and with previous normal mode analysis of simulation results at T=0 K [S. N. Taraskin and S. R. Elliot, Phys. Rev. B 56, 8623 (1997)]

Physical methods in the prophylaxis of thromboembolic complications in post-stroke patients

Wstęp. Powikłania zakrzepowo-zatorowe stanowią poważne następstwa unieruchomienia po udarze mózgu. Metody fizyczne stanowią skuteczną alternatywę dla antykoagulantów w prewencji zakrzepicy w niektórych grupach pacjentów. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie aktualnych poglądów dotyczących tego zagadnienia. Poglądy. W prewencji zakrzepicy żył kończyn dolnych u pacjentów po udarze mózgu stosuje się różne metody farmakologiczne i mechaniczne. Pozycja metod farmakologicznych jest dobrze ugruntowana, jednak nie u wszystkich pacjentów po udarze metody te można zastosować. U pacjentów, u których nie można wykorzystać metod farmakologicznych zapobiegania zakrzepicy żył kończyn dolnych i jej kontinuum - zatorowości płucnej, techniki fizyczne mogą stanowić skuteczną alternatywę. Wnioski. Należy zapobiegać powikłaniom zakrzepowo-zatorowym u pacjentów po udarze mózgu. Znajomość i prawidłowe stosowanie metod fizycznych zapobiegania powikłaniom zakrzepowo-zatorowym pozwala zmniejszyć śmiertelność u pacjentów po udarze mózgu.Aim. Thromboembolic complications constitute a serious sequel to immobilisation after stroke. In some groups of patients, the physical methods used in the prevention of thrombosis have proven an effective alternative to anticoagulants. This article aims to present the current views on this issue. Views. Deep vein thrombosis in post-stroke patients may be prevented by both physical and pharmacological methods. The latter are well established, although they cannot be used in some post-stroke patients. Physical methods may be an effective alternative in the prevention of deep vein thrombosis and its sequel - pulmonary embolism - in patients for whom pharmacological methods are contraindicated. Conclusions. Prevention of thromboembolic complications is necessary in post-stroke patients. The knowledge and proper use of physical methods for the prophylaxis of thromboembolic complications in post-stroke patients facilitate a reduction in the mortality rate in this group of patients

Realizing surface driven flows in the primitive equations

© Copyright 2015 American Meteorological Society (AMS). Permission to use figures, tables, and brief excerpts from this work in scientific and educational works is hereby granted provided that the source is acknowledged. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act September 2010 Page 2 or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 USC §108, as revised by P.L. 94-553) does not require the AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a web site or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, requires written permission or a license from the AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy, available on the AMS Web site located at (https://www.ametsoc.org/) or from the AMS at 617-227-2425 or [email protected] surface quasigeostrophic (SQG) model describes flows with surface buoyancy perturbations with no interior quasigeostrophic potential vorticity at small Rossby number Ro and O(1) Burger number, where quasigeostrophic dynamics are expected to hold. Numerical simulations of SQG dynamics have shown that vortices are frequently generated at small scales, which may have O(1) Rossby numbers and therefore may be beyond the limits of SQG. This paper examines the dynamics of an initially geostrophically balanced elliptical surface buoyancy perturbation in both the SQG model and the nonhydrostatic Boussinesq primitive equations (PE). In the case of very small Rossby number, it is confirmed that both models agree, as expected. For larger Ro, non-SQG effects emerge and as a result the solution of the PE deviates significantly from that of SQG. In particular, an increase in the Rossby number has the following effects: (i) the buoyancy filaments at the surface are stabilized in that they generate fewer secondary vortices; (ii) the core of the vortex experiences inertial instability, which results in a uniform buoyancy profile in its interior; (iii) the divergent part of the energy spectrum increases in magnitude; (iv) the PE model has significantly more gravity waves that are radiated from the vortex; (v) the magnitude of the vertical velocity increases; and (vi) in the mature stages of evolution, there are gravitational instabilities that develop because of the complicated dynamics inside the vortex. It is demonstrated that significant non-SQG effects are evident when the large-scale Rossby number of the initial flow is about 0.05 and the local Rossby number is O(1).Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council || RGPIN/386456-201