Evaluation of Target Date Funds

Target date funds are an emerging class of investment products, designed for retirement savings. The project considered methodologies for ranking such funds

Global Tracking Passivity--based PI Control of Bilinear Systems and its Application to the Boost and Modular Multilevel Converters

This paper deals with the problem of trajectory tracking of a class of bilinear systems with time--varying measurable disturbance. A set of matrices {A,B_i} has been identified, via a linear matrix inequality, for which it is possible to ensure global tracking of (admissible, differentiable) trajectories with a simple linear time--varying PI controller. Instrumental to establish the result is the construction of an output signal with respect to which the incremental model is passive. The result is applied to the boost and the modular multilevel converter for which experimental results are given.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

The Whispering Voices Behind the Poetry of Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold: Three Theoretical Approaches to Selected Works: Formalist, Psychoanalytic, and Marxist

Throughout the literary world, many critics have attempted to pinpoint the root cause for the sudden changes in style and attitude about writing the poetry that ultimately chased Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold into developing their own style in which to convey their innermost compassion for humanity. They hid their injured poetic souls; they hid their innermost thoughts, but they expressed themselves through their characters. By expressing themselves as the voice behind the speaker, they were able to create an artificial mask and utilize the mask as a method of capitalizing on the very essence of what the dramatic monologue tried to express and establish: a poetic play. But by creating this avenue, Browning and Arnold were able to create a niche for themselves in the closing years of the Victorian Age. Of course one can understand that there are limitless factors that can contribute to the direction of a person’s development from childhood to adulthood, and also the time that elapses between each event and how their points of view change along the way. In studying Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold, a few choice factors should be considered as foremost when analyzing these two poets. In the cases of Robert Browning and Matthew Arnold, the key factors one should focus on are their family upbringing, their cultural values, and the literary pressures they were experiencing. I will demonstrate that formalist, psychoanalysis, and Marxist materialism theories are the keys for unraveling the personas of these two Victorian poets. The formalist critic focuses on the lasting impact a work forms on the readers’ mental imagery of the poem and how the readers react to the poem’s flexibility, while also allowing the readers to find whatever they may wish to find in it. The formalist critic also applies to the appropriateness of the poem’s structure. This method allows the readers to form a pattern, to evoke an idea of where the poet is going with the theme or the plot of the poem. On the other hand, the psychoanalytic critic probes the theory of the development of the human psyche. The psychoanalytic critic focuses on what and how certain personal experiences and events affected these two poets and what compelled them to alter their lives and to alter their writing styles so abruptly. In the case of the Marxist materialist theory, I will show that the status of both of these poets contributed to the transformation of their attitudes, and how their class status enhanced the shaping of their views about their surroundings. This study will focus on their experiences growing up, their experiences concerning their relationship with other family members, and their encounters with their contemporaries. In this study, I will present the argument that both these authors were strongly influenced by parochial expectations, by social upheavals, and by literary pressures from other contemporary poets. The emphasis is to demonstrate how in each poem these influences surface to reveal how these factors played a major role in molding their true personas. This study will take into consideration the historical and personal events that were taking place at the time, such as the after effects of the long lasting change of the transference between ideologies from Hellenist to Hebraic, and the Industrial Revolution, which obscured anything that stood in its way. It was a golden age for innovation, but a trying time for literary works; however, ironically, it was during this time that Browning and Arnold were producing their finest works . Furthermore, in this argument I will show that the poems of Browning, such as “My Last Duchess,” “Porphyria’s Lover,” and “Fra Lippo Lippi,” and Arnold’s “Dover Beach,” “The Buried Life,” and his literary criticism on various poets reveal how each influence surfaces in their poems. This study will shed light on how each historical event was relevant in forming the poet’s resilience and state of mind, in developing his particular views about the world he lived in. This study further explores the possible and probable consequences that peer pressure had on both these writers. The focus of each analysis will be upon revealing clues to their character, to their attitude, and, with the emphasis on the direction each poet took in order to overcome the stigma of exclusion. This overview reveals how each poet earned the right to be included into the company of elite writers and into the realm of great poets whose works are read worldwid

Empowering Indigenous People to claim their Rights before National Courts, an Experience from Guatemala

