Introduction: The effectiveness of impact assessment instruments

The global application of impact assessment instruments to achieve a variety of policy integration goals (e.g. the mainstreaming of environmental, gender or economic efficiency concerns) continues to proliferate. These instruments represent important components of contemporary political governance and hence are an important locus for applied research. This special issue of Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal critically examines 'state-of-the-art' knowledge and understanding of the effectiveness of impact assessment instruments. Six articles explore this subject from a variety of orientations (in terms of theoretical versus empirical emphasis, policy integration concerns, contributors' beliefs and framing etc.). Individually and cumulatively, these articles make a powerful contribution to learning about the 'thorny' issue of effectiveness and its implications for the theory and practice of impact assessment

Status Monitoring Of Inflatables By Accurate Shape Sensing

The use of inflatable structures in aerospace applications is becoming increasingly widespread. In order to monitor the inflation status and overall health of these inflatables, an accurate means of shape sensing is required. To this end, we investigated two existing methods for measuring simple curvature, or curvature in one-dimension. The first method utilizes a pair of strain sensing Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBGs) separated by a known distance; dividing the difference in strain by the separation distance yields an experimental value for the one-dimensional curvature at a point. The second method makes use of conductive ink-based flex sensors, which give a variable resistance based on curvature. We used the latter was in a design for a Curvature-Based Inflation Controller (CBIC). While the controller successfully inflated a test body, its overall utility is limited by the simplicity of its sensors. To improve the shape sensing capabilities of the controller, we investigated the use of FBGs in a multidimensional array. We fabricated a curvature-sensing FBG pair on an inflatable membrane and tested its accuracy as the membrane was shaped into a known radius of curvature. This work reports on the assembly of three such curvature-sensing FBG pairs into a two-dimensional Curvature-Sensing Rosette (CSR). The goal is to use this rosette to measure the curvature of a surface in multiple directions at a single point. A 3-D printed surface with saddle geometry was used to calibrate the curvature-sensing rosette. Presented will be methods of extracting values for the tensor of curvature for the surface at a point using the curvature-sensing rosette, along with experimental verification. This essentially defines the local geometry about the rosette, measured in real time. By employing an array of such rosettes across the surface of an inflatable structure, the local curvature of the inflatable could be known at every point. Combining these curvature measurements can yield an accurate depiction of the global geometry. Thus, the inflation status of the inflatable space structure could be monitored in real time

Differential Impact of Directors’ Social and Financial Capital on Corporate Interlock Formation

Edited by Dean Lusher, Johan Koskinen and Garry Robins</p

Future Type Ia Supernova Data as Tests of Dark Energy from Modified Friedmann Equations

In the Cardassian model, dark energy density arises from modifications to the Friedmann equation, which becomes H^2 = g(\rhom), where g(\rhom) is a new function of the energy density. The universe is flat, matter dominated, and accelerating. The distance redshift relation predictions of generalized Cardassian models can be very different from generic quintessence models, and can be differentiated with data from upcoming pencil beam surveys of Type Ia Supernovae such as SNAP. We have found the interesting result that, once $\Omega_m$ is known to 10% accuracy, SNAP will be able to determine the sign of the time dependence of the dark energy density. Knowledge of this sign (which is related to the weak energy condition) will provide a first discrimination between various cosmological models that fit the current observational data (cosmological constant, quintessence, Cardassian expansion). Further, we have performed Monte Carlo simulations to illustrate how well one can reproduce the form of the dark energy density with SNAP. To be concrete we study a class of two parameter ($n$,$q$) generalized Cardassian models that includes the original Cardassian model (parametrized by $n$ only) as a special case. Examples are given of MP Cardassian models that fit current supernovae and CMB data, and prospects for differentiating between MP Cardassian and other models in future data are discussed. We also note that some Cardassian models can satisfy the weak energy condition $w>-1$ even with a dark energy component that has an effective equation of state $w_X < -1$.Comment: revised version accepted by Ap

How does money influence health?

This study looks at hundreds of theories to consider how income influences health. There is a graded association between money and health – increased income equates to better health. But the reasons are debated.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Researchers have reviewed theories from 272 wide-ranging papers, most of which examined the complex interactions between people’s income and their health throughout their lives.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Key points&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; This research identifies four main ways money affects people’s wellbeing:&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Material: Money buys goods and services that improve health. The more money families have, the better the goods they can buy.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Psychosocial: Managing on a low income is stressful. Comparing oneself to others and feeling at the bottom of the social ladder can be distressing, which can lead to biochemical changes in the body, eventually causing ill health.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Behavioural: For various reasons, people on low incomes are more likely to adopt unhealthy behaviours – smoking and drinking, for example – while those on higher incomes are more able to afford healthier lifestyles.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Reverse causation (poor health leads to low income): Health may affect income by preventing people from taking paid employment. Childhood health may also affect educational outcomes, limiting job opportunities and potential earnings

Buffon's needle estimates for rational product Cantor sets

Let $S_\infty=A_\infty\times B_\infty$ be a self-similar product Cantor set in the complex plane, defined via $S_\infty=\bigcup_{j=1}^L T_j(S_\infty)$, where T_j:\C\to\C have the form $T_j(z)=\frac1{L}z+z_j$ and $\{z_1,...,z_L\}=A+iB$ for some A,B\subset\rr with $|A|,|B|>1$ and $|A||B|=L$. Let $S_N$ be the $L^{-N}$-neighbourhood of $S_\infty$, or equivalently (up to constants), its $N$-th Cantor iteration. We are interested in the asymptotic behaviour as $N\to\infty$ of the {\it Favard length} of $S_N$, defined as the average (with respect to direction) length of its 1-dimensional projections. If the sets $A$ and $B$ are rational and have cardinalities at most 6, then the Favard length of $S_N$ is bounded from above by $CN^{-p/\log\log N}$ for some $p>0$. The same result holds with no restrictions on the size of $A$ and $B$ under certain implicit conditions concerning the generating functions of these sets. This generalizes the earlier results of Nazarov-Perez-Volberg, {\L}aba-Zhai, and Bond-Volberg.Comment: 42 pages. To appear in the American Journal of Mathematics. Copyright 2012 The Johns Hopkins University Pres