A Choice Set Modeling Approach to EU Issue Voting

Focusing on the case of Britain, this paper evaluates the role that EU issue voting played in the 1992 and 1997 elections. EU issue voting arises when the issue of European integration has a direct in uence on vote choice by in uencing the attractiveness of party alternatives. In this paper, we explore two different ways in which such infleunce can occur: elimination of party alternatives due to their EU stance or moderator of the utility felt toward a subset of party alternatives that are all viable for the voter. These two in uences are explored through a choice set logistic regression model. The results suggest that EU issue voting increased from 1992 to 1997, especially in England. However, compared with traditional left-right issues, the influence of EU issue voting remained modest even in 1997, when public opinion had taken a Euroskeptic turn and when the Conservative party was seen as much closer than Labour on this issue

Subjective localization of electrocutaneous stimuli

Studying the perception of spatiotemporal stimulus patterns in various modalities may yield important information on the way in which humans process sensory information. The perception of tactile and nociceptive cutaneous stimulus patterns have been studied by Stolle et al. [1] and Trojan et al. [2][4] respectively. Among other things, both authors studied subjective localization of single stimuli. In Trojan et al. [4], two types of mislocalization patterns were observed for nociceptive single stimuli when comparing the localization reports with the stimulus locations: (1) overall proximal or distal displacement and (2) expansion or contraction of the stimulus area.\ud It is unknown whether tactile and nociceptive stimuli at the same skin site are perceived as being at the same site. Therefore, comparing the spatial perception of tactile and nociceptive cutaneous stimuli may provide new insights into their processing. This comparison can only be successfully made by applying nociceptive and tactile stimuli at the same skin site in the same experiment. This can be done by using a device which has recently been developed at our institute and which we refer to as the bimodal stimulation electrode [3]. \ud Recording the perceived locations of stimuli can be done by letting subjects report these on a scale. The most intuitive scale for this is the stimulated arm itself. However, this would bias the perception of stimulus location by providing visual information of the electrode locations. The goal of the present research was to (1) create and (2) test a setup which allows subjects to report perceived stimulus locations on their own arm without seeing the electrode positions. This was achieved by building a setup consisting of a touch screen (Provision Visboard) which presents a digital image of the subject’s own arm (without electrodes) and which is positioned over this arm after the electrodes have been attached. Subjects can report the localizations by pointing at the screen using a pointer

The effect of epoxy resins on the plasticity index of an A-6 soil

This thesis reports the results of an investigation of the variation in plasticity of a clayey soil after treatment with small quantities of epoxy resin and curing agent or with curing agent alone. The series of samples tested consisted of an A-6 soil obtained from the vicinity of Rolla, Missouri, combined with: 1. 0-3% of triethylenetetramine hereafter referred to as TETA. 2. 0-3% of diethylenetriamine hereafter referred to as DETA. 3. 0-3% of Araldite 6010 resin cured with TETA. The TETA content was varied form 20% to 100% of the resin by weight. 4. 0-3% Araldite 6010 resin cured with DETA. The DETA content was varied from 20% to 100% of the resin by weight. The plasticity index of the treated soil samples was computed by conventional soil testing procedures. The relative amount of unreacted amine remaining in samples was determined by titration. Qualitative relationships were found between the plasticity index and the type and quantity of additive used. The complexities of these relationships are discussed and suggestions for further research are made --Abstract, page ii

V_H replacement in rearranged immunoglobulin genes

Examples suggesting that all or part of the V<sub>H</sub> segment of a rearranged V<sub>H</sub>DJ<sub>H</sub> may be replaced by all or part of another V<sub>H</sub> have been appearing since the 1980s. Evidence has been presented of two rather different types of replacement. One of these has gained acceptance and has now been clearly demonstrated to occur. The other, proposed more recently, has not yet gained general acceptance because the same effect can be produced by polymerase chain reaction artefact. We review both types of replacement including a critical examination of evidence for the latter. The first type involves RAG proteins and recombination signal sequences (RSS) and occurs in immature B cells. The second was also thought to be brought about by RAG proteins and RSS. However, it has been reported in hypermutating cells which are not thought to express RAG proteins but in which activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) has recently been shown to initiate homologous recombination. Re-examination of the published sequences reveals AID target sites in V<sub>H</sub>-V<sub>H</sub> junction regions and examples that resemble gene conversion

Deliberative inclusion of minorities: patterns of reciprocity among linguistic groups in Switzerland

We present a model of deliberative inclusion, focusing on reciprocity in the interaction between structural minorities/disadvantaged groups and majorities/privileged groups. Our model, however, comes with a ‘friendly amendment': we have put the ‘burden of reciprocity' mainly on majorities and privileged groups. It is mainly their obligation to seriously listen and respond to the demands and arguments of minorities and disadvantaged groups and show a willingness to respect and accommodate these interests. Empirically, we apply our model to the interaction of linguistic groups in the Swiss parliament. We find a highly egalitarian, sometimes even minority-favoring mode of interaction between the German-speaking majority and linguistic minorities. The German-speaking majority seems to be willing to take the ‘burden of reciprocity' when linguistic minorities' vital interests are concerned. Conversely, linguistic minorities are slightly more self-referential and adversarial under such condition

Vergelijkende studie naar alternatieve vormen van de boomkorvisserij

Als onderdeel van het VIP-project “Alternatief visplan duurzame platvisvisserij” is een vergelijkende studie uitgevoerd naar de traditionele boomkorvisserij en twee alternatieve vismethodes: outriggen en sumwing. Tijdens twee visreizen hebben onderzoekers gekeken naar verschillen in aanlandingen (maatse vis) en discards (benthos en (ondermaatse) vis) op drie verschillende schepen. De drie schepen die waren betrokken bij dit onderzoek zijn: de UK47 (outrig), de ST27 (boomkor) en de UK246 (sumwing). Daarnaast is de kwaliteit van schol van de verschillende vismethoden met elkaar vergeleken

