Constraining Theories of SiO Maser Polarization: Analysis of a pipi/2 EVPA Change

The full theory of polarized SiO maser emission from the near-circumstellar environment of Asymptotic Giant Branch stars has been the subject of debate, with theories ranging from classical Zeeman origins to predominantly non-Zeeman anisotropic excitation or propagation effects. Features with an internal electric vector position angle (EVPA) rotation of $\sim \pi /2$ offer unique constraints on theoretical models. In this work, results are presented for one such feature that persisted across five epochs of SiO $\nu=1, J=1-0$ VLBA observations of TX Cam. We examine the fit to the predicted dependence of linear polarization and EVPA on angle ($\theta$) between the line of sight and the magnetic field against theoretical models. We also present results on the dependence of $m_c$ on $\theta$ and their theoretical implications. Finally, we discuss potential causes of the observed differences, and continuing work

Fueling the Dragon\u27s Fire: China\u27s Coal Policy

The last few decades in China have seen unprecedented economic growth. This growth, though good for the economy, has had extreme consequences on the health of Chinese citizens as well as the environment as a whole. A major factor of this increased pollution is the country\u27s high consumption of coal, which has rarely comprised less than 70 percent of the country\u27s energy during the past 50 years. Though the media portrays a China which is making enormous strides in the field of environmental protection, the energy and environmental policies of the country suggest that it will continue using large amounts of coal in the years to come. This thesis project attempts to discover the underlying reasons for China\u27s coal policy and how it is affected by economic, environmental, and social factors within the country. It argues that although environmental and social factors are playing an increasingly significant role, these policies are still driven by economic concerns. Until the country places more stress on environmental concerns, coal will continue to play a large role in its energy policy

The economic value of intellectual property: eroded and made inscrutable by single market legislation

An examination of the effectiveness of measures of European Community law to harmonise intellectual property protection throughout the Community, focusing on two consequences of these measures: first, the adverse impact on the commercial value of the intellectual property in the hands of the proprietor or licensee and, secondly, the implications for the due diligence enquiry of the scope of protection conferred by intellectual property rights undertaken whenever an interest in intellectual property is acquired. The position of the national law of Member States following accession to the Community is examined, in particular its limits to confer monopoly or quasi monopoly protection on the intellectual property proprietor. The effect of international cooperation (such as the Berne Convention) in shaping national law is considered by way of essential background to determine the extent to which obstacles to the implementation of Community principles result. Particular attention is given to the inter-relation between the provisions of the Treaty of Rome and national law, insofar as the free movement principles of Articles 30 to 36 and the competition law prohibition of Article 85(1) conflict with the scope of intellectual property rights conferred nationally. The role of Commission Regulations conferring exemption from Article 85(1) for intellectual property agreements is illustrated by reference to Commission Regulations EC 240/96 (concerning technology transfer agreements) and EC 418/85 (concerning research and development agreements). Finally an assessment is made of the effectiveness of selected Council Directives (91/250 EEC and 93/98 EC concerning computer software and duration of copyright) as harmonisation measures, taking into account existing sources of law and the needs of emerging technologies

Childen’s Hearings, residential child care and professional education

This article considers the relationship between the Scottish Children’s hearings system and residential childcare, with particular attention to issues of training and education. The paper summarises the key characteristics of Scotland’s Children’s Hearings system and highlights changes that have taken place following the introduction of the Children’s Hearing (Scotland) Act 2011. The paper also considers the relevance of the original Kilbrandon Report to residential childcare in Scotland and critically examines the changes that have taken place to the education and training of residential childcare workers since the report was published in 1964. The paper argues that recent developments in relation to the regulation of the residential child workforce in Scotland provides an opportunity to focus on the importance of attending to all aspects of children’s ‘upbringing’ through the application of approaches informed by social pedagogy

Home-based end of life care for children and their families: a systematic scoping review and narrative synthesis

AbstractProblem: There is a growing international drive to deliver children’s palliative care services closer to home. Families should have choice of where end of life (EOL) care is provided with home as one option. This review aims to establish the current international evidence base relating to children’s EOL care at home.Eligibility Criteria: A systematic scoping review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines. Seven databases were searched to identify papers published between 2000-2018. Eligibility criteria included papers reporting children’s EOL care with specific relation to: home being the preferred place of death; services providing EOL care at home; family experiences of receiving support when their child died at home and professionals’ experiences of delivering this care.Sample: Twenty-three papers met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review.Results: Engagement of families in EOL care planning discussions was identified as a key factor to facilitate choice of setting. Consistent themes from the data suggest that providing access to care in the home 24/7 by a team of professionals with specialist paediatric palliative care knowledge is an essential aspect of any model of home-based EOL care.Discussion and Application to Practice: This is the first comprehensive review of home-based EOL care for children which offers a valuable contribution to policy, practice and research. The evidence mapped and synthesised in this review can inform the development of services to facilitate the provision of EOL care at home in line with the unique wishes and needs of children and families

Fueling the Dragon's Fire: China's Coal Policy

The last few decades in China have seen unprecedented economic growth. This growth, though good for the economy, has had extreme consequences on the health of Chinese citizens as well as the environment as a whole. A major factor of this increased pollution is the country’s high consumption of coal, which has rarely comprised less than 70 percent of the country’s energy during the past 50 years. Though the media portrays a China which is making enormous strides in the field of environmental protection, the energy and environmental policies of the country suggest that it will continue using large amounts of coal in the years to come. This thesis project attempts to discover the underlying reasons for China’s coal policy and how it is affected by economic, environmental, and social factors within the country. It argues that although environmental and social factors are playing an increasingly significant role, these policies are still driven by economic concerns. Until the country places more stress on environmental concerns, coal will continue to play a large role in its energy policy

Application of Nonparametric Techniques to Collaborative Recommender Systems

The introduction of the World Wide Web dramatically impacted our fundamental notion of information sharing, providing unparalleled awareness of both the power of information access and the penalty of information overload. Today’s research on Semantic Web techniques focuses on the next step, a Service Oriented Architecture supporting automated sharing of services as well as data. Personalized service/source recommendation tools, utilizing user preference data, would be extremely valuable in tailoring information access to the user. Much can be learned from the Recommender community about incorporating preference data into the retrieval process. However, it is critical that rigorous statistical techniques be maintained in combining results across data and service sources that are not under the control of a single developer. In this paper we explore the extension of nonparametric techniques to the development of Collaborative Recommenders and its impact on establishing a generalized recommendation service within a Service Oriented Architecture

I don’t enjoy making the folder: secondary students’ views of portfolios in technology education

This paper will describe a research study that investigated students’ experiences with the use of design portfolios in their technology education. The research builds on previous work by the first two authors that investigated the use of portfolios by professional designers, teacher educators and secondary school teachers working in England and Canada. Separate focus group interviews were conducted in England with one group of Year 10 boys in a technology college and one group of Year 10 girls in a technology college. Questions asked of participants focused on definitions and the advantages and disadvantages of using a portfolio, as well as students understanding of the purposes of a portfolio. Audiotapes of the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Analysis of the data involved thematic analysis and concept analysis. Analysis of the data has revealed that secondary school students participating in this study regard the portfolio as a burden requiring the production of materials that do little to enable the generation and development of ideas, and is driven by the assessment needs of the teacher rather than the learning needs of the student. Of particular interest is the view of those students who experience difficulty sketching and writing, for whom the design portfolio is seen as counterproductive in terms of enhancing their confidence and creativity. The paper will end with suggestions for using various types of portfolios to enable students to be creative through designing