An extensible approach to high-quality multilingual typesetting

International audienceWe propose to create and study a new model for the micro-typography part of automated multilingual typesetting. This new model will support quality typesetting for a number of modern and ancient scripts. The major innovations in the proposal are: the process is refined into four phases, each dependent on a multidimensional tree-structured context summarizing the current linguistic and cultural environment. The four phases are: preparing the input stream for typesetting; segmenting the stream into clusters (words); typesetting these clusters; and then recombining the clusters into a typeset text stream. The context is pervasive throughout the process; the algorithms used in each phase are context-dependent, as are the meanings of fundamental entities such as language, script, font and character

Adaptability of Scanning Electron Microscopy to Studies of Pollen Morphology

We have explored methods to achieve excellent results in study of the pollen grain wall by using only one electron microscope, the scanning electron microscope (SEM). While the secondary electron imaging mode, the most common in use, has great value in characterizing the exine surface it is possible to obtain a more comprehensive representation of pollen grain walls by expanding the capability of the secondary mode and making use of backscatter and transmission imaging detectors. In this way information is obtained about internal exine features that are likely to be more stable phylogenetically than the generally late-to-form surface structure. We illustrate the usefulness of natural and induced fractures, cryornicrotomy, thin-section examination, section deplasticization, localized acetolysis and pollen erosion by ionic bombardment in imaging exine structure. Techniques for expanding the use of SEM in taxonomic studies of mature pollen grain walls are outlined in flow chart sketches and illustrated with numerous examples from angiosperm pollen

Virginia Should Adopt Strict Tort Recovery in Products Liability

Since World War H, revolutionary changes have overtaken the American law of products liability. Such changes have been in response to the increase in consumer injuries resulting from defects in sophisticated products mass-produced by sophisticated manufacturing processes. This has occurred during a time of increased litigiousness and general awareness of the need for consumer protection. Accordingly, products liability suits have multiplied, and the legal theories used to determine the outcome of such suits have similarly been in an era of dramatic transition. Such legal changes have significantly affected both tort and warranty law across the country. Until 1960 products liability suits were brought primarily in warranty or negligence. Today, strict tort liability has become established as a powerful legal doctrine

Bifurcation of Civil Trials

Despite its widespread and long-standing recognition as a valuable docket-control device, the bifurcation of issues in civil trials has generated considerable debate among legal scholars and judges. The state and federal courts both utilize bifurcation, andthe Supreme Court of Appeals in Virginia recognized the advantages of the procedural device as early as 1915. Nonetheless, authority for the bifurcation of issues in civil trials in Virginia has remained clouded. The Supreme Court of Virginia lifted at least some of the clouds when it decided Allstate Insurance Co. v. Wade, thereby rejecting the position taken in an amicus curiae brief filed by the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association that bifurcation is not authorized under Virginia law. The court further clarified the law of bifurcation when it issued its January 16, 2009 opinion in Centra Health, Inc. v. Mullins. Nevertheless, some doubts remain about the availability of the procedure in Virginia

The e-portfolio continuum: Discovering variables for e-portfolio adoption within music education

This article presents the results of audit data compiled from a case study introducing e-portfolios into a Music Education degree program, and highlights the key challenges faced from the initial stages of student use to curricular embedding and student adoption. This article discusses the technological, social and educational impacts inherent in a student’s adoption of e-portfolios within a degree program, and critically, shows how training for e-portfolio use must manage these complex,interrelated imbalances on an individual student basis