A Riemann-Roch-Hirzebruch formula for traces of differential operators

Let D be a holomorphic differential operator acting on sections of a holomorphic vector bundle on an n-dimensional compact complex manifold. We prove a formula, conjectured by Feigin and Shoikhet, for the Lefschetz number of D as the integral over the manifold of a differential form. The class of this differential form is obtained via formal differential geometry from the canonical generator of the Hochschild cohomology of the algebra of differential operators in a formal neighbourhood of a point. If D is the identity, the formula reduces to the Riemann--Roch--Hirzebruch formula.Comment: 31 pages, 1 figure. Misprints corrected and appendix with analytical details added in v

Wave optics of the solar gravity lens

It is well known that the solar gravitational field can be considered as a telescope with a prime focus at locations beyond 550 au. In this work we present a new derivation of the wave-optical properties of the system, by adapting the arrival-time formalism from gravitational lensing. At the diffraction limit the angular resolution is similar to that of a notional telescope with the diameter of the Sun, and the maximum light amplification is $8{\pi}4GM /(c^2{\lambda})$, enough to detect a 1 W laser on Proxima Centauri b pointed in the general direction of the Sun. Extended sources, however, would be blurred by the wings of the point spread function into the geometrical-optics regime of gravitational lensing. Broad-band sources would have to further contend with the solar corona. Imaging an exoplanet surface as advocated in the literature, without attempting to reach the diffraction limit, appears achievable. For diffraction-limited imaging (sub-km scales from 100 pc) nearby neutron stars appear to be most plausible targets

SYARAT PROPORSIONALITAS DAN SUBSIDARITAS DALAM PEMBELAAN TERPAKSA MENURUT PASAL 49 AYAT (1) KITAB UNDANG-UNDANG HUKUM PIDANA

Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana pengaturan pembelaan terpaksa (noodweer) dalam Pasal 49 ayat (1) KUHP sebagai suatu alasan penghapus pidana dan bagaimana syarat proporsionalitas dan syarat subsidaritas dalam pembelaan terpaksa. Dengan menggunakan metode penelitian yuridis normatif, disimpulkan: 1. Pengaturan pembelaan terpaksa (noodweer) dalam Pasal 49 ayat (1) KUHP sebagai suatu alasan penghapus pidana merupakan pembelaan menghadapi serangan melawan hukum terhadap diri, kehormatan kesusilaan, atau harta benda sendiri maupun orang lain; dengan tidak memasukkan kehormatan dalam arti nama baik dan ketenteraman rumah (huisvrede) ke dalam kepentingan yang dapat dibela dengan pembelaan terpaksa.   2. Syarat proporsionalitas berarti kepentingan orang lain yang dikorbankan dalam pembelaan terpaksa harus seimbang dengan kepentingan yang dilindungi, dan syarat subsidaritas berarti pembelaan harus dilakukan dengan cara yang paling ringan (subsider); di mana berkenaan dengan syarat subsidaritas ada perbedaan pendapat antarahli hukum apakah melarikan diri merupakan cara yang paling ringan (subsider) atau tidak. Tetapi dalam suatu putusan Mahkamah Agung, diterima adanya pembelaan terpaksa karena terdakwa telah mencoba melarikan diri sehingga akhirnya berada dalam posisi tidak dapat melarikan diri lagi dan tindakan Terdakwa yang kemudian berhasil merebut salah satu pisau yang dipegang oleh korban dan berbalik menikam ke arah korban merupakan pembelaan terpaksa.Kata kunci: Syarat Proporsionalitas Dan Subsidaritas, Pembelaan Terpaksa, Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidan

When Doctors Shape Policy: The Impact of Self-Regulation on Governing Human Biotechnology

This paper investigates the development and adoption of governance modes in the field of human biotechnology. As the field of human biotechnology is relatively new, voluntary professional self-regulation constituted the initial governing mode. In the meantime, with the exception of Ireland, all Western European countries have moved towards greater state intervention. Nevertheless they have done so in contrasting ways and the resulting governance modes for assisted reproductive technology (ART) and embryonic stem-cell research vary greatly. Instead of imposing their steering capacity in a ‘top-down’ fashion, governments have taken pre-existing self-regulatory arrangements in the field into account and built up governance mechanisms in conjunction with private actors and pre-existing modes of private governance. Our analysis demonstrates that the form and content of the initial self-regulation explain why the self-steering capacity of the medical profession was largely or at least partially preserved through hybrid governance systems in Britain and in Germany, while in France the self-regulation was entirely replaced by governmental intervention

Diverging against all odds? Regulatory Paths in Embryonic Stem Cell Research across Western Europe

An interest-driven account of Embryonic Stem Cell Research would, given the considerable financial and scientific concerns, likely predict regulations to converge towards permissive policies. However, across Western Europe, national regulations of embryonic stem-cell research vary considerably, from general bans to permissive policies. There is a lack of systematic accounting for the non-convergence, and the sparse attempts at explanation are contradictory. Drawing on qualitative comparative analysis and configurational causality, we assess the interaction of a number of explanatory factors. Our empirical analysis reveals the importance of one factor in particular, path-dependence, insofar as prior policies on assisted reproduction exert a strong and systematic effect on the subsequent regulation of ESCR

Binnendifferenzierte Sachtexte als Unterstützung für den Erwerb von domänenspezifischen Wissensbeständen und Konzepten: Executive Summary

