2,936 research outputs found
Economic Agendas in Civil Wars: What We Know, What We Need to Know
civil war, conflict prevention, human security
Economic agendas in civil wars: what we know, what we need to know
The political economy of civil wars has acquired unprecedented scholarly and policy attention. Among others, the International Peace Academyâs programme on Economic Agendas in Civil Wars (EACW) has aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the complex dynamics of civil war economies and has identified areas for policy development critical for improved conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and postconflict peacebuilding. While much of the earlier debate on the economic dimensions has been polarized around the âgreed versus grievanceâ dichotomy, there is now a better understanding of how economic dynamics can influence the onset, character, and duration of armed conflicts. This paper discusses key research findings and their policy relevance, provides a preliminary assessment of policy efforts to address the economic dimensions of conflict and conflict transformation, and offers some issues for further research and policy action
State-of-the-art in Power Line Communications: from the Applications to the Medium
In recent decades, power line communication has attracted considerable
attention from the research community and industry, as well as from regulatory
and standardization bodies. In this article we provide an overview of both
narrowband and broadband systems, covering potential applications, regulatory
and standardization efforts and recent research advancements in channel
characterization, physical layer performance, medium access and higher layer
specifications and evaluations. We also identify areas of current and further
study that will enable the continued success of power line communication
technology.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures. Accepted for publication, IEEE Journal on
Selected Areas in Communications. Special Issue on Power Line Communications
and its Integration with the Networking Ecosystem. 201
Three-Dimensional Modeling of Pennsylvanian Sandstone Units in the Mature Dudley Oil Field, Illinois, USA
The purpose of this research is to better understand the Dudley Pool, a small, mature oil field in the Illinois Basin, USA by incorporating old geologic and geophysical data into modern petrophysical modeling software. The research focused on three-dimensional subsurface modeling of stratigraphy, structure, and porosity, to establish a more thorough understanding of oil occurrence at the Dudley Pool. This research also discusses the efficacy of three-dimensional modeling as an effective tool for evaluating, and potentially modifying, production efforts in mature petroleum fields with limited and/or poor-quality data. The modeling and calculations were completed using Petrel. Well information from all wells drilled within a one mile collar of the field was collected. The model generated contour maps, thickness maps, a facies model, cross sections, core logging and a porosity model. The project established that the Dudley Pool is part of a major channel system heading southeast toward the interior of the Illinois Basin and, thus, may present additional resources for exploitation beyond the current production limit of the field. Isopach and structure contour trends indicate that areas to the northeast are targets for future exploration and development of the Dudley Pool
Increasing Influenza Vaccination Rates in a Busy Urban Clinic
Influenza infection is the cause of thousands of hospitalizations and deaths each year; infection during pregnancy results in increased morbidity and mortality. Underserved women are particularly susceptible to not receiving recommended vaccinations. This project explored the effect of a simple paper based prompt on the influenza vaccination rate in a resident continuity clinic for the underserved. Using this reminder to providers to discuss the influenza vaccination with their patients, we were able to increase vaccination rates in our clinic from 2.2% to 14.2%. This implementation of a simple, low cost, low tech prompt to providers increased the rate of influenza vaccination in our clinic and we present this approach as an easy to implement method of improving vaccination rates. We also suggest this method as an alternative to an alert in the electronic medical record in situations where the electronic medical record may not be accessed during every patient encounter
A serological investigation of caseous lymphadenitis in four flocks of sheep
A double antibody sandwich ELISA developed by ID-DLO, Lelystad to detect Corynebocterium pseudotuberculosis infection was used on 329 sheep from four pedigree Suffolk flocks in which clinical cases of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) had occurred. At subsequent necropsy, typical CLA lesions were seen in 133 sheep, and the diagnosis was confirmed on culture. Lesions were most commonly seen in lungs (n = 46), parotid lymph nodes (n = 44), prescapular lymph nodes (n = 38) and mediastinal lymph nodes (n = 31). The sensitivity of the ELISA test for detecting culture-positive sheep was 0.88, while the specificity of the test was 0.55. The antibody ELISA detected 87.5 per cent of sheep that had CLA lesions restricted to internal organs only. It was concluded that the ELISA test has a valuable role in detecting sheep with both clinical and subclinical CLA
Decentralised Learning MACs for Collision-free Access in WLANs
By combining the features of CSMA and TDMA, fully decentralised WLAN MAC
schemes have recently been proposed that converge to collision-free schedules.
In this paper we describe a MAC with optimal long-run throughput that is almost
decentralised. We then design two \changed{schemes} that are practically
realisable, decentralised approximations of this optimal scheme and operate
with different amounts of sensing information. We achieve this by (1)
introducing learning algorithms that can substantially speed up convergence to
collision free operation; (2) developing a decentralised schedule length
adaptation scheme that provides long-run fair (uniform) access to the medium
while maintaining collision-free access for arbitrary numbers of stations
Geology and Aquifer Sensitivity of Quaternary Glacial Deposits Overlying a Portion of the Mahomet Buried Bedrock Valley Aquifer System
To characterize the distribution of Holocene and Late Quaternary deposits and to assess the contamination potential of the Mahomet Aquifer, surficial geologic and aquifer sensitivity maps of the Gibson City East 7.5-Minute Quadrangle were created. Geologic data, extent, and thickness of the geologic materials were coupled with LiDAR topographic data and analyzed using ESRIâs ArcGIS 10.6.1. Aquifer sensitivity to contamination was calculated based on the depth to the first aquifer unit, aquifer thickness, and the lithology of the aquifer materials. The surficial geologic mapping identified five lithostratigraphic units: the Cahokia Formation, the Equality Formation, the Henry Formation, and the Yorkville and Batestown Members of the Lemont Formation. The southeast to northwest trending Illiana Morainic System is the most prominent feature in the study area and delineates the maximum extent of the glaciers during the Livingston Phase of glaciation. Postglacial deposits of the Cahokia Formation, alluvium, interfinger, and overlie with glacial outwash of the Henry Formation along channels and drainage ways downslope of the moraine. The areas of least sensitivity are located over the Illiana Morainic System, whereas the greatest potential to contamination occurs where the thickest deposits of the Henry Formation and Cahokia Formation lie at or just below the land surface
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