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Beyond bare numbers : the qualitative subtleties of free-riding on NATO’s engagement in the Middle East
Get PDFThis paper closely scrutinises NATO engagement, particularly the The Eastern Flank countries in the Middle East. Our main argument is that the quantitative approach to free riding is useful only when it comes to black-and-white policy choices and either-or policy decisions. Simultaneously, it fails when we are faced with more complex situations in which evaluations go beyond the very simple numerical markers, such as the 2% threshold of defence spending. By bringing together a unique regional focus (the European East and the Middle East), theoretical dilemmas (free-riding) and policy issues (NATO's multilateral framework of co-operation understood in terms of strategic interests and practical engagement), we are able to show that Romania is a subtle free rider, which cannot be verified by merely looking at numbers alone, but can be ascertained by a careful qualitative analysis which reveals a discrepancy between the country's strategic interests and its level of engagement
Динамика бюджетной автономии российских городов в условиях перехода к многоуровневому управлению
Get PDFПроблемы такого объекта управления, как город, не ограничиваются лишь вопросами местного самоуправления, а находятся на пересечении интересов разных уровней публичной власти. После проведения муниципальной реформы 2003 г. система управления российскими городами продолжала корректироваться. В статье проведена оценка воздействия внешнеэкономических шоков и таких масштабных федеральных инициатив, как майские указы 2012 г., на бюджетную автономию российских городов в условиях действия Федерального закона 131-ФЗ «Об общих принципах организации местного самоуправления в Российской Федерации». Выдвинута исследовательская гипотеза, что в период 2006–2019 гг. произошел переход к многоуровневому управлению российскими городами, при котором границы бюджетной автономии городов сжались. Для проверки гипотез были проанализированы бюджеты 35 крупнейших городских округов России. Был использован кластерный анализ, позволивший распределить города по группам с разным уровнем экономического развития и бюджетной обеспеченности. Основной результат исследования заключается в том, что с 2006 по 2019 г. города стали не только финансово зависимы от регионов, но и изменили предпочтения относительно основных направлений расходов. Кризис 2014 г. способствовал ускорению процессов централизации управления и снижению уровня бюджетной автономии муниципалитетов, так как достижение показателей майских указов президента стало главным приоритетом для публичной власти. Во всех без исключения исследуемых городах собственные доходы бюджетов сократились, при этом увеличилась роль подоходного налога.Throughout the period after the municipal reform in 2003, the governing of Russian cities has been changing. A city as an object of governance is located at the intersection of interests of different levels of public authorities and is not limited only to local authorities This article investigates how budget autonomy of Russian cities has been changing for the last 16 years, and how exogenous economic shocks and large-scale federal initiatives such as the “May Decrees” have influenced the budget autonomy of Russian cities. The paper considers a hypothesis that there was a transition to multi-level governance of Russian cities in 2006–2019, which led to significant reduction of the budget autonomy. Budgets of the 35 largest cities of Russia (except for city-regions like Moscow and Saint Petersburg) were collected and analyzed in terms of their revenue and expenditure sections to test the proposed hypothesis. The relationship between the economic level of development and budget sufficiency was investigated with cluster analysis. The main result of this research is that Russian cities have become dependent on the financial grants from regional governments since there is no national policy of stimulating the economic development of cities. The national economic crisis of 2014 accelerated the process of governance centralization. In addition, the budget autonomy of municipalities was reduced due to the fact that achieving indicators of the May Decrees had become the primary objective for the public authorities. The share of the income tax in local budgets increased significantly although the share and diversity of other income sources decreased
Cellular mechanosensing by means of atomic force microscopy
Get PDFMechanobiological sensing brings together biology, physics, medicine and engineering, thus helps to characterize how the protein molecules, cells and tissues respond to mechanical cues contribute to differentiation, development, structural and disease processes. The mechanobiology contributes to recognition of the sensing, transduction and application of mechanical signals by the biological systems. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has grew up from the solid material characterization method to the a important device allowing the simultaneous topographical and mechanical characterization of living biological systems. In this work such a potential of the AFM method will be described on selected examples. It was shown that cell stiffness determined by AFM can be used as a marker for cancer progression and metastatic potential. Different cancer types feature distinct cell stiffness and a connection between attenuated cell stiffness and increased invasion capacity was also observed. The force microscope can serve as mechanotransducing actuator of the cardiac cells contractility. Combination with the other methods, such as microelectrode array, leads to a comprehensive description of the contractile phenomenon. Pathophysiological electro-mechanical coupling needs to be characterized in a detail, if the alterations often resulting in mechanical heart failure would be understand and treated. \We would like to demonstrate AFM together with other biophysical methods brings a promising approach that helps understand the correlation between the cell structure, cell mechanics, and function
Toolset for Collecting Shell Commands and Its Application in Hands-on Cybersecurity Training
