The Role of Emigration and Migration in Swedish Industrialization - Some Preliminary Results using a Computable General Equilibrium Model

This paper discusses some preliminary results of the Swedish case study of the Population, Resources, and Growth Task. The study highlights the Swedish demoeconomic development during its first phase of industrialization, the pre-World War I period, with specific emphasis on an analysis of the economic consequences of rural-to-urban migration and emigration. The paper starts with a short review of the model that has been developed--a so-called numerical general equilibrium model, especially designed to capture Swedish development. Results of simulations over a 20 year period are given. After discussing the capability of the model to capture the Swedish development, some policy analyses are carried out through counterfactual simulations, both in a static and a dynamic setting. Three dynamic simulations are undertaken to analyze the role of rural-to-urban migration and emigration in Swedish industrialization, and some preliminary results are presented concerning their importance for the development of the Swedish economy

The Potential of Digestate as a Fertilizer

This project will review the use of digestate byproducts from anaerobic digestion as fertilizer for agricultural use

Urbanization and Industrialization: Modeling Swedish Demoeconomic Development from 1870 to 1914

This paper describes the urbanization and development experience of Sweden during the years 1870-1914. A general equilibrium demoeconomic model is outlined that seeks to capture characteristics specific to the Swedish studies. This analysis of Swedish development expands the collection of national case studies that are envisioned as part of the Population, Resources, and Growth Task

Soil Development in Quaternary Glacial Deposits, Waterton Park Area, Southwestern Alberta

Pedological investigations in the Waterton Park area provide a useful means of testing subdivisions of Quaternary glacial deposits based on geomorphic relations. Soils in the region, however, including Podzols, Brunisols, Luvisols, and Chernozemics, also reflect the influence of soil forming factors other than time. Nonetheless, a chronosequence can be established by comparing time-diagnostic properties of soils on different geomorphic units in areas with similar climate, vegetation, slope and parent material. Properties thought to be most diagnostic of relative soil age include thickness and degree of clay buildup in B horizons and two soil development indices which average degree of development of a number of properties. Pédologie and geomorphic data suggest surface deposits include mountain tills of three or four separate advances and continental tills of two separate advances. Mountain tills are tentatively correlated with the Late Wisconsinan (about 18 ka BP), Late and or Early Wisconsinan (about 100 to 65 ka BP). Late lllinoian (about 200 to 132 ka BP). and Early lllinoian and/or pre-lllinoian (about 400 to 700+ ka BP), whereas continental tills are tentatively correlated with the Late Wisconsinan and Late lllinoian deposits of the U.S. Midcontinent.Les recherches pédologiques menées dans la région du parc Waterton ont permis de vérifier les subdivisions des dépôts glaciaires quaternaires fondées sur les relations géomorphologiques. Les sols de la région, incluant les podzols, les brunisols, les luvisols et les sols chernozémiques, reflètent également l'influence d'autres facteurs de formation que le temps. On peut tout de même établir une chronoséquence en comparant les propriétés relatives au temps des sols développés sur différentes unités géomorphologiques situées dans des régions dont le climat, la végétation, les pentes et le matériau parental sont similaires. Les propriétés considérées comme étant les plus indicatives de l'âge relatif des sols comprennent l'épaisseur et le degré d'accumulation d'argile dans les horizons B. Deux indices de développement de sols, qui font la moyenne du degré d'évolution d'un certain nombre de propriétés, fournissent aussi des indications relatives à l'âge. Les données pédologiques et géomorphologiques laissent croire que les dépôts de surface comprennent des tills de montagne de trois ou quatre glaciations distinctes et des tills d'origine continentale de deux glaciations distinctes. Les tills de montagne sont à titre d'essai mis en corrélation avec le Wisconsinien supérieur (environ 18 ka BP), le Wisconsinien supérieur ou le Wisconsinien inférieur (environ 100 à 65 ka BP), l'Illinoien supérieur (environ 200 à 132 ka BP), et l'Illinoien inférieur ou le pré-lllinoien (environ 400 à 700 + ka BP), tandis que les tills d'origine continentale sont mis en corrélation avec les dépôts du centre des États-Unis datant du Wisconsinien supérieur et de l'Illinoien supérieur.Pedologische Forschungen, die im Gebiet des Waterton-Parks durchgefùhrt wurden, erlaubten die Unterteilungen der glazialen Ablagerungen im Quaternâr, die sich auf geomorphologische Beziehungen stûtzen, zu ùberprùfen. Die Bôden des Gebiets, einschliesslich der Podsole, der Brunisole, der Luvisole und der Chernozemiks, spiegeln auch den Einfluss anderer bodenbildender Faktoren als der Zeit. Dennoch làsst sich eine Chronosequenz erstellen, indem man zeitdiagnostische Eigenschaften von Bôden in verschiedenen geomorphischen Einheiten vergleicht, in Gebieten, deren Klima, Vegetation, Abhânge und ursprùngliches Material gleichartig sind. Zu den Eigenschaften, von denen man glaubt. dass sie am besten das relative Alter der Bôden anzeigen, gehôren die Dicke und der Akkumulationsgrad des Tons in den B-Horizonten. Zwei Anhaltspunkte zu der Entwicklung der Bôden, die den Durchschnitt des Entwicklungsgrades einer bestimmten Zahl von Eigenschaften ermitteln, liefern auch Hinweise, das Alter betreffend. Die pedologischen und geomorphologischen Daten lassen vermuten, dass die Oberflâchen-Ablagerungen Berg-Tills von drei oder vier verschiedenen Vereisungen enthalten. Die Berg-Tills hat man probeweise in Beziehung zum spàten Wisconsinan (etwa 18 ka v.u.Z.), dem spâten und/oder frùhen Wisconsinan (etwa 100 bis 65 ka v.u.Z.), dem spàten IIlinoium (etwa 200 bis 132 ka v.u.Z.) und dem frùhen lllinoium und/oder prâ-lllinoium (etwa 400 bis 700+ ka v.u.Z.) in Beziehung gebracht, wàhrend die Tills kontinentaler Herkunft mit den Ablagerungen des Zentrums der Vereinigten Staaten korreliert werden, die aus dem spàten Wisconsinan und dem spàten lllinoium stammen

The Limits of Natural Boundaries: A Botanist’s Experience of Mexico’s Northern Border in the 1800s

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

The Effects of Low Latency on Pointing and Steering Tasks

Latency is detrimental to interactive systems, especially pseudo-physical systems that emulate real-world behaviour. It prevents users from making quick corrections to their movement, and causes their experience to deviate from their expectations. Latency is a result of the processing and transport delays inherent in current computer systems. As such, while a number of studies have hypothesized that any latency will have a degrading effect, few have been able to test this for latencies less than ~50 ms. In this study we investigate the effects of latency on pointing and steering tasks. We design an apparatus with a latency lower than typical interactive systems, using it to perform interaction tasks based on Fitts’s law and the Steering law. We find evidence that latency begins to affect performance at ~16 ms, and that the effect is non-linear. Further, we find latency does not affect the various components of an aiming motion equally. We propose a three stage characterisation of pointing movements with each stage affected independently by latency. We suggest that understanding how users execute movement is essential for studying latency at low levels, as high level metrics such as total movement time may be misleading

A 139-year dendroclimatic cycle, cultural/environmental history, sunspots, and longer-term cycles

Higher resolution time-stratigraphic records suggest correlation of lower frequency paleoclimatic events with Milankovitch obliquity/precessional cycles and of higher frequency events with the evidently resonance-related Pettersson maximum tidal force (MTF) model. Subsequently published records, mainly pollen, seemingly confirm that atmospheric resonances may have modulated past climatic changes in phase with average MTF cycles of 1668, 1112, and 556 years, as calculated in anomalistic years from planetary movements by Stacey. Stacey accepts Pettersson's dating of AD 1433 (517 YBP) for the last major perihelian spring tide based solely on calculations of moon- and earth-orbital relations to the sun. Use of AD 1433 as an origin for the tidal resonance model seemingly continues to provide a best fit for the timing of cyclical patterns in the presented paleoclimate time series

Addendum I: Paleoclimate and the Solar-Insolation/Tidal-Resonance Climate Model

Recent papers provide detailed analyses of more than 40 high-resolution time series culled from the extensive paleoclimate literature that appear to define cyclical elements of the Solar-Insolation/Tidal-Resonance Climate Model. This model was earlier referred to as the Milankovitch/Pettersson Climatic Theory. This paper provides comparable analyses of an additional 20 or so, evidently supportive, climate and volcanic time series. The tree-ring, historical, pollen, cultural, time-frequency, and hydrologic records range in length from 400 to 90,000 years and spatially from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego

Decreased sexual risk behaviour after the diagnosis of HIV and initiation of antiretroviral treatment - a study of patients in Johannesburg

Objectives. An extended programme for free antiretroviral treatment (ART) of HIV was launched in South Africa in April 2004. It is essential to assess the effects on sexual risk behaviour. Design and setting. A questionnaire was distributed to patients on ART at Helen Joseph Hospital, Johannesburg, between 17 January and 22 February 2005. Results. The percentage of men who had sexual contacts outside their relationship decreased from 48% before HIV diagnosis to 11% after starting ART. Condom use with casual partners increased from 53% among the men and 46% among the women before the diagnosis of HIV to 87% and 81% respectively on ART. The majority of patients were tested for HIV because they presented with symptoms of illness. We noted no significant difference in disclosure rate after the start of ART. All participants were positive about the treatment and felt physically better. The majority of the patients experienced a better quality of life. Conclusions. The ART had an overall positive effect on health with no increase of sexual risk behaviour. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine Vol. 7 (4) 2006: pp. 12-1

A laser pointer driven microheater for precise local heating and conditional gene regulation in vivo. Microheater driven gene regulation in zebrafish

Background - Tissue heating has been employed to study a variety of biological processes, including the study of genes that control embryonic development. Conditional regulation of gene expression is a particularly powerful approach for understanding gene function. One popular method for mis-expressing a gene of interest employs heat-inducible heat shock protein (hsp) promoters. Global heat shock of hsp-promoter-containing transgenic animals induces gene expression throughout all tissues, but does not allow for spatial control. Local heating allows for spatial control of hsp-promoter-driven transgenes, but methods for local heating are cumbersome and variably effective. Results - We describe a simple, highly controllable, and versatile apparatus for heating biological tissue and other materials on the micron-scale. This microheater employs micron-scale fiber optics and uses an inexpensive laser-pointer as a power source. Optical fibers can be pulled on a standard electrode puller to produce tips of varying sizes that can then be used to reliably heat 20-100 μm targets. We demonstrate precise spatiotemporal control of hsp70l:GFP transgene expression in a variety of tissue types in zebrafish embryos and larvae. We also show how this system can be employed as part of a new method for lineage tracing that would greatly facilitate the study of organogenesis and tissue regulation at any time in the life cycle. Conclusion - This versatile and simple local heater has broad utility for the study of gene function and for lineage tracing. This system could be used to control hsp-driven gene expression in any organism simply by bringing the fiber optic tip in contact with the tissue of interest. Beyond these uses for the study of gene function, this device has wide-ranging utility in materials science and could easily be adapted for therapeutic purposes in humans