Path decompositions for Markov chains

We present two path decompositions of Markov chains (with general state space) by means of harmonic functions, which are dual to each other. They can be seen as a generalization of Williams' decomposition of a Brownian motion with drift. The results may be illustrated by a multitude of examples, but we confine ourselves to different types of random walks and the Polya urn.Comment: Published by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org) in the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/00911790400000023

Two and a half years of GRB localizations with the INTEGRAL Burst Alert System

We review the results on Gamma-ray Bursts obtained during the first two and a half years of operations of the INTEGRAL Burst Alert System (IBAS). In many cases GRB coordinates have been distributed with an unprecedented combination of accuracy (3 arcmin) and speed (20-30 s). The resulting rapid follow-ups at other wavelengths, including sensitive XMM-Newton and Swift observations, have led to several interesting results.Comment: A shorter version of this paper will be published in the Proceedings of the 4th Workshop "Gamma-Ray Bursts in the Afterglow Era", Roma, 2004 October 18-22, eds. L. Piro, L. Amati, S. Covino, and B. Gendre. Il Nuovo Cimento, in pres

Polarization of prompt and afterglow emission of Gamma-Ray Bursts

Gamma-ray bursts and their afterglows are thought to be produced by an ultra-relativistic jet. One of the most important open questions is the outflow composition: the energy may be carried out from the central source either as kinetic energy (of baryons and/or pairs), or in electromagnetic form (Poynting flux). While the total observable flux may be indistinguishable in both cases, its polarization properties are expected to differ markedly. The prompt emission and afterglow polarization are also a powerful diagnostic of the jet geometry. Again, with subtle and hardly detectable differences in the output flux, we have distinct polarization predictions. In this review we briefly describe the theoretical scenarios that have been developed following the observations, and the now large observational datasets that for the prompt and the afterglow phases are available. Possible implications of polarimetric measurements for quantum gravity theory testing are discussed, and future perspectives for the field briefly mentioned.Comment: Invited review talk presented at the Ioffe Workshop on GRBs and other transient sources: 20 years of Konus-Wind Experiment (St. Pertersburg, Russia) to be published in Astronomical and Astrophysical Transactions. 34 pages, 7 figures, 8 tables. Referee comments included, and some references adde

Women and forestry : operational issues

Women are major actors in forestry throughout the developing world. Women and children are the primary collectors of fuel and fodder for home consumption and for sale to urban markets. This alone gives women a major role in the management and conservation of renewable forest resources. When convinced of the utility and practicality of a forest improvement or management scheme, women can be a powerful lobby to persuade their entire houshold or community to invest the resources necessary to make the scheme work. Involving women in forestry projects often makes the difference between achieving or not achieving project objectives, particularly for the long-term sustainability of interventions.Environmental Economics&Policies,Forests and Forestry,Forestry,Agricultural Knowledge&Information Systems,Health Monitoring&Evaluation

Characteristics of loyal customers for trade chains in the German food retailing

In this paper customer loyalty will be examined with the help of budget ratios (budget shares). We address the question whether sociodemographic groups differ in their shopping behavior and their store loyalty. Loyalty is analyzed with regard to the ten largest food retail chains in Germany in 2002. It is shown that the loyalty of customers depends on the lifecycle stage of the household and household size for the most part. Older and single households are more loyal than younger families.customer loyalty, food retail chains, store choice, budget ratio., Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

FDI Policy in the EU Countries in the Aftermath of 2008 Crisis

This paper touches upon the foreign direct investment FDI policy pursued in the EU in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis and at a time of profound changes amidst fears of a return to economic protectionism the growing popularity of reindustrialisation the shift of FDI-policy-making from the national to the EU level controversies surrounding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership and an influx of Chinese capital By means of a critical literature review and expert consultations I diagnosed the approaches towards incoming and out flowing FDI that are dominant in the EU A less friendly political rhetoric has failed to produce concrete changes in FDI policies The added value provided by the study lies in having assessed trends in the EU s post crisis FDI policy without preselecting a focus on specific states The most popular approach appears to be the capital-based model favouring inflows of new investors while selectively rather than specifically stimulating outgoing FD