13 research outputs found
DS-CDMA microcellular networks with adaptive antennas
No full textThis paper considers the performance of a DS-CDMA system which employs adaptive antenna technology at the basestation site of a microcell. Results for a typical microcellular environment produced with the help of a ray tracing tool highlight the behaviour of the adaptive antenna and with the help of a Monte-Carlo type DS-CDMA capacity analysis, the potential performance enhancement of the system is evaluated. Finally, scenarios with inter-cell interference and moving users are discussed, and the fixed beam steering and the reduced sidelobe techniques are considered against the adaptive antenna technique
The monitoring of the rights of the child: a child rights-based approach
No full textPhDDue to the lacunae between legal obligations to human rights and the actual situation,
monitoring is an essential component of the international and national human rights system.
Monitoring illuminates the situation of human rights commitments and ensures the relevancy
of instruments. The thesis explores monitoring in relation to the rights of the child and
submits that a child rights-based approach is essential. Monitoring should not only consider
the status and nature of child rights, but a child rights-based approach should also guide
efforts so that they improve as well as reflect and respect children's rights.
The study defines monitoring and describes a child rights-based approach. As a subject of
legal investigation, the thesis then addresses several questions. How do international and
national monitoring efforts respect child rights? How have the supervision of international
conference agreements supported child rights? Furthermore, how do different countries
monitor? National activities are examined through case studies of two Commonwealth
countries: Canada and South Africa. Then, analysis is presented about how actors interpret
and execute monitoring and the significance of different approaches. Lastly, the rationale,
challenges and existing support of a child rights-based approach are discussed. In sum, a
child rights-based approach is not generally utilised and the implications of child rights upon
the monitoring process are not yet realised. Most monitors, whether international, regional
or domestic, inadequately consider the demands of child rights upon the process of
ascertaining the situation of children's rights. Proposed guidelines are appended to support
a child rights-based approach to monitoring
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Information for consumers. Vademecum, third edition, 16 October 1998
No full textA comparison of economic development projects that utilize arts and cultural tourism
No full textIncludes bibliographical references
Ensuring quality in vocational education and training. Vocational Training No. 15, September-December 1998
No full textManagerial Safety and Soundness and Maximization of Shareholder Interests: Sifting Through Bifurcated Governance Strands over Managerial Conduct of United States Banking Organizations
No full textPhDThe recent trend reflecting the erosion of the traditional boundaries between banking and other
financial businesses by virtue of financial deregulation and liberalization has resulted in a more
complex and dynamic risk-profile for banking institutions. One upshot of this transformation is,
whilst promoting safe and sound banking still remains the overriding hank regulatory objective,
the focal point shifts more and more to managerial function and responsibility, a subject
traditionally more generally associated with the corporate-law domain but now being recognized
as a core subject-matter for banking regulation and supervision. This text will analyze the
subject of managerial function and responsibility in the context of United States banking
institutions, specifically the national hank, the bank holding company and the financial holding
company.
The primary thesis to be presented and supported is in banking the governance order
concerning the "control and direction" mechanism over managerial conduct can only be fully
appreciated by not only looking into the economy specific dimension, as informed primarily by
applicable corporate law standards addressed generally to and among the shareholder, the board
and the senior management as they interact with the corporate entity, but also by investigating
the industry specific dimension (in the instant case as to banking institutions), as reflected by
required regulatory standards enshrined in statutes, regulations and other regulatory
pronunciations addressed specifically to their industrial particularities and their derived
implications on the society as whole. In the context of the United States, the governance order of
banking institutions, as such, is placed in the applicable (i) state law corporate governance
framework tinder the Delaware General Corporate Law and related Delaware case law and (ii)
federal statutes and the prudential regulations and practices of federal banking regulators.
As will be seen, these two regulatory strands that impact the U. S. hank governance order
have separately evolved tinder separate statutory and regulatory frameworks with separate
policy underpinnings. Traditionally, banks as corporate entities have been treated under general
corporate governance principles developed under corporate statutes and case law. For lcdcral
banking institutions, the federal regulators have generally deferred to the fiduciary standards
under Delaware corporate law. The policy of the Delaware statute and case law directs corporate
directors and officers towards maximizing corporate value fier the shareholders: the law
recognizes that corporate management is engaged in business risk-taking and grants corporate
management considerable leeway as to their good-faith decisions and activities, while placing
constraints on grossly negligent, illegal, had taith and sell-dealing decisions and activities. The
U. S. federal bank regulators' primarily are concerned with the "satcty and soundness" of'
banking institutions and the stability of the U. S. banking system. In pursuing the prudential
objective, the U. S. Congress and these bank regulators have externally imposed numerous
regulatory requirements on bank management, backed by intensive supervision and vigorous
enforcement. This text will argue that these federal banking laws and regulations have
significantly intruded- in depth and in breadth- into the traditional state law domain of corporate
governance of banking institutions, and, as a result of which, the ensuing contusion and
inconsistence in governance standards to be addressed. This intrusion refers to a stand-alone
bank, as well as a bank held by a corporate parent.
An appreciation of this "push and pull" tension between these two bifurcated strands
influencing the governance structure facing bank management is critical as management plans
its prudent profit-seeking strategies. Whilst a needed, comprehensive reform able to bring about
a set of uniform and industry-specific governance standards is outside the scope of this work,
this text will consider possible ways to reconcile conflicts generated and will make some modest
recommendations in this connection as conclusions thereof
Genetic predisposition to coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetes
No full textBackground: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is accelerated in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
Methods: To test whether this reflects differential genetic influences on CAD-risk in subjects with T2D, we performed a systematic assessment of genetic overlap between CAD and T2D in 66,643 subjects (27,708 with CAD and 24,259 with T2D). Variants showing apparent association with CAD in stratified analyses and/or evidence of interaction were evaluated in a further 117,787 subjects (16,694 with CAD and 11,537 with T2D).
