“Pastunistán”: Un desafío para Pakistán y Afganistán

La colaboración cada vez mayor entre los nacionalistas pastunes y las fuerzas islamistas en contra de la dominación punjabi podría llevar a la ruptura de Pakistán y de Afganistán y a la emergencia de una nueva entidad nacional: un “Pastunistán islámico”. El crecimiento alarmante de al-Qaeda y de los talibán en la región tribal pastún del noroeste de Pakistán y del sur de Afganistán suele atribuirse a la popularidad de su variante mesiánica del islam y a la ayuda encubierta de los servicios secretos paquistaníes. Pero hay otra razón, más inquietante, que explica su éxito: su relación simbiótica con un importante en ambos movimiento separatista pastún que podría llevar a la unificación de, aproximadamente, 41 millones de pastunes lados de la frontera, la ruptura de Pakistán y de Afganistán, y la emergencia de una nueva entidad nacional, un “Pastunistán islámico”. Este ARI examina la reivindicación pastún de un territorio independiente, las raíces históricas y políticas de la identidad pastún, las implicaciones que esta situación tiene para las operaciones militares dirigidas por la OTAN o por paquistaní en la región, la creciente colaboración entre los nacionalistas pastún y las fuerzas islámicas contra la dominación punjabi y las razones por las que el movimiento pro Pastunistán, largo tiempo inactivo, está cobrando vida lentamente

The Kit Kat Conundrum: Difficulties in Obtaining Trademarks for Shapes and Containers

Article published in the Michigan State International Law Review

Syncrisis: investigations of a new assessment procedure

Syncrisis is the process of making item-level comparisons between two or more people. It was proposed as a method for more directly assessing the amount of similarity between inventory respondents than standard scoring technology allows (e.g., correlation between profiles, and D(\u272) measures of similarity). Three experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 was a three week long test-retest reliability study. Two structured inventories, the Jackson Personality Inventory (JPI) and the Kuder Occupational Interest Survey (KOIS), were used as the bases for syncritically formed interpersonal similarity matrices on the test and retest data. The median reliability for syncritic scoring of the JPI was .78, while the median reliability of the KOIS was .87. There were no sex differences. Experiment 2 was an attempt to relate similarity indices (syncritic and profile-based) of a group clients compared to six therapists, to clients\u27 preferences for individual counselors. No similarity measure was significantly related to clients\u27 self-reported preferences for therapists. Experiment 3 was an exploratory client-therapist matching study. Syncritically-based similarity between clients and counselors (graduate students) was significantly correlated with the supervisor\u27s grade of the therapists\u27 performances. Profile-based similarity measures were not positively correlated with either outcome measure (therapists\u27 grades, clients\u27 ratings of their therapist). The discussion concludes that syncrisis was found to be adequately reliable for research and applied uses. Further validity studies were suggested and outlined

Manejo do crescimento em diâmetro da árvore individual e o impacto para a poda de Eucalyptus grandis no Brasil.

No presente estudo, foi desenvolvido um programa de desbaste e um modelo para a descrição da dinâmica da base da copa. Para esse fim, 485 árvores foram medidas em parcelas temporárias das empresas Klabin Riocell (Guaíba, hoje Aracruz), Todeschini (Cachoeira do Sul), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (RS) e Aracruz Celulose (Espirito Santo e Bahia). Foi encontrada uma correlação linear entre a largura da copa e o diâmetro à altura do peito (DBH), usando-se a metodologia da análise de regressão. A equação obtida foi largura da copa = e0.504+0.0307* DBH, com um coeficiente de determinação de 0.78 e um erro padrão de 0.034. Com esse modelo, foi calculado o espaço da árvore individual necessário para alcançar um determinado crescimento em diâmetro durante todo o ciclo de rotação, considerando uma cobertura do dossel média de 70%. Assim, o número de árvores por hectare em diferentes estágios de desenvolvimento foi calculado para diferentes sistemas de manejo com o objetivo de produzir madeira para serraria em ciclos de rotações curtas. Também foi obtido um modelo multivariado descrevendo a altura da base da copa viva em função das variáveis diâmetro à altura do peito (DBH) e altura total. Com base nesses modelos, a dinâmica na inserção da copa viva para diferentes sistemas de manejo em sítios de diferentes qualidades pode ser calculado, possibilitando assim a determinação do ponto ótimo e da intensidade da poda.In the present work a thinning program and a model describing dynamic of crown base recession for Eucalyptus grandis was established on an individual tree basis. Therefore, 485 trees were measured on temporary plots in forests of the companies Klabin Riocell (Guaíba), Todeschini (Cachoeira do Sul), the Federal University of Santa Maria and Aracruz Company, located in Rio Grande do Sul, Espirito Santo and Bahia, Brazil. A straight relationship between crown width and diameter at breast height (DBH) was found by using regression analysis. The equation obtained was crown width = e0.504+0.0307* DBH, with a coefficient of determination of 0.78 and a standard error of 0.034. With this equation the standing space of the individual trees was calculated over the whole rotation period, taking into account a crown cover of 70 %. Therefore the number of trees which can be grown on a hectare was derived for different variants of management systems aiming to produce eucalypt sawlogs in short rotation periods. Beside this a multivariate model describing height of crown base as a function of DBH and total height was found. Based upon this model the dynamics of crown base recession for different site qualities and thinning regimes are described, giving advice for time and intensity of green pruning

