Wallenstein’s Power Problem and Its Consequences

This paper wants to be both: an introduction to game-theoretical thinking as well as a game-theoretical discussion of Schiller’s Wallenstein. Note that the intention of this article is to convince theatergoers and people who work in the theatrical arts that it is worthwhile to study some game theory. Others will hopefully profit from the unusual Wallenstein interpretation. It is not this article’s purpose to teach game theorists, but rather to inspire applications. The drama is depicted as a game and consequently submitted to a formal analysis that is based on the economic concept of rationality. Weber’s definition of power is operationalized and applied to Wallenstein’s decision situation.Power, bargaining, mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium, theater, Wallenstein

A difficult set of circumstances? Lone mothers and social exclusion in Woodland View

This thesis explores how poor, single mothers on benefits experienced discourses of welfare and social exclusion within the context of New Labour's policy measures. This research is based on thirty-six months ethnographic fieldwork conducted between 2007 and 2011 on a housing estate in the South of England among single mothers on benefits. The researcher studied how New Labour social policy initiatives had an impact on their lives. This study argues that while social exclusion and its flexibility constituted a tool to explore multi-dimensional aspects of poverty, the same term had come to entail a much more narrow focus under New Labour. The effects of such a shift in terms of providing services to mothers on benefits provided the framework through which the participants viewed dominant discourses on welfare and social exclusion. In doing so this thesis exposes the contestations and tensions that permeate much of these discourses. In interviews and discussions carried out during the fieldwork, many women located described the official political discourse as an external phenomenon with which they strategically engage, while also internalising it and accepting it as an accurate representation of social reality. On the other hand, most participants critically engaged with the dominant discourse and almost all traversed a tightrope of moral evaluation. This study argues that the importance of placing the experiences of single mothers on benefits in the context of welfare reform measures cannot be overestimated because it offers an understanding of how different social groups experience new social policies. It also suggests the possibility to evaluate the the deeper societal struggles and it constitutes an opportunity to reform existing economic, political and social structures. This thesis shows that the tendency to morally condemn poor and unemployed citizens has been part of social policy landscape in the United Kingdom for a very long time. These include ongoing changes to the welfare system, focusing on key elements such as penalising the unemployed and privatising public services

Quantitative disentanglement of nanocrystalline phases in cement pastes by synchrotron ptychographic X-ray tomography

Mortars and concretes are ubiquitous materials with very complex hierarchical microstructures. To fully understand their main properties and to decrease their CO2 footprint, a sound description of their spatially resolved mineralogy is necessary. Developing this knowledge is very challenging as about half of the volume of hydrated cement is a nanocrystalline component, calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel. Furthermore, other poorly crystalline phases (e.g. iron siliceous hydrogarnet or silica oxide) may coexist, which are even more difficult to characterize. Traditional spatially resolved techniques such as electron microscopy involve complex sample preparation steps that often lead to artefacts (e.g. dehydration and microstructural changes). Here, synchrotron ptychographic tomography has been used to obtain spatially resolved information on three unaltered representative samples: neat Portland paste, Portland–calcite and Portland–fly-ash blend pastes with a spatial resolution below 100 nm in samples with a volume of up to 5 x 104 mm3. For the neat Portland paste, the ptychotomographic study gave densities of 2.11 and 2.52 g cm -3 and a content of 41.1 and 6.4 vol% for nanocrystalline C-S-H gel and poorly crystalline iron siliceous hydrogarnet, respectively. Furthermore, the spatially resolved volumetric mass-density information has allowed characterization of inner-product and outer-product C-S-H gels. The average density of the inner-product C-S-H is smaller than that of the outer product and its variability is larger. Full characterization of the pastes, including segmentation of the different components, is reported and the contents are compared with the results obtained by thermodynamic modelling.This work has been supported by MINECO through BIA2014-57658 and BIA2017-82391-R research grants, which are cofunded by FEDER. Instrumentation development was supported by SNF (R’EQUIP, No. 145056,‘OMNY’) and the Competence Centre for Materials Science and Technology (CCMX) of the ETH-Board, Switzerland

