A Jones polynomial for braid-like isotopies of oriented links and its categorification

A braid-like isotopy for links in 3-space is an isotopy which uses only those Reidemeister moves which occur in isotopies of braids. We define a refined Jones polynomial and its corresponding Khovanov homology which are, in general, only invariant under braid-like isotopies.Comment: 19 pages, many figure

From Fourier to Gegenbauer: Dimension walks on spheres

We show that the even- resp. odd-dimensional Schoenberg coefficients in Gegenbauer expansions of isotropic positive definite functions on the d-sphere can be expressed as linear combinations of Fourier resp. Legendre coefficients, and we give closed form expressions for the coefficients involved in these expansions

European Union Democracy Promotion and its impact on Civil Society in Central Asia

After a period of relatively small activity in this region, in 2007, the European Union offered a strategy for Central Asia. This strategy addressed many issues, including democratic deficit and human rights violations. The main obstacles to the implementation of the strategy are autocratic tendencies and corruption, the influence of neighbors strongly leaning towards autocracy and the post-Soviet legacy. Additionally, the EU’s activity is overshadowed by the US and has minimal capacity for pursuing its own policy toward Central Asia. Another problem is the fact that after implementing this EU strategy toward Central Asia there are no new initiatives which contribute to more visible European activity in that region

Focus expressions in Yom

This paper deals with the means for expressing the pragmatic category of focus in Yom, which is an Oti-Volta language of the Yom-Nawdem group spoken by about 74,000 people (Gordon 2005, online version) in the department of Donga in Northern Benin. The study is based on results of my field research carried out in March/April 2005 in Djougou (Benin), within the framework of the project “Focus in Gur and Kwa languages”. Main aim of this fieldwork was to study the expression of focus in Yom. Regarding the basic grammatical structure of the language, I mainly rely on various publications by Beacham (1969, 1991, and 1997)

Present and potential factors destabilizing Central Asia as a challenge to the European Union

Azja Centralna boryka się z różnymi wyzwaniami od konfliktów o wodę, po na tle etnicznym, religijnym. Kolejnym czynnikiem destabilizacyjnym jest rosnąca rywalizacja w regionie pomiędzy Rosją, Chinami i USA. O ile Rosja chce utrzymać swoją strefę wpływów, o tyle Chiny chcą zbudować swoją. Aktywność USA związana jest przede wszystkim ze stabilizacją Afganistanu. Na tym tle oraz wobec różnych problemów i wyzwań, aktywność UE jest niewielka. Przeważają instrumenty miękkie, ale działania UE nie są spójne, bowiem brakuje szerszej i długofalowej strategii wobec Azji Centralnej, która przedefiniowałaby zaangażowanie unijne wobec tego regionu.Central Asia is struggling with various challenges ranging from conflicts over water to ethnic and religious conflicts. Another factor destabilizing the situation is the mounting regional competition between Russia, China and the USA. While Russia is trying to maintain its zone of influence, China wants to build its own zone. US activities are mainly related to stabilization in Afghanistan. Given this background and the different problems and challenges, the EU’s activities in this region are negligible. Soft instruments prevail, but EU activities are anything but coherent, as the EU lacks a broad, long-term strategy of relations with Central Asia that could redefine EU involvement in the region