Canada-Wheat : discrimination, non-commercial considerations, and state trading enterprises

Statutory marketing boards that have exclusive authority to purchase domestic production, sell for export, and set purchase and sales prices of commodities are a type of state trading enterprise that is subject to World Trade Organization disciplines. This paper assesses a recent dispute brought by the United States against Canada, alleging that WTO rules require state trading enterprises to operate solely in accordance with commercial considerations and that the Canadian government did not require the Canadian Wheat Board to do so. The panel and Appellate Body found that the primary discipline of the WTO regarding state trading enterprises was nondiscrimination, and that operating on the basis of"commercial considerations"was not an independent obligation. Instead, WTO disciplines regarding the pricing behavior of state trading enterprises use a"commercial considerations"test as a possible indicator of discrimination. Although a significant degree of price discrimination is observed in the case of Canadian wheat exports, there are economic arguments why this might also be pursued by a private, profit maximizing firm.Trade Law,Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Access to Markets,Access to Finance

A study of the sorption characteristics at the solution-solid interface, and the hydrogen bonding characteristics of a series of para-substituted phenols

A characterisation of the activated alumina used in the sorption studies has been attempted from results obtained by X-ray diffraction techniques, low temperature nitrogen sorptions and sorptions from the liquid phase. The sorption characteristics at an alumina-dioxan interface of a series of 4-substituted phenols (phenol, 4-methyl-, 4-t-butyl-, 4-chloro-, 4-nitro-, and 4-cyano-phenols) have been determined at 35 C.; solubilities in dioxan measured at 35 C.; experimental adsorption isotherms constructed and sorption saturation values estimated. In order to compare the sorptive affinity of the alumina surface for the phenols an index of sorption has been defined as "the number of moles of phenol sorbed at constant relative mole fraction of phenol in the mobile phase", and it has been demonstrated that this index can be related logarithmically to the Hammett sigma constant for the appropriate 4-substituent.The effects of 4-substitution on properties of the OH bond which reflect its hydrogen bonding tendency have been examined, such as association to dioxan in solution. Absorbance measurements in the near ultra-violet have enabled association constants in solution for the process substituted phenol + dioxin ↔ complex to be determined at 25 C. and 55 C. Comparisons have been made with other relevant characteristics of the OH bond, for example acidity, polarity and near infra red stretching frequency, again showing (as with the hydrogen bonding association constants) good correlation with the Hammett structural parameter. The results obtained suggest that in the sorption of 4-substituted phenols from dioxan solution onto an activated alumina the forces on the surface are the dominant ones, since the phenols are not adsorbed as complexes but as discreet molecules. Interaction with the surface appears to be through the mechanism of hydrogen bonding and the phenol molecules probably assume a vertical orientation on localised sorption sites

Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Preparedness to IntegrateInformation Communication and Technology in SecondarySchool Mathematics Instruction in Rift Valley Region, Kenya

Policy makers are increasingly focusing on professional development of teachers as a means of improving teaching.  Success in learning mathematics is determined by individual’s ability not only to read and write, but also to frame and solve complex problems and continually learn new skills. The education system in Kenya is increasingly being asked to provide learners with the skills needed to compete in an increasingly complex international market place. For this to be achieved teachers are an integral part of children’s intellectual and social development. Therefore they must know how to teach in ways that help learners reach high levels of competence. A national profile of teacher quality is a necessary tool for tracking our progress towards this goal. In Kenya the students’ performance in mathematics at Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education has been dismal over the years and studies have been carried out on students to establish the cause of this failure. Limited research has been carried out to establish whether teacher preparedness influence performance. In this study the researcher sought to address mathematics teachers’ perception of their preparedness to integrate ICT in secondary school mathematics Instruction. The study applied an ex post facto research (causal comparative design) which was seen to be appropriate since the researcher could not manipulate the independent variable. There is a population of 1500 mathematics teachers in Rift Valley Province. A sample of 300 mathematics teachers drawn from secondary schools in Rift Valley Province participated in the study. The participants were selected using systematic random sampling and stratified random sampling (stratified by qualification and gender). The data was collected using self-report questionnaire. The instruments were pilot tested and reliability coefficient was found to be 0.83, which is above the required threshold value of 0.70 Cronbach alpha in social science research. The collected data was analysed using both descriptive (means) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and t-test) to establish differences in teacher perception of their preparedness to teach secondary school mathematics by Teaching Experience, qualification and Gender. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 Alpha (?) level. The findings of this study show that teachers perceive themselves to be less prepared to Integrate ICT secondary school mathematics instructions. The findings indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in teachers’ perception to integrate ICT in secondary mathematics instruction however there was not statistically significant difference by qualification and gender. The findings are expected to inform policy makers on how to include ICT in both pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes. Key words: Teachers’ perceptions, ICT, Preparedness, Instruction, Mathematic

Effects of a Learning Together Model on Students’ Attitude towards School Poetry

The importance of poetry in enhancing the development and growth of students’ intellectual, emotional, social and linguistic aspects is well documented. However, there is poor performance by students in poetry at the KCSE examinations due to the negative attitude students hold towards poetry instruction. This may be alleviated by effective CL models capable of boosting students’ academic achievement, attitudes and liking of school. This study investigated the impact of LTM on students’ attitudes towards poetry. The pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was employed because school authorities do not allow randomization of individual students. 199 Form three students located in six secondary school classes took part. Results revealed higher attitude for students using LTM than those in regular classes. The study concludes that LTM has pedagogical implications for poetry instruction. Key words: Poetry instruction, attitude, collaborative learning, pedagogy, learning together model, secondary educatio

