TOWARDS A WITTGENSTEINEAN LADDER FOR THE UNIVERSAL VIRTUAL CLASSROOM (UVC)

The aim of this work is to move from the foreign dominated to the self-dominated by encouraging people to draw their own conclusions with the help of own rational consideration. Here a room as an environment that is encouraging innovation, which can be denoted as “Innovation Lab”, and making processes as can be regarded as “Smart Lab” is an essential base. The question related to this generalized self-organizational learning method investigated in our paper is how a UVC, which is a room that connects people from different physical places to one synchronous and virtual perceivable place, which is built on these preconditions, can be operated both resource and learning-efficient for both the course participants and the educational organization. A practical approach of implementing a virtual classroom concept, including informative tutorial-feedback, is developed conceptually that also accounts for and implements the results of reinforcement machine-learning methods in AI applications. The difference that makes the difference is gained by reimplementing the AI tools in an AI instrument, in a “Smart Lab” environment and that in the teaching environment. By means of this, a cascaded feedback-loop system is informally installed, which gains feedback at different levels of abstraction. By this learning on each stage, in a collaborative and together decentralized and sequential fashion takes place, as the selforganizational implementations lead implicitly, also by means of the in the course implemented tools, to increasingly self-control. As such in the course, a tool is implemented, as generalizations by means of reinforcement learnings are to be emergently foreseen by this method, which goes beyond the tools, that have already been implemented before. This AI-enhanced learning coevolution shall then, predictively, as well increase the potential of the course participants as the educational organization according to the Wittgensteinean parable: A ladder leading into a selfly-organized future

Determinants of capital market reactions to seasoned equity offers by German corporations

Our study provides evidence on the share price reactions to the announcement of equity issues in Germany, where capital market is characterized by institutional features distinct from the U.S. market. German seasoned equity issues yield a positive market reaction which contrasts to the significant negative abnormal returns reported for the U.S. We provide evidence that these results are due to differences in both issuing characteristics and floatation methods, and in the corporate governance and ownership structures of the two countries. Our study explains much of the empirical puzzle of different market reactions to seemingly similar events across financial markets

Chinese sectoral industrial policy shaping international trade and investment patterns - Evidence from the iron and steel industry

In the three decades since China's economic opening to the world, the country's integration into the global economy has progressed by leaps and bounds. Especially after joining the WTO in 2001, international trade and investment flows have been on a steep upward trajectory. This process was not only driven by market forces but heavily influenced by government intervention in commodity and financial markets. While government authorities are strongly determined to promote closer economic integration with the rest of the world, they seek to supervise and control the process in order to carve out maximum benefits for domestic enterprises and the economy as a whole. Balancing market forces and industrial policy strategy, political decision makers have worked out an elaborate framework of measures to create an environment conducive to the development of several sectors deemed backbone or pillar industries. As one of them, the steel industry is subjected to numerous measures steering its development both in the home market and at the global market interface. By examining these mechanisms, this article aims to illustrate that sectoral industrial policy in China does not push for expanding exports and investments across the board but carefully and discretionarily promotes global integration in some areas while delaying it in others. --Economic integration,industrial policy,trade policy,trade restrictions,foreign direct investment,steel industry

Gradients in urban material composition: A new concept to map cities with spaceborne imaging spectroscopy data

To understand processes in urban environments, such as urban energy fluxes or surface temperature patterns, it is important to map urban surface materials. Airborne imaging spectroscopy data have been successfully used to identify urban surface materials mainly based on unmixing algorithms. Upcoming spaceborne Imaging Spectrometers (IS), such as the Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP), will reduce the time and cost-critical limitations of airborne systems for Earth Observation (EO). However, the spatial resolution of all operated and planned IS in space will not be higher than 20 to 30 m and, thus, the detection of pure Endmember (EM) candidates in urban areas, a requirement for spectral unmixing, is very limited. Gradient analysis could be an alternative method for retrieving urban surface material compositions in pixels from spaceborne IS. The gradient concept is well known in ecology to identify plant species assemblages formed by similar environmental conditions but has never been tested for urban materials. However, urban areas also contain neighbourhoods with similar physical, compositional and structural characteristics. Based on this assumption, this study investigated (1) whether cover fractions of surface materials change gradually in urban areas and (2) whether these gradients can be adequately mapped and interpreted using imaging spectroscopy data (e.g. EnMAP) with 30 m spatial resolution. Similarities of material compositions were analysed on the basis of 153 systematically distributed samples on a detailed surface material map using Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA). Determined gradient scores for the first two gradients were regressed against the corresponding mean reflectance of simulated EnMAP spectra using Partial Least Square regression models. Results show strong correlations with R2 = 0.85 and R2 = 0.71 and an RMSE of 0.24 and 0.21 for the first and second axis, respectively. The subsequent mapping of the first gradient reveals patterns that correspond to the transition from predominantly vegetation classes to the dominance of artificial materials. Patterns resulting from the second gradient are associated with surface material compositions that are related to finer structural differences in urban structures. The composite gradient map shows patterns of common surface material compositions that can be related to urban land use classes such as Urban Structure Types (UST). By linking the knowledge of typical material compositions with urban structures, gradient analysis seems to be a powerful tool to map characteristic material compositions in 30 m imaging spectroscopy data of urban areas

Truth about Wicca

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. Wicca. A five letter word that is many of a time mistaken for another five letter word; witch. Yet in present definitions the two are far from interchangeable. Wicca is a religious practice that is slowly being recognized in the United States and other areas around the world. It’s not a form of association with the devil, nor do Wiccans even believe in the devil. In truth Wicca is more about nature and the beauty of nature than anything else

BACCHARIS (ASTERACEAE) NO RIO GRANDE DO SUL.

Baccharis L., um grupo caracterizado pelas flores unissexuais, geralmente em espécimes distintos, compreende ca. 433 espécies e é profusamente diversificado na Região Neotropical [1]. Os Andes, da Colômbia ao centro do Chile e da Argentina, as regiões montanhosas do sudeste e sul do Brasil, o Uruguai e o leste do Paraguai são os principais centros de diversidade do gênero [2]. No Brasil o gênero está representado por 177 espécies distribuídas principalmente nas regiões Sudeste (116 spp.) e Sul (127 spp.) [3]. O objetivo deste estudo é a revisão da listagem de Baccharis no Rio Grande do Sul com vistas à elaboração de um estudo taxonômico do gênero para o estado