Lösliche Oligogalakturonide im Blattapoplasten unterschiedlich Ca-effizienter Kartoffelsorten bei Ca-Mangel

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A case study on the use of dictionary as a strategy for learning english vocabulary

This case study attempts to examine how students actually use the English dictionary, as well as their perceptions concerning dictionary use for learning vocabulary, factors that motivate them to learn vocabular y through the dictionary, and problems that students encounter in using the print dictionary. Data from respondents was collected using questionnaires as the main instrument . A semi - structured interview was also conducted for the purpose of eliciting more information from respondents. The samples used in this study were 201 Form Four students of a secondary school in Kuching who were selected out of 14 classes by cluster random sampling method. Analysis of the data allows us to see how students actually use their dictionary, how they perceive the use of dictionary for vocabulary learning, factors that motivate them to learn vocabulary through the dictionary, and the problems students encounter in using the dictionary. Based on the finding, it shows that stud ents are not too dependent on the dictionary for new word meanings but only do so after trying to deduce the meaning of the word from context. It also indicates that students are positive towards the use of dictionary for learning vocabulary. The most prom inent factor that seems to influence students’ preference of using the dictionary for learning the vocabulary is from parents. The finding also reveals that a great majority of respondents acknowledge the fact that some word used in the dictionary to defin e a new word are found to be more difficult than the word itself

The importance of service quality that influence customer satisfaction in Hotel IPM Dungun /Adrian Seling Bilong

The purpose of this research is to study about the importance of SERVQUAL dimensions (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles) that influence customer satisfaction in Hotel IPM Dungun. This research is to identify the solutions of the problem occurs that face by Hotel IPM in delivering services to their internal and external customers. The main problem faces is the failure of Hotel IPM Dungun Manager and employees to deliver excellent services to their customers during the service process. This is also because the failure of the Manager and Hotel IPM staff practicing SERVQUAL in delivering service to their customers. Regarding to this circumstances, it can affect the level of customer satisfaction towards the service deliver and the image of the Hotel IPM itself. Due to the problems, there are certain circumstances why the research objective was developed. First, is to identify the relationship between independent variable (reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles) and dependent variable (customer satisfaction). Next is to identify which are the most important SERVQUAL dimensions that influence customer satisfaction that will brings profit and advantages to the Hotel IPM. Last objective is to give suggestions and recommendations to Hotel IPM Dungun to ensure customers’ satisfaction towards its service delivered. The findings of the research state that all the variables, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles have a relationship with customer satisfaction of service delivered. Overall, based on the findings, there are several recommendations that have been suggested in order to help and improve the way Hotel IPM delivered services to their customer and satisfy them

The Kit Kat Conundrum: Difficulties in Obtaining Trademarks for Shapes and Containers

Article published in the Michigan State International Law Review

Konflikt på flykt - Analys av flyktingströmmars påverkan på konflikterna i Great Lakes-regionen.

Konflikterna i Great Lakes-regionen har präglats av både flyktingströmmar och etniska dimensioner. Vi har genomfört en fallstudie på detta område för att undersöka vilken betydelse flyktingar har för konflikterna i regionen. Vi visar hur flyktingströmmarnas karaktär och flyktingskapets utsatthet leder till skärpta etniska spänningar och bidrar till försvagandet av stater. Flyktingarnas osäkra livssituation och kollektiva minnen innebär ett särskilt starkt identitetsbehov, vilket kan leda till ökad etnisk polarisering och gör att de blir lätta att mobilisera politiskt. Flyktingströmmar orsakar ett allvarligt försvagande av stater, eftersom de på ett fundamentalt sätt underminerar statens legitimitet, genom exempelvis deras förlorade förtroende för staten och dess institutioner samt deras inblandning i väpnade attacker mot hemlandet. Generellt uppmärksammas flyktingströmmar oftast bara som en allvarlig konsekvens av konflikter, men vi visar hur de också kan förstås som en starkt bidragande orsak till inomstatlig och regional instabilitet