1,485 research outputs found

    French outward and inward foreign direct investment in 2009 - New presentation.

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    France’s direct investment flows drawn up according to the future international standards produce different results from those compiled using the current methodology. Inflows and outflows are on average EUR 30 billion lower from 1999 onwards and recent developments are signifi cantly altered.foreign direct investment, FDI, International Group, balance of payments, international investment position.

    Regime change thresholds in flute-like instruments: influence of the mouth pressure dynamics

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    Since they correspond to a jump from a given note to another one, the mouth pressure thresholds leading to regime changes are particularly important quantities in flute-like instruments. In this paper, a comparison of such thresholds between an artificial mouth, an experienced flutist and a non player is provided. It highlights the ability of the experienced player to considerabily shift regime change thresholds, and thus to enlarge its control in terms of nuances and spectrum. Based on recent works on other wind instruments and on the theory of dynamic bifurcations, the hypothe- sis is tested experimentally and numerically that the dynamics of the blowing pressure influences regime change thresholds. The results highlight the strong influence of this parameter on thresholds, suggesting its wide use by experienced musicians. Starting from these observations and from an analysis of a physical model of flute-like instruments, involving numerical continuation methods and Floquet stability analysis, a phenomenological modelling of regime change is proposed and validated. It allows to predict the regime change thresholds in the dynamic case, in which time variations of the blowing pressure are taken into account

    The United States Military’s Role in Maintaining National Security During the Height of the “War on Drugs”

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    This paper will seek to answer the question: What understanding of national security justified the use of the United States military in the “War on Drugs,” launched by the Reagan administration in 1982? A secondary question that this paper will investigate is whether the definition of “national security” that was used contributed to the protection of American lives and interests. The approach that this paper will take is that the understanding of national security as “defense of the homeland” justified the use of the United States military in the “War on Drugs.” Moreover, the involvement of the United States military was ineffective in preventing the flow of drugs into the United States and created a closer relationship between the United States and human rights violators

    The Role of Magmatism in the Catalina Metamorphic Core Complex, Arizona: Insights from Integrated Thermochronology, Gravity and Aeromagnetic Data

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    The footwall of the Catalina MCC located within the Basin and Range Province has been intruded by several magmatic suites. Samples were collected from the Wilderness suite sills, the most voluminous suite. U/Pb data from zircon indicate that the Wilderness suite sills were emplaced during two separate phases of magmatism, the first at ~55 Ma and the second at ~45 Ma with additional evidence of zircon growth at \u3c40 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar data from the Wilderness suite sills indicate that the majority of the older 40Ar/39Ar apparent ages from both potassium feldspar and mica were obtained from the structurally higher sills in the main range, and the younger 40Ar/39Ar apparent ages were obtained on samples from structurally lower sills. The potassium feldspar samples yield 40Ar/39Ar age gradients which may be the result of cooling for ~5 million years or thermal resetting by the Catalina pluton prior to exhumation along the Catalina detachment fault. 40Ar/39Ar lower intercepts from potassium feldspar in the main range suggest that exhumation of the main range occurred ~25 to 23 million years ago. In the forerange, concordant AFT and ZFT data and 40Ar/39Ar potassium feldspar lower age intercepts suggest rapid cooling due to exhumation ~23 to 22 million years ago. The muscovite and biotite samples from the Wilderness suite sills yield relatively flat 40Ar/39Ar age spectra with ages ranging from ~28 to 23 Ma representing recrystallization below the closure temperature for muscovite and biotite. Forward modeling of aeromagnetic and gravity data from the Catalina MCC region indicates a shallow, felsic to intermediate subsurface pluton in sharp contact with the Wilderness suite sills. The age of the subsurface pluton is unknown. However, on the basis of the gravity and aeromagnetic properties of intrusions in the region, a Tertiary or Mesozoic age subsurface pluton is preferred. The age of the pluton relative to detachment faulting can help distinguish between differing models for MCC formation. A Mesozoic pluton suggests that crustal thickening influenced MCC development, and a preexisting zone of weakness may have controlled the emplacement of this body as well as the Wilderness suite sills. A Tertiary pluton suggests magmatism may have initiated low-angle faulting and MCC formation

    Effect of Changing the Vocal Tract Shape on the Sound Production of the Recorder: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

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    Changing the vocal tract shape is one of the techniques which can be used by the players of wind instruments to modify the quality of the sound. It has been intensely studied in the case of reed instruments but has received only little attention in the case of air-jet instruments. This paper presents a first study focused on changes in the vocal tract shape in recorder playing techniques. Measurements carried out with recorder players allow to identify techniques involving changes of the mouth shape as well as consequences on the sound. A second experiment performed in laboratory mimics the coupling with the vocal tract on an artificial mouth. The phase of the transfer function between the instrument and the mouth of the player is identified to be the relevant parameter of the coupling. It is shown to have consequences on the spectral content in terms of energy distribution among the even and odd harmonics, as well as on the stability of the first two oscillating regimes. The results gathered from the two experiments allow to develop a simplified model of sound production including the effect of changing the vocal tract shape. It is based on the modification of the jet instabilities due to the pulsating emerging jet. Two kinds of instabilities, symmetric and anti-symmetric, with respect to the stream axis, are controlled by the coupling with the vocal tract and the acoustic oscillation within the pipe, respectively. The symmetry properties of the flow are mapped on the temporal formulation of the source term, predicting a change in the even / odd harmonics energy distribution. The predictions are in qualitative agreement with the experimental observations

    Another look at anomalous J/Psi suppression in Pb+Pb collisions at P/A = 158 GeV/c

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    A new data presentation is proposed to consider anomalous J/ΚJ/\Psi suppression in Pb + Pb collisions at P/A=158P/A=158 GeV/c. If the inclusive differential cross section with respect to a centrality variable is available, one can plot the yield of J/Psi events per Pb-Pb collision as a function of an estimated squared impact parameter. Both quantities are raw experimental data and have a clear physical meaning. As compared to the usual J/Psi over Drell-Yan ratio, there is a huge gain in statistical accuracy. This presentation could be applied advantageously to many processes in the field of nucleus-nucleus collisions at various energies.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, submitted to The European Physical Journal C; minor revisions for final versio

    Is the jet-drive flute model able to produce modulated sounds like Flautas de Chinos ?

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    Flautas de chinos - prehispanic chilean flutes played during ritual celebrations in central Chile - are known to produce very particular beating sounds, the so-called sonido rajado. Some previous works have focused on the spectral analysis of these sounds, and on the input impedance of the complex resonator. However, the beating sounds origin remains to be investigated. Throughout this paper, a comparison is provided between the characteristics of both the sound produced by flautas de chinos and a synthesis sound obtained through time-domain simulation of the jet-drive model for flute-like instruments. Jet-drive model appears to be able to produce quasiperiodic sounds similar to sonido rajado. Finally, the analysis of the system dynamics through numerical continuation methods allows to explore the production mechanism of these quasiperiodic regimes.Comment: Stockholm Music Acoustics Conference, Stockholm : Sweden (2013

    Position nette de la France pour les investissements directs au 31 décembre 2006.

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    La position nette de la France pour les investissements directs en valeur comptable a progressĂ© de 11 milliards en 2006, Ă  215 milliards, l’augmentation des investissements directs en France Ă©tant un peu moins forte que celle des investissements directs Ă  l’étranger.Position extĂ©rieure, investissements directs, IDE.

    Communication with Healthcare Providers at End of Life: The Perspective of Decedents\u27 Next of Kin: A Dissertation

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    Communication with healthcare providers (HCP’s) at the end-of-life (EOL) is a crucial process that can make a difference in the quality of the EOL experience for patients and their families. Targeting EOL communication interventions between patients, their families, and HCP’s is better informed from an understanding of what family members perceive as good and bad communication. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences related to communication with HCP’s in central Massachusetts during EOL care. Data from the parent study (n = 373) included responses from an open ended question at the end of the survey. The larger, qualitative descriptive study, from the parent study, (n = 218 ) that examined the open ended question revealed communication as the overarching theme. A secondary analysis of this open ended survey data using qualitative content analysis was used to describe next of kin’s perspectives of communication with HCP’s during the decedents’ end-of-life experience (n = 171). Family members (children = 38.4% and spouse = 22.0%) comprised the majority of the sample. Decedents were mostly 80 or older (47.6%), died in an acute care setting of mostly cancer (33.0 %) and cardiovascular disease (32.3%). Accessing information, emerged as the overarching theme. Continuum of information, healthcare provider sensitivity, having the answers and raising awarenesswere revealed as subthemes. The majority of respondents reported good aspects versus bad aspects of communication at the EOL. The framework for a good death (Emanuel & Emanuel (1998) under-girded the study but was not supported as it relates to these findings. The framework was useful in capturing the multidimensional process that each patient and their family could experience during the EOL process. The findings from this study provide insight for HCP’s about which aspects of communication are helpful at the EOL. Continuing education of the health care team on these identified helpful communication aspects will provide better access for patients and families for a quality EOL experience
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