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This book identifies how consensus on vocational education and training (VET) policy is sought in a number of countries where interesting models have emerged. The focus of the book is on the principles of stakeholding and consensus applied to policy formulation and implementation in vocational education and training. The international case studies provide examples of practical strategies that have been successfully implemented. The following nine articles are included: "Stakeholders, Consensus, Participation and Democracy" (Ian Finlay); "Stakeholders and Partners in Vocational Education and Training in Scotland" (John Fairley); "A Consensus Approach to Policy-Making: The Case of the Republic of Ireland" (Jim Gleeson); "Transformation and Reform of Vocational Education and Training in Taiwan, Republic of China" (Dar-Chin Rau); "Developmental Corporatism and the Process of Change in Vocational Education and Training: The Singaporean Experience" (Johnny Sung); "Change and Consensus in Vocational Education and Training: The Case of the German 'Dual System'" (Willi Brand); "Process Owners and Stakeholders in VET Reforms in Finland" (Olli Raty); "The Process of Change in Vocational Education and Training in the United States" (Betsy Brand); "The Process of Change in Vocational Education and Training: The South African Experience" (Ian Bellis). The book includes 26 drawings and 7 tables. (KC)

This book examines human-computer interaction (HCI), with a focus on designing computer technology to be more usable by people. The book provides a multi-disciplinary approach to the subject through a synthesis of computer science, cognitive science, psychology, and sociology, and stresses a principled approach to interactive systems design that fits a software engineering environment. The book is structured in three parts. Part 1, "Foundations," covers the basic foundations of HCI in terms of human psychology, computer systems, and the implications of the interaction between them. Chapter 1, "The Human," looks at human perception, cognition, and problem-solving as factors which influence the usability of a design. Chapter 2, "The Computer," discusses available design technology. Chapter 3, "The Interaction," discusses interaction between human and computer. Part 2, "Design Practice," concentrates on the integration of HCI into design practice. Chapter 4, "Usability Paradigms and Principles," looks at the history of interactive system design and identifies principles which support usability. Chapter 5, "The Design Process," discusses software engineering and how it is influenced by the insistence of user-centered design. Chapter 6, "Models of the User in Design," chapter 7, "Task Analysis," chapter 8, "Dialog Notations and Design," and chapter 9, "Models of the System," discuss modeling techniques that can ensure usability principles are not violated. Chapter 10, "Implementation Support," looks at the support tools and environments available to interactive system programmers. Chapter 11, "Evaluation Techniques," looks at analytic and empirical methods for evaluating systems to see if they meet user requirements. Chapter 12, "Help and Documentation," discusses the design of user support systems. Part 3, "Application Areas," includes chapter 13 "Groupware"; chapter 14, "CSCW and Social Issues"; chapter 15, "Out of the Glass Box"; and chapter 16 "Hypertext, Multimedia and the World Wide Web." Contains 266 references and an index. (JAK)

This book contains a wide variety of winter-oriented ideas and activities that can be adapted to all elementary grade levels and can also be integrated into existing mathematics, science, social studies, and/or art programs. The activities aim to help students develop the skills of observation, appreciation, and problem solving as well as suggesting responsible behaviors toward the environment, each other, and snow equipment. Topic headings include: (1) Study Now Our Winter (establishing a theme and corresponding activities); (2) Stories in the Snow (with information and illustrations of animal tracks); (3) Snow and More Snow (listing experiments and activities to conduct with the snow); (4) Winter Waiting (highlighting facts and activities dealing with plants); and (5) Out and About (discussing winter clothing, insulation, and shelter). (ML)

This work describes a potential solution to the problems caused by the heterogeneous nature of the data which may be collected within smart home environments. Such information may be generated at an intra- or inter-institutional level following laboratory testing or based on in-situ evaluations. We offer a solution to this problem in the form of a system/application/format independent means of storing such data. This approach will inevitably support the exchange of data within the research community and form the basis of the establishment of an openly accessible data repository. Within this abstract we present the outline design of homeML, an XML based schema for representation of information within smart homes and through exemplars demonstrate the potential of such an approach. An example of the typical type of software browser required for the data representation is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sources cited for the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" are presented including "Scotland: A New History," by M. Lynch, "Understanding Scotland: The Sociology of a Stateless Nation," by D. McCrone and "Scotland: A Short History," by Chris Harvie.

The article offers information on the political and economic background in Scotland. Such country has manifested directionless due to inability of business and political leaders to assure an effective political and business leadership. Further, it reveals that state policy in low interest rates, agricultural subsidies does not ensure economic stability of the country.

Chapter 10 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It discusses politics and economics in Scotland during the final years of the 20th century, culminating in devolution and the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1997. Other topics discussed include opposition to the poll tax instituted by the government of Margaret Thatcher and the return of Scottish nationalism.

Chapter 9 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It explores the frustrated economic expectations and rising nationalism in Scotland during the years 1975-1987, including the rise and decline of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and its call for independence, and British economic policy toward Scotland. Other topics discussed include devolution and the unpopularity in Scotland of Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative Party.

Chapter 8 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It discusses economic and social conditions from 1966 to 1976, including family life, youth culture, religion, agriculture, and emigration and immigration. Regional disparities between the Highlands and Lowlands are also discussed, as are conditions for the elderly.

Chapter 7 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It explores the adoption of improvement in the declining economic condition in Scotland, due to the occurrence of Second World War. It also highlights that Scotland has manifested greater redistribution of wealth and unparalleled growth in the standard of living among Scots during 1954 to 1966 period.

Chapter 6 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It explores the post-war reconstruction which took place in Scotland after the end of the Second World War, which introduces the role of planning to acquire social justice and ensure equitable distribution of wealth. It also highlights the assistance of experts to expand production and to control and regulate all aspects of society and the economy.

Chapter 5 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It explores the experience of the Second World War in Scotland, including the change in attitudes it brought about regarding the ability and obligation of state power to change society and the economy for the better. It also highlights Scottish politics and economics of the time, including the influence of Thomas Johnston in his role as the British Secretary of State for Scotland.

Chapter 4 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It explores education, public health, recreation, agriculture, and Highland life in Scotland during the years 1935-1939. Topics discussed in detail include the educational goal of workforce preparation, mortality and other vital statistics, social life and customs, and crofting in the Highlands.

Chapter 3 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It explores the declining economic condition in Scotland before the Great Crash of 1929, and mentions the closure of sugar refinery John Walker & Co. and tobacco firm F. & J. Smith. It also highlights the significant role of slow growth of exportation and importation to the decreasing economic performance.

Chapter 2 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It discusses the high mortality of Scottish soldiers in the First World War, and postwar economic and political conditions in Scotland