Get PDFThis Full Paper in the Innovative Practice category presents and evaluates a technical innovation for hands-on classes. When learning cybersecurity, operating systems, or networking, students perform practical tasks using a broad range of command-line tools. Collecting and analyzing data about the command usage can reveal valuable insights into how students progress and where they make mistakes. However, few learning environments support recording and inspecting command-line inputs, and setting up an efficient infrastructure for this purpose is challenging. To aid engineering and computing educators, we share the design and implementation of an open-source toolset for logging commands that students execute on Linux machines. Compared to basic solutions, such as shell history files, the toolset's novelty and added value are threefold. First, its configuration is automated so that it can be easily used in classes on different topics. Second, it collects metadata about the command execution, such as a timestamp, hostname, and IP address. Third, all data are instantly forwarded to central storage in a unified, semi-structured format. This enables automated processing of the data, both in real-time and post hoc, to enhance the instructors' understanding of student actions. The toolset works independently of the teaching content, the training network's topology, or the number of students working in parallel. We demonstrated the toolset’s value in two learning environments at four training sessions. Over two semesters, 50 students played educational cybersecurity games using a Linux command-line interface. Each training session lasted approximately two hours, during which we recorded 4439 shell commands. The semi-automated data analysis revealed different solution patterns, used tools, and misconceptions of students. Our insights from creating the toolset and applying it in teaching practice are relevant for instructors, researchers, and developers of learning environments. We provide the software and data resulting from this work so that others can use them in their hands-on classes
System for Continuous Collection of Contextual Information for Network Security Management and Incident Handling
Get PDFIn this paper, we describe a system for the continuous collection of data for the needs of network security management. When a cybersecurity incident occurs in the network, the contextual information on the involved assets facilitates estimating the severity and impact of the incident and selecting an appropriate incident response. We propose a system based on the combination of active and passive network measurements and the correlation of the data with third-party systems. The system enumerates devices and services in the network and their vulnerabilities via fingerprinting of operating systems and applications. Further, the system pairs the hosts in the network with contacts on responsible administrators and highlights critical infrastructure and its dependencies. The system concentrates all the information required for common incident handling procedures and aims to speed up incident response, reduce the time spent on the manual investigation, and prevent errors caused by negligence or lack of information
Frustrations Steering Women away from Software Engineering
Get PDFWhy do women choose particular interests, study programs and careers as alternative to software engineering? What are the triggers and benefits of these alternatives that software engineering is lacking? In this article, we share findings from a questionnaire study of 139 adult women, revealing the frustrations that women feel along their way to software engineering, whether they have stayed in, or have dropped out and are trying to re-establish the connection later. After identifying the frustrations, which all seem to be preventable, this article pinpoints the most promising solutions, such as the interdisciplinary approach to education, which could be of enormous help to girls’ retention in computing education
Substrate inhibition by the blockage of product release and its control by tunnel engineering
Get PDFSubstrate inhibition is the most common deviation from Michaelis-Menten kinetics, occurring in approximately 25% of known enzymes. It is generally attributed to the formation of an unproductive enzyme-substrate complex after the simultaneous binding of two or more substrate molecules to the active site. Here, we show that a single point mutation (L177W) in the haloalkane dehalogenase LinB causes strong substrate inhibition. Surprisingly, a global kinetic analysis suggested that this inhibition is caused by binding of the substrate to the enzyme-product complex. Molecular dynamics simulations clarified the details of this unusual mechanism of substrate inhibition: Markov state models indicated that the substrate prevents the exit of the halide product by direct blockage and/or restricting conformational flexibility. The contributions of three residues forming the possible substrate inhibition site (W140A, F143L and I211L) to the observed inhibition were studied by mutagenesis. An unusual synergy giving rise to high catalytic efficiency and reduced substrate inhibition was observed between residues L177W and I211L, which are located in different access tunnels of the protein. These results show that substrate inhibition can be caused by substrate binding to the enzyme-product complex and can be controlled rationally by targeted amino acid substitutions in enzyme access tunnels
Human Infections by Wohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica: A Mini-Review and the First Report of a Burn Wound Infection after Accidental Myiasis in Central Europe
Get PDFWohlfahrtiimonas chitiniclastica are bacteria that cause rare infections, typically associated with the infestation of an open wound with fly larvae. Here, we present a unique case report of the first W. chitiniclastica isolation from a burn wound with accidental myiasis in a 63-year-old homeless man and a literature review focused on human infections caused by these bacteria. So far, 23 cases of infection with W. chitiniclastica have been reported; in 52% of these, larvae were found in the wound area. Most of these cases suffered from chronic non-healing wound infections but none of these were burn injuries. The overall fatality rate associated directly with W. chitiniclastica in these cases was 17%. Infections with parasitic larvae occur in moderate climates (especially in people living in poor conditions); therefore, an infection with rare bacteria associated with accidental myiasis, such as W. chitiniclastica, can be expected to become more common there. Thus, in view of the absence of recommendations regarding the treatment of patients with accidental myiasis and, therefore, the risk of infection with W. chitiniclastica or other rare pathogens, we provide a list of recommendations for the treatment of such patients. The importance of meticulous microbial surveillance using molecular biological methods to facilitate the detection of rare pathogens is emphasized
Actitudes de estudiantes checos y eslovacos hacia el aprendizaje del español con profesores nativos y no nativos
Get PDFLa comunicación se centra en las actitudes y creencias de un grupo de estudiantes universitarios checos y eslovacos en torno al aprendizaje del español con profesores nativos y no nativos. La investigación se lleva a cabo para comprobar si sigue prevaleciendo la idea de que el hablante nativo es el modelo a seguir de cualquier aprendiz de lengua.This presentation focuses on the attitude of Czech and Slovak college students toward learning Spanish with native and non-native teachers. The research is being conducted to verify the prominence of the native speaker as a role model in learning a foreign language