Consumer demand in the Industrial Revolution: The Netherlands, 1815-1913

The industrial revolution is mostly seen as a supply side phenomenon. Ever since Gilboy stated that factors of demand may have been equally important, scholars have stressed the importance of investments and technological change. This paper re-considers Gilboy?s ideas, using the dataset of the Dutch historical national accounts for the nineteenth century. Using a counterfactual VAR analysis, it is investigated to what extent changes in (determinants of) consumer demand may have affected patterns of industrial development.

Comsol Multiphysics for building energy simulation (BES) using BESTEST criteria

An overall objective of energy efficiency in the built environment is to improve building and systems performances in terms of durability, comfort and economics. In order to predict, improve and meet a certain set of performance requirements related to the indoor climate of buildings and the associated energy demand, numerical simulation tools are indispensable. In this paper we consider two types of numerical simulation tools: Finite Element Method (FEM) and Building Energy Simulation (BES). A well known benchmark case for BES, the so-called BESTEST, is used to verify Comsol (FEM) 3D simulation results. It is concluded that one of the main benefits of FEM-BES modeling exchange is the possibility to simulate building energy performances with high spatial resolution

Combinatorial models of rigidity and renormalization

We first introduce the percolation problems associated with the graph theoretical concepts of $(k,l)$-sparsity, and make contact with the physical concepts of ordinary and rigidity percolation. We then devise a renormalization transformation for $(k,l)$-percolation problems, and investigate its domain of validity. In particular, we show that it allows an exact solution of $(k,l)$-percolation problems on hierarchical graphs, for $k\leq l<2k$. We introduce and solve by renormalization such a model, which has the interesting feature of showing both ordinary percolation and rigidity percolation phase transitions, depending on the values of the parameters.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure

Accountability mechanisms in community-driven reconstruction in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

A lack of accountability is often considered a root cause of conflict. Many post-conflict reconstruction efforts therefore aim to enhance accountability between authorities and the population through community-driven reconstruction (CDR) programmes. This article examines the details of the accountability mechanisms in the Tushiriki CDR programme in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Based on ethnographic research, we found little impact of formal programme accountability. Rather, accountability was shaped differently and had its own context-specific meaning. To make accountability more sustainable, stronger embeddedness in local institutions and more appropriate translations of abstract concepts into the local context are needed

Everyday justice for the internally displaced in a context of fragility: The case of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Bukavu is a rapidly growing city in the conflict-affected east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is home to large numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs). This article looks at these IDPs and explores the strategies they use to claim their rights and settle their everyday disputes. The article is based on a socio-legal research project for which data collection took place between May 2015 and June 2016. The research found that hardly any assistance is provided to IDPs in Bukavu and both state and non-state actors have limited knowledge on their situation. Our data show that the mobilization of personal connections is key for IDPs to find justice, either directly or indirectly. Helping IDPs to strengthen their social networks in town could be a strategy for policy makers and practitioners to improve IDP’s access to justice and to better respect their rights.Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

Recent results from hadronic observables at the CERN SPS

Some recent results on Pb+Pb collisions from NA44 and NA49 at the CERN SPS are reviewed and compared to collisions of lighter systems and lower energies. For central collisions: primordial protons show enhanced stopping for Pb+Pb relative to S+S at the same energy, but less stopping than heavy systems at lower energy; yields of negative hadrons, kaons and lambdas scale with the number of participants relative to S+S; and transverse momentum spectra show strong evidence for enhanced radial flow in the heaviest system. For intermediate impact parameters, significant quadrupole deformation of the transverse energy distribution is seen at mid-rapidity. Coulomb effects are seen for central collisions in the ratio of yields {pi}{sup -}/{pi}{sup +} and unlike-sign two particle correlations

Tailoring information about climate change and its impacts

Resultaten van onderzoek naar klimaatverandering en de mogelijke effecten zijn vaak niet beschikbaar in een vorm waarin ze direct door anderen gebruikt kunnen worden. Gebruikers van klimaat- en impactinformatie hebben vaak ook geen goed overzicht over de beschikbare gegevens van alle sectoren en resultaten zijn soms inconsistent