Ist das schon Praxisforschung? Hochschuldozentinnen forschen zum Praxissemester

In diesem Beitrag wird die Forschung, die die Autorinnen zur Frage des Vorhandenseins von Reflexion in Studienprojekten im Praxissemester durchgeführt haben, unter der Frage betrachtet, ob sie den Kriterien von Praxisforschung genügt. Als besonders wichtige Kriterien von Praxisforschung, die über die Kriterien für gute wissenschaftliche Forschung hinausgehen, werden u.a. der in einem Praxisproblem liegende Anlass für die Forschung sowie die Nutzung der Ergebnisse für die eigene Lehrpraxis angesehen. Es zeigt sich, dass die gewonnenen Ergebnisse aus der Forschung für die Weiterentwicklung der Lehre genutzt werden können, eine Anlage als Praxisforschung jedoch ein noch größeres Potenzial für die Weiterentwicklung der Hochschullehre gehabt hätte

Fas engagement induces the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs), the release of interleukin (IL)-1beta, and the production of interferon gamma in the absence of IL-12 during DC-T cell cognate interaction: a new role for Fas ligand in inflammatory responses

Ligation of the Fas (CD95) receptor leads to an apoptotic death signal in T cells, B cells, and macrophages. However, human CD34(+)-derived dendritic cells (DCs) and mouse DCs, regardless of their maturation state, are not susceptible to Fas-induced cell death. This resistance correlates with the constitutive expression of the Fas-associated death domain-like IL-1beta-converting enzyme (FLICE)-inhibitory protein (FLIP) ligand. We demonstrate a new role of Fas in DC physiology. Engagement of Fas on immature DCs by Fas ligand (FasL) or by anti-Fas antibodies induces the phenotypical and functional maturation of primary DCs. Fas-activated DCs upregulate the expression of the major histocompatibility complex class II, B7, and DC-lysosome-associated membrane protein (DC-LAMP) molecules and secrete proinflammatory cytokines, in particular interleukin (IL)-1beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Mature DCs, if exposed to FasL, produce even higher amounts of IL-1beta. Importantly, it is possible to reduce the production of IL-1beta and interferon (IFN)-gamma during DC-T cell interaction by blocking the coupling of Fas-FasL with a Fas competitor. Finally, during cognate DC-T cell recognition, IL-12 (p70) could not be detected at early or late time points, indicating that Fas-induced, IFN-gamma secretion is independent of IL-12

Physical literacy in Europe: The current state of implementation in research, practice, and policy

Background/objective The holistic concept of physical literacy (PL) embraces different person-centered qualities (physical, cognitive, affective/psychological) necessary to lead physically active lifestyles. PL has recently gained increasing attention globally and Europe is no exception. However, scientific endeavors summarizing the current state of PL in Europe are lacking. Therefore, the goal of this study was to comprehensively assess and compare the implementation of PL in research, policy, and practice across the continent. Methods We assembled a panel of experts representing 25 European countries. Employing a complementary mixed-methods design, the experts first prepared reviews about the current state of PL in their countries (categories: research, practice/policy). The reviews underwent comparative document analysis, ensuring a transnational four-eyes principle. For re-validation purposes, the representatives completed a quantitative survey with questions reflecting the inductive themes from the document analysis. Results The document analysis resulted in ten disjunct themes (related to “concept”, “research”, “practice/policy”, “future/prospect”) and yielded a heterogenous PL situation in Europe. The implementation state was strongly linked to conceptual discussions (e.g., existence of competing approaches), linguistic issues (e.g., translations), and country-specific traditions. Despite growing scholarly attention, PL hesitantly permeates practice and policy in most countries. Nevertheless, the experts largely anticipate increasing popularity of PL for the future. Conclusion Despite the heterogeneous situation across Europe, the analysis has uncovered similarities among the countries, such as the presence of established yet not identical concepts. Research should intensify academic activities (conceptual-linguistic elaborations, empirical work) before PL may gain further access into practical and political spheres in the long term

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure