5,151 research outputs found

    Managing global expansion of media products and brands: A case study of FHM

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    By focusing on the case study of For Him Magazine (FHM)—a magazine that currently sells in 30 editions across 5 continents—this article explores the economics and main managerial challenges associated with global expansion of media products. The success of FHM demonstrates that, to calculate the full returns available from the brand image created by a magazine title, publishers will take into account not only opportunities for domestic and international exploitation of the magazine, but also the potential to extend the brand across additional media platforms and additional complementary product markets. This study focuses on how global expansion of FHM has been managed

    Lyapunov-type Inequalities for Partial Differential Equations

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    In this work we present a Lyapunov inequality for linear and quasilinear elliptic differential operators in N−N-dimensional domains Ω\Omega. We also consider singular and degenerate elliptic problems with ApA_p coefficients involving the p−p-Laplace operator with zero Dirichlet boundary condition. As an application of the inequalities obtained, we derive lower bounds for the first eigenvalue of the p−p-Laplacian, and compare them with the usual ones in the literature

    Entropy production and information fluctuations along quantum trajectories

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    Employing the stochastic wave function method, we study quantum features of stochastic entropy production in nonequilibrium processes of open systems. It is demonstarted that continuous measurements on the environment introduce an additional, non-thermal contribution to the entropy flux, which is shown to be a direct consequence of quantum fluctuations. These features lead to a quantum definition of single trajectory entropy contributions, which accounts for the difference between classical and quantum trajectories and results in a quantum correction to the standard form of the integral fluctuation theorem.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

    Non-Markovian dissipative dynamics of two coupled qubits in independent reservoirs: a comparison between exact solutions and master equation approaches

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    The reduced dynamics of two interacting qubits coupled to two independent bosonic baths is investigated. The one-excitation dynamics is derived and compared with that based on the resolution of appropriate non-Markovian master equations. The Nakajima-Zwanzig and the time-convolutionless projection operator techniques are exploited to provide a description of the non-Markovian features of the dynamics of the two-qubits system. The validity of such approximate methods and their range of validity in correspondence to different choices of the parameters describing the system are brought to light.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to PR

    Federal Preemption: State Law Principles of Strict Liability in a Nuclear Accident — A Preemption Problem in Light of the Price-Anderson Act

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    Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 485 F. Supp. 566 (W.D. Okla. 1979) In the event of a major nuclear accident, Congress has imposed a form of strict liability on the nuclear industry through the Price- Anderson Act. The Act provides for a waiver of state and common law defenses in the event of an “extraordinary nuclear occurrence” by federally licensed nuclear facilities. Thus the Act proscribes federal strict liability upon the nuclear industry for injuries caused by an extraordinary incident. If, however, the nuclear accident is less than an extraordinary nuclear occurrence, an accident often referred to as “subthreshold,” a question arises whether preemption will prevent imposition of state strict liability law. In Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp. the District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma held that the Price- Anderson Act does not preempt state law in a “subthreshold” nuclear accident. Silkwood was the first major personal injury case to assess a manufacturer’s liability for the escape of radioactive material. The district court held that traditional state tort concepts mandate imposition of strict liability upon a defendant for any injury which results from the escape of radiation from its facility. In an exhaustive opinion on the defendant’s post-trial motions for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and/or, alternatively a new trial, the district court addressed three main contentions raised by the defendant, Kerr-McGee. The defendant first contended that federal preemption prohibited the imposition of strict liability unless federal law, as provided for in the Price-Anderson Act, required it. Strict liability, therefore, could not be imposed for a subthreshold nuclear accident. Second, the defendant contended that liability could not attach if exposure levels were within the permissible levels set by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Third, the defendant contended that even assuming initial liability, its substantial compliance with federal regulations barred an award of punitive damages. This note analyzes the preemption issue in view of the statutes, the applicable case law and the legislative history of the Price-Anderson Act. The effect of compliance on the issues of liability and punitive damage will be analyzed together in view of the federal regulations and the applicable case law. This analysis will lead to the conclusion that state law is not preempted by the Price-Anderson Act and compliance with federal regulations is only evidence of reasonable care, and is, therefore, not a shelter from liability

    Screening for Infectious diseases among newly arrived migrants. experiences and practices in non-EU countries of the Mediterranean basin and Black Sea

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    Changing migration dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea and differences in infectious diseases (ID) burden between the countries of origin have raised questions whether public health actions are needed to avoid the transmission of ID. Screening newly arrived migrants for ID is one health monitoring option, offering opportunities for prevention, early detection and treatment. The authors conducted a survey among country experts in non-European Union countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, in order to explore current ID screening practices and policies for newly arrived migrants. The association between the existence of guidelines and the proportion of refugees in the population was also estimated. Eighteen country experts responded (90%) out of the 20 invited. Eleven countries (61%) implemented screening programmes and six (38%) had national guidelines. Screening was performed most often for tuberculosis at the holding level. A higher proportion of refugees in the population was associated with the existence of guidelines for screening (p = 0.05). Fourteen experts (88%) considered screening among migrants useful. The results show that screening for ID in newly arrived migrants is relevant for non-EU countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Common guidelines could be promoted focusing on both individual and public health benefits of screening programmesChanging migration dynamics in the Mediterranean Sea and differences in infectious diseases (ID) burden between the countries of origin have raised questions whether public health actions are needed to avoid the transmission of ID. Screening newly arrived migrants for ID is one health monitoring option, offering opportunities for prevention, early detection and treatment. The authors conducted a survey among country experts in non-European Union countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, in order to explore current ID screening practices and policies for newly arrived migrants. The association between the existence of guidelines and the proportion of refugees in the population was also estimated. Eighteen country experts responded (90%) out of the 20 invited. Eleven countries (61%) implemented screening programmes and six (38%) had national guidelines. Screening was performed most often for tuberculosis at the holding level. A higher proportion of refugees in the population was associated with the existence of guidelines for screening (p = 0.05). Fourteen experts (88%) considered screening among migrants useful. The results show that screening for ID in newly arrived migrants is relevant for non-EU countries of the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Common guidelines could be promoted focusing on both individual and public health benefits of screening programmes

    Bulk and surface biaxiality in nematic liquid crystals

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    Nematic liquid crystals possess three different phases: isotropic, uniaxial, and biaxial. The ground state of most nematics is either isotropic or uniaxial, depending on the external temperature. Nevertheless, biaxial domains have been frequently identified, especially close to defects or external surfaces. In this paper we show that any spatially-varying director pattern may be a source of biaxiality. We prove that biaxiality arises naturally whenever the symmetric tensor \Sb=(\grad \nn)(\grad \nn)^T possesses two distinct nonzero eigenvalues. The eigenvalue difference may be used as a measure of the expected biaxiality. Furthermore, the corresponding eigenvectors indicate the directions in which the order tensor \QQ is induced to break the uniaxial symmetry about the director \nn. We apply our general considerations to some examples. In particular we show that, when we enforce homeotropic anchoring on a curved surface, the order tensor become biaxial along the principal directions of the surface. The effect is triggered by the difference in surface principal curvatures

    Discourses Of Prejudice In The professions: The Case Of Sign Languages

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    There is no evidence that learning a natural human language is cognitively harmful to children. To the contrary, multilingualism has been argued to be beneficial to all. Nevertheless, many professionals advise the parents of deaf children that their children should not learn a sign language during their early years, despite strong evidence across many research disciplines that sign languages are natural human languages. Their recommendations are based on a combination of misperceptions about (1) the difficulty of learning a sign language, (2) the effects of bilingualism, and particularly bimodalism, (3) the bona fide status of languages that lack a written form, (4) the effects of a sign language on acquiring literacy, (5) the ability of technologies to address the needs of deaf children and (6) the effects that use of a sign language will have on family cohesion. We expose these misperceptions as based in prejudice and urge institutions involved in educating professionals concerned with the healthcare, raising and educating of deaf children to include appropriate information about first language acquisition and the importance of a sign language for deaf children. We further urge such professionals to advise the parents of deaf children properly, which means to strongly advise the introduction of a sign language as soon as hearing loss is detected

    Knowledge, attitudes, and behavior concerning dental trauma among parents of children attending primary school

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    BACKGROUND: Traumatic dental injuries occur frequently in children and adolescents. The purpose of the present study is to examine the levels of knowledge and behaviors regarding dental trauma among parents of children attending primary schools in the Apulia region of Italy. METHODS: The study was carried out using an anonymous questionnaire with closed answers distributed to 2,775 parents who were enrolled based on the entire regional school population. Analyses were conducted using the PROC CORRESP (procedure to perform multiple correspondence analysis) and PROC FASTCLUS (procedure to perform cluster analysis). Statistical significance was set at p-value <0.05. RESULTS: A total 15.5% of the sample reported that their children had experienced dental trauma. Overall, 53.8% of respondents stated that they knew what to do in cases of dental injury. Regarding the time limit within which it is possible to usefully intervene for dental trauma, 56.8% of respondents indicated "within 30 minutes". Of the total sample, 56.5% knew how to preserve a displaced tooth. A total 62.9% of parents felt it was appropriate for their children to use dental guards during sports activities. The multivariate analysis showed that wrong knowledge are distributed among all kinds of subject. Parents with previous experience of dental trauma referred right behaviours, instead weak knowledge and wrong behaviours are associated with parents that easily worried for dental events. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that most parents reported no experience of dental trauma in their children, and half of them did not know what to do in case of traumatic dental injury and they would intervene within 30 minutes, suggesting that dental trauma may trigger panic. However, they did not have the information needed to best assist the affected child. Motivating parents to assume a preventive approach towards dental trauma may produce positive changes that would result an increase of long-term health benefits among both parents and children
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