Gene conversion in human rearranged immunoglobulin genes

Over the past 20 years, many DNA sequences have been published suggesting that all or part of the V<sub>H</sub> segment of a rearranged immunoglobulin gene may be replaced in vivo. Two different mechanisms appear to be operating. One of these is very similar to primary V(D)J recombination, involving the RAG proteins acting upon recombination signal sequences, and this has recently been proven to occur. Other sequences, many of which show partial V<sub>H</sub> replacements with no addition of untemplated nucleotides at the V<sub>H</sub>–V<sub>H</sub> joint, have been proposed to occur by an unusual RAG-mediated recombination with the formation of hybrid (coding-to-signal) joints. These appear to occur in cells already undergoing somatic hypermutation in which, some authors are convinced, RAG genes are silenced. We recently proposed that the latter type of V<sub>H</sub> replacement might occur by homologous recombination initiated by the activity of AID (activation-induced cytidine deaminase), which is essential for somatic hypermutation and gene conversion. The latter has been observed in other species, but not in human Ig genes, so far. In this paper, we present a new analysis of sequences published as examples of the second type of rearrangement. This not only shows that AID recognition motifs occur in recombination regions but also that some sequences show replacement of central sections by a sequence from another gene, similar to gene conversion in the immunoglobulin genes of other species. These observations support the proposal that this type of rearrangement is likely to be AID-mediated rather than RAG-mediated and is consistent with gene conversion

Identity Formation between Structure and Agency – How ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ Relates to Voting Behavior in Contexts of Electoral Realignment

Western Europe is experiencing growing levels of political polarization between parties of the New Left and the Far Right. In many countries, the socio-structural foundations of this divide (class, education, residence) are by now so clear that many interpret this divide as a fully mobilized new electoral cleavage. At the same time, observers have highlighted a growing fragmentation of party systems and the proliferation of new competitors. We suggest to make sense of these contradic- tory developments by focusing on the shared group identities that constitute the “glue” of cleavage formation translating grievances into political antagonisms. Our contribution relies on data from an original online survey fielded in France, Germany, the UK and Switzerland. Respondents an- swered questions on their sense of belonging to a series of social groups, electoral preferences and socio-demographics. On this basis, we are able to show – observationally – that socio-structural categories relate to both socio-economically (e.g. class) and socio-culturally (e.g. cosmopolitanism, lifestyle) connoted group identities, which divide New Left and Far Right voters in surprisingly similar ways across contexts. We then study the extent of social closure and political mobilization at the extremes of the new divide through the analysis of social networks, perceived group align- ments, and perceived representation. Our findings suggest that the new conflict is firmly rooted in socio-economic categories and at the societal level. Its political mobilization happens mostly via culturally connoted identities. What is more, social realignments and closure are highly similar across the four countries. This underscores that party competition remains rooted in structural an- tagonisms even as support for individual parties becomes more volatile. To detect this underlying similarity and stability, it is necessary to focus on voter alignments to ideological party blocs, rather than individual parties

Domain Architectures as an Instrument to Refine Enterprise Architecture

Enterprise architecture is concerned with the fundamental organization of the operating environment of an enterprise. The enterprise architecture is used to plan and control the construction of the systems that populate the operating environment. As the scope covered can be considerable in large enterprises, introducing domain architectures to partition and detail the enterprise architecture is a plausible approach. We formulate prescriptive criteria that consistent domain architectures must meet. By integrating the creation of domain architectures into an extended strategic alignment model we develop a theory that accounts for both the creation, scope-setting and detailing. Based on the creation viewpoint we derive a multi-level classification taxonomy. The primary differentiator is that between domains that are created from business usage viewpoints and those that are created from solution construction viewpoints. Four cases of domain architectures from actual practice are described that illustrate the variety encountered. Domain classifications in all cases conform to the theoretical model. The criteria, the developed theory and the cases have both academic relevance as well as significance for practitioners

A global climatology of total columnar water vapour from SSM/I and MERIS

A global time series of total columnar water vapour from combined data of the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) onboard ESA's Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) onboard the satellite series of the US Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) is presented. The unique data set, generated in the framework of the ESA Data User Element (DUE) GlobVapour project, combines atmospheric water vapour observations over land and ocean, derived from measurements in the near- infrared and the microwave range, respectively. Daily composites and monthly means of total columnar water vapour are available as global maps on rectangular latitude–longitude grids with a spatial resolution of 0.05° × 0.05° over land and 0.5° × 0.5° over ocean for the years 2003 to 2008. The data are stored in NetCDF files and is fully compliant with the NetCDF Climate Forecast convention. Through the combination of high-quality microwave observations and near-infrared observations over ocean and land surfaces, respectively, the data set provides global coverage. The combination of both products is carried out such that the individual properties of the microwave and near-infrared products, in particular their uncertainties, are not modified by the merging process and are therefore well defined. Due to the global coverage and the provided uncertainty estimates this data set is potentially of high value for climate research. The SSM/I-MERIS TCWV data set is freely available via the GlobVapour project web page (www.globvapour.info) with associated doi:10.5676/DFE/WV_COMB/FP. In this paper, the details of the data set generation, i.e. the satellite data used, the retrieval techniques and merging approaches, are presented. The derived level 3 products are compared to global radiosonde data from the GCOS upper air network (GUAN), showing a high agreement with a root-mean-square deviation of roughly 4.4 kg m−2 and a small wet bias well below 1 kg m−2. Furthermore, the data set is shown to be free of seasonal biases. The consistency of the MERIS and SSM/I retrievals is demonstrated by applying the MERIS retrieval to sun glint areas over ocean