A photoisomerizable muscarinic antagonist. Studies of binding and of conductance relaxations in frog heart

These experiments employ the photoisomerizable compound, 3,3'-bis- [alpha-(trimethylammonium)methyl]azobenzene (Bis-Q), to study the response to muscarinic agents in frog myocardium. In homogenates from the heart, trans-Bis-Q blocks the binding of [3H]-N-methylscopolamine to muscarinic receptors. In voltage-clamped atrial trabeculae, trans- Bis-Q blocks the agonist-induced potassium conductance. The equilibrium dose-response curve for carbachol is shifted to the right, suggesting competitive blockade. Both the biochemical and electrophysiological data yield a dissociation constant of 4-5 microM for trans-Bis-Q; the cis configuration is severalfold less potent as a muscarinic blocker. Voltage-clamped preparations were exposed simultaneously to carbachol and Bis-Q and were subjected to appropriately filtered flashes (less than 1 ms duration) from a xenon flashlamp. Trans leads to cis and cis leads to trans photoisomerizations cause small (less than 20%) increases and decreases, respectively, in the agonist-induced current. The relaxation follows an S-shaped time course, including an initial delay or period of zero slope. The entire waveform is described by [1 - exp(-kt)]n. At 23 degrees C, k is approximately 3 s-1 and n is 2. Neither k nor n is affected when: (a) [Bis-Q] is varied between 5 and 100 microM; (b) [carbachol] is varied between 1 and 50 microM; (c) carbachol is replaced by other agonists (muscarine, acetylcholine, or acetyl-beta-methylcholine); or (d) the voltage is varied between the normal resting potential and a depolarization of 80 mV. However, in the range of 13-30 degrees C, k increases with temperature; the Q10 is between 2 and 2.5. In the same range, n does not change significantly. Like other investigators, we conclude that the activation kinetics of the muscarinic K+ conductance are not determined by ligand-receptor binding, but rather by a subsequent sequence of two (or more) steps with a high activation energy

Sur l'analyticité des applications CR lisses à valeurs dans un ensemble algébrique réel

Article écrit en commun pour répondre à deux "inspirations libres" des travaux de thèse de S. Damour par Meylan-Mir-Zaitsev : Math. Res. Lett. 9 (2002), no. 1, 73--93 ; Asian J. Math. 7 (2003), no. 4, 493--509Soit f : M -> M' une application CR de classe C^infty entre une sous-variété M \subset C^n analytique réelle générique et un sous-ensemble M' \subset C^{n'} algébrique réel. On démontre que si M est minimale en un point p et si M' ne contient pas de courbe complexe, f est analytique réelle en p

Sur l'analyticité des applications CR lisses à valeurs dans un ensemble algébrique réel

Article écrit en commun pour répondre à deux "inspirations libres" des travaux de thèse de S. Damour par Meylan-Mir-Zaitsev : Math. Res. Lett. 9 (2002), no. 1, 73--93 ; Asian J. Math. 7 (2003), no. 4, 493--509Soit f : M -> M' une application CR de classe C^infty entre une sous-variété M \subset C^n analytique réelle générique et un sous-ensemble M' \subset C^{n'} algébrique réel. On démontre que si M est minimale en un point p et si M' ne contient pas de courbe complexe, f est analytique réelle en p

All Progressives Congress (APC) N-power Programmes and Unemployed Nigerians in Nigeria

This study examined the N-Power programmes and Unemployed Nigerians under the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government. The year 2016, was the actual year the programme started in Nigeria to make an impact on the lives of unemployed ones. The N-Power programmes are into three parts: N-Power Volunteer Corps (N-teach), N-Power Knowledge and N-Power Build. From our study, the programme has immensely gotten some numbers of unemployed Nigerians more engaged, more productive and more resourceful on duty. Looking at the Nigerian bureau of statistics 2018 data showed a 23.1% increase in unemployment for the third quarter of 2018 which brought the whole figure of the unemployed in the country to over 21 million Nigerians. In addressing this problem, the federal government in their own wisdom initiated N-Power as one of the social intervention programmes in the country. In addition to that, we suggest to the federal government to ensure that curriculum in schools are restructured in a way that two years are used in entrepreneurial studies in a four years duration course in the university and by so doing students shall not have the mindset of looking for job after school but rather having the mindset of creating jobs for themselves and others. And the federal government need to ensure that students are taught how to solve ‘’social problems’’ not just to pass exams and come out with good grades! The very rich ones in the world are so rich because of knowledge economy and innovations. Keywords: N-Power, programme, Unemployed, and Nigerians DOI: 10.7176/JRDM/54-08 Publication date: April 30th 201

Poster Abstract: Interconnecting Low-Power Wireless and Power-Line Communications using IPv6

Wireless sensor networks for building automation and energy management has made great progress in recent years, but the inherent indoor radio range limitations can make communication unpredictable and system deployments difficult. Low-power radio can be combined with low-power Power-Line Communication (PLC) to extend the range and predictability of indoor communication for building management and automation systems. We take the first steps towards exploring the system implications for integration of low-power wireless and PLC in the same network. We leverage IPv6, which allow networks to exist over multiple physical communication media as well as the RPL routing protocol for low-power lossy networks

VC-dimensions of random function classes

Combinatoric