Les textes dans les livres d’école sont souvent trop difficiles même pour des élèves de niveau moyen. Pour des apprenants plus faibles et des enfants pour qui l’allemand est une langue seconde, ces textes sont trop exigeants sur le plan linguistique. La mise à disposition de textes de niveaux différenciés est dès lors une nécessité pour une école inclusive.Texts in the social sciences at schools are often difficult even for children with average scholastic abilities; weak learners or children who speak German as a second language are over-challenged. Consequently, internally differentiated texts – i.e. different versions of the same content – are necessary to create an inclusive learning environment.Sachtexte in Schulbüchern sind oft selbst für durchschnittlich begabte Kinder zu schwer; für schwächere Lernende und für Kinder mit Deutsch als Zweitsprache sind sie sprachlich überfordernd. Binnendifferenzierte Sachtexte sind deshalb eine Notwendigkeit für eine inklusive Schule.I testi contenuti nei libri scolastici sono spesso troppo difficili persino per gli allievi di livello medio; per gli studenti più deboli e per i bambini per i quali il tedesco è una seconda lingua, questi testi sono troppo esigenti dal punto di vista linguistico. L’offerta di testi che variano dal punto di vista della difficoltà di lettura diventa perciò una necessità per una scuola inclusiva.Il project „Texts tematics differenziads a l’intern sco med per sustegnair l’acquisiziun dal savair e da concepts da domenas specificas“ sa basa sin la constataziun che meds d’instruir e d‘emprender (ed ils texts tematics cuntegnids en quels) stattan anc adina en il center da l’instrucziun, ma na satisfan betg a las pretensiuns per in’instrucziun individualisanta. Questa constataziun stat en connex cun las exigenzas ad ina scola inclusiva ed a las consequenzas organisatoricas da la differenziaziun interna

Beyond the Usual Suspects: New Research Themes in Comparative Public Policy

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis (Routledge) via the DOI in this record.The principal paradox of comparative public policy has remained over the years: there is no clear and broadly shared definition of the field. This article engages with the debate about what comparative public policy is from a distinctive perspective. Drawing from a systematic analysis of published research articles that maps out the usual comparative suspects, it reflects on what comparative public policy does and does not do in terms of comparative scope and country range, and the extent to which the limitations in the comparative scope matter for cumulative knowledge, theory building and the consolidation of the field. The article discusses different strategies to address the challenge of extending the range of comparative analysis.Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research CouncilUniversity of Ottaw

A review of the design and assessment model of the Skills Challenge Certificate, and its place within the Welsh Baccalaureate

In January 2017, Wavehill, in collaboration with the University College London (UCL) Institute of Education (IOE), was commissioned by Qualifications Wales to undertake a review of the Skills Challenge Certificate (SCC) qualification and its place within the Welsh Baccalaureate (Welsh Bacc). Dr Caroline Daly (Reader in Education, IOE and Honorary Visiting Professor Cardiff University) undertook a detailed analysis of the SCC design by reviewing programme specifications, delivery handbooks, design principles, the administration handbook, the code of practice and Qualifications Wales’ (2016) Review of the implementation of the new Welsh Baccalaureate from September 2015. Dr Caroline Daly is the lead author on the desk-based review of the SCC. The review of documents was supplemented by interviews with key stakeholders, including the authors of the Qualifications Wales’ initial review (2016) of the Welsh Bacc and senior managers at the awarding body, WJEC. These interviews were used for reference to seek clarification about the SCC design and assessment model to inform the ongoing review of the documentation and refine questions for the focus groups. To enrich the evidence base, a programme of fieldwork was developed to sample a number of schools and Further Education (FE) colleges across Wales. The fieldwork engaged with learners and teachers through focus groups (learners) and interviews (teachers). The sample was constructed in discussion with Qualifications Wales and was designed to include the voices of learners and teachers from a variety of centres across Wales that deliver the Welsh Bacc (the methodology is discussed in section 3). The findings from the desk-based review, the learner focus groups and the teacher interviews are brought together in the Conclusions and Recommendations at the end of the report

The Effect of Earnings Growth on Acquirer Returns: Evidence from the Norwegian Stock Market: A Study of the Relationship Between Acquirers’ Earnings Growth and Market Reactions to M&A Announcements with Empirical Evidence from the Oslo Stock Exchange in the Period 1997 - 2019

Earnings numbers are one of the single most important measures of firm performance and is positively associated with stock returns. While M&A announcements have mixed short-term impact on acquirer stock returns, Liu and Tu (2021) find a U-shaped pattern between US acquirers’ earnings growth and announcement returns, with a subsequent return reversal for acquirers with recent earnings declines. They argue this return pattern is driven by a tendency for investors to gamble on M&A deals initiated by poorly performing acquirers to generate high synergies. Based on a sample of 126 Norwegian public acquirers listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange between 1997 and 2019, we perform a replicating study of Earnings growth and acquisition returns: Do investors gamble in the takeover market?, by Liu and Tu (2021). We assess the notion that investor overreactions, through disproportionately reacting to acquirers with earnings declines, can explain abnormal returns related to M&A announcements for a sample of 499 deals. We find that M&A announcements lead to small but positive short-term abnormal returns. These short-term positive returns do not persist, as we observe a clear return reversal pattern for acquirers with low and moderate growth. We are not able to attribute this return reversal to poor earnings performance, and we find no evidence of a meaningful relationship between earnings growth and abnormal returns. Moreover, our results are inconclusive when it comes to assessing markets overreaction to deals made by acquirers with significant earnings declines at announcement. We do, however, find evidence of several empirically established effects including a size effect, valuation effects and an effect stemming from method of payment.nhhma