Results: None of the previously characterised CAD loci was found to have specific effects on CAD in T2D individuals and a genome-wide interaction analysis found no new variants for CAD that could be considered T2D specific. When we considered the overall genetic correlations between CAD and its risk factors, we found no substantial differences in these relationships by T2D background.
Conclusions: This study found no evidence that the genetic architecture of CAD differs in those with T2D compared to those without T2D
The regional geopolitics of the strait of Gibraltar
No full textSecurity of passage of the Strait of Gibraltar is an imperative for the world community. To achieve this, there must be stability on the northern and southern shores of the Strait. Peace in the region is currently threatened by the "creeping jurisdiction" which both Spain and Morocco wish to exert over the waters of the Strait. Other factors which threaten stability are the historical rivalry which exists between Spain and the Islamic southern shore; the legacy of disputed sovereignty in the Crown Colony of Gibraltar and the Spanish Plazas in North Africa; the economic divide betwen the EC and Maghreb along the Strait axis; and the possible threat of militant Islam. Contentions also exist between Morocco and Algeria, eg the Western Saharan War. The re-establishment of a strong "power hierarchy" in the area must be supported by such international instruments as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). The Crown Colony and the Spanish Plazas must be decolonized once Spain is firmly integrated into the EC and NATO, and once Morocco has reached a level of economic and political development that is condusive to closer ties with Western institutions
Chromosome segregation and recombination in human meiosis: Clinical applications and insight into disjunction errors
No full textChromosome copy number errors (or aneuploidy) of gametes and embryos occurs in humans more frequently than in any other studied species, with a spectrum of manifestations from implantation failure to affected live births. It is predominantly problem arising in maternal meiosis with at least 20% of oocytes being aneuploid, a proportion that increases dramatically with advancing maternal age. Currently the only intervention to reduce the chances of transmitting aneuploidy is by invasive embryo biopsy procedures in high-risk groups (mainly patients with advanced maternal age) undergoing in-vitro fertilisation. Despite the severity of this problem, aneuploidy of the human preimplantation embryo is relatively poorly understood. With this in mind the purpose of this thesis is to explore the premise underpinning the use of preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in human embryos and investigate its clinical applications and current methodologies. A series of published works demonstrate what I believe to be a significant contribution to the development of applications for studying human preimplantation aneuploidy, also providing insight into its origins and mechanisms at the earliest stages of human development.
Specifically, I present a novel standard set of protocols as a general reference work from practitioners in the fields of embryo biopsy and array comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH - the current ‘gold standard’ for preimplantation aneuploidy screening). I present a summary of work encapsulated in three published clinical papers using a linkage based analysis of Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) karyotypes (Karyomapping). Karyomapping was designed as a near-universal approach for the simultaneous detection of chromosomal and monogenic disorders in a PGS setting and these results demonstrate the utility of the technique in three separate scenarios.
In order to study the underlying mechanisms of female meiosis I present my findings on the use of a calcium ionophore to activate human oocytes artificially. An algorithm based on Karyomapping (termed MeioMapping) is demonstrated for the first time specifically to investigate human female meiosis. By recovering all three products of human female meiosis (oocyte, and both polar biopsies – herein termed “Trios”) using calcium ionophore, I present a novel protocol (commissioned by Nature Protocols) to allow exploration of the full extent of meiotic chromosome recombination and segregation that occurs in the female germline. Finally I present a published set of experiments using this protocol to provide new insight into meiotic segregation patterns and recombination in human oocytes. This work uncovers a previously undescribed pattern of meiotic segregation (termed Reverse Segregation), providing an association between recombination rates and chromosome mis-segregation (aneuploidy). This work demonstrates that there is selection for higher recombination rates in the female germline and that there is a role for meiotic drive for recombinant chromatids at meiosis II in human female meiosis.
The work presented in this thesis provides deeper understanding of meiotically derived maternal aneuploidy and recombination. More importantly it provides a vehicle within an ethical framework to continue to expand our knowledge and uncover new insights into the basis of meiotic errors that may aid future reproductive therapies
Does Culture Matter? The Relevance of Culture in Politics and Governance in the Euro-Mediterranean Zone. ZEI Discussion Paper: 2002: C 111
No full text[Table of Contents]: Culture and Governance in the Mediterranean – A Rationale and Overview, by Indra de Soysa and Peter Zervakis; The Relevance of Culture in Democratic Governance – Lessons from the Western Hemisphere, by Lawrence E. Harrison; Culture in Politics and Governance – European Experiences, by Klaus von Beyme; Penser L’Espace Mediterranean, by Mohammed Arkoun; Muslim and Western Civilization – Is Co-Prosperity and Peace Possible?, by Erich Weede; Political Culture and Democracy in Turkey, by Ergun Özbudun; The Crisis of Political Culture in the Arab World – A Conflict of Paradigms, by Paul Salem; Euro-Mediterranean Formations – Cultural Imperatives of System Change, by Dimitris K. Xenakis and Dimitris Chryssochoou; Cross-cultural Currents in the Mediterranean – What Prospects, Stephan Calleya; Politics and Governance in the Mediterranean, by Franck Biancheri; The Mediterranean - New Directions of Research and Policy-Making, by Ludger Kühnha