As the United Nations advances towards a better understanding of what elements are central in ensuring that the development assistance it provides is effective and results in tangible changes for the lives of the people it seeks to assist, it has recently began to recognize the need to work in strengthening the capacity of rights-holders to demand their rights, as much as it works in strengthening the capacity of duty-bearers to meet their obligations; a key notion in the human rights based approach to development the United Nations now promotes. Yet, development assistance programmes, even at the United Nations, still overwhelmingly focus on the duty-bearer’s role, with fewer programmes devoted to working with rights-holders. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights’ (OHCHR) results framework for 2012–2013 for example, devotes five of its technical assistance global objectives (or “expected accomplishments”) to duty-bearers, four to the international community’s role, and only two focused on rights-holders. There are surely several reasons for this, but one element that I suspect contributes to this imbalance is the reduced number of experiences gathered in working with rights-holders, in comparison to the number of experiences gathered in working with duty-bearers; and the even fewer experiences, if we circumscribe our interest specifically to integrating Indigenous Peoples’ rights into development assistance programmes. The present article seeks to describe one such experience, highlighting key elements that could be of use to other similar programmes, to promote greater attention to the potential this form of international assistance has in empowering Indigenous Peoples to claim their rights

Programas de idioma dupla: Questões de acesso no estado do Arizona

Public schools across the country are increasingly working with children who enter schools speaking a language other than English. Using a case study methodology, the authors examined Dual Language Program (DLP) implementation in Arizona, which by law supports English-only education. Several benefits (bilingualism, bi-literacy, biculturalism, globalization) and challenges (curriculum, teachers, state policy, funding, and lack of access to DLPs for minority language students) are highlighted from stakeholder perspectives. Participants in this study described the paradox of excluding ELLs from dual language programs as inefficient, unnecessary, and wrong. Taking Interest Convergence as a theoretical framework to understand the Arizona context regarding English-only education, this study raises implications for research and practice. Las escuelas públicas de todo el país trabajan cada vez más con niños que ingresan a escuelas que hablan un idioma que no es inglés. Utilizando una metodología de estudio de caso, los autores examinaron la implementación del Programa de Lenguaje Dual (DLP) en Arizona, que por ley apoya la educación solo en inglés. Desde la perspectiva de las partes interesadas, se destacan varios beneficios (bilingüismo, bi-alfabetización, biculturalismo, globalización) y desafíos (plan de estudios, maestros, política estatal, financiamiento y falta de acceso a DLP para estudiantes de idiomas minoritarios). Los participantes en este estudio describieron la paradoja de excluir a los ELL de los programas de lenguaje dual como ineficiente, innecesaria y errónea. Tomando la Convergencia de Intereses como un marco teórico para comprender el contexto de Arizona con respecto a la educación solo en inglés, este estudio plantea implicaciones para la investigación y la práctica. As escolas públicas de todo o país estão trabalhando cada vez mais com crianças que ingressam em escolas que falam outro idioma que não o inglês. Usando uma metodologia de estudo de caso, os autores examinaram a implementação do Programas de Idioma Dupla (DLP) no Arizona, que por lei apóia a educação somente em inglês. Vários benefícios (bilinguismo, bi-alfabetização, biculturalismo, globalização) e desafios (currículo, professores, política estadual, financiamento e falta de acesso a DLPs para estudantes de línguas minoritárias) são destacados das perspectivas das partes interessadas. Os participantes deste estudo descreveram o paradoxo de excluir ELLs de programas de idioma dupla como ineficiente, desnecessário e errado. Tomando a convergência de interesses como uma estrutura teórica para entender o contexto do Arizona em relação à educação somente em inglês, este estudo levanta implicações para a pesquisa e a prática

Implementation of an extended ZINB model in the study of low levels of natural gastrointestinal nematode infections in adult sheep

Background: In this study, two traits related with resistance to gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) were measured in 529 adult sheep: faecal egg count (FEC) and activity of immunoglobulin A in plasma (IgA). In dry years, FEC can be very low in semi-extensive systems, such as the one studied here, which makes identifying animals that are resistant or susceptible to infection a difficult task. A zero inflated negative binomial model (ZINB) model was used to calculate the extent of zero inflation for FEC; the model was extended to include information from the IgA responses. Results: In this dataset, 64 % of animals had zero FEC while the ZINB model suggested that 38 % of sheep had not been recently infected with GIN. Therefore 26 % of sheep were predicted to be infected animals with egg counts that were zero or below the detection limit and likely to be relatively resistant to nematode infection. IgA activities of all animals were then used to decide which of the sheep with zero egg counts had been exposed and which sheep had not been recently exposed. Animals with zero FEC and high IgA activity were considered resistant while animals with zero FEC and low IgA activity were considered as not recently infected. For the animals considered as exposed to the infection, the correlations among the studied traits were estimated, and the influence of these traits on the discrimination between unexposed and infected animals was assessed. Conclusions: The model presented here improved the detection of infected animals with zero FEC. The correlations calculated here will be useful in the development of a reliable index of GIN resistance that could be of assistance for the study of host resistance in studies based on natural infection, especially in adult sheep, and also the design of breeding programs aimed at increasing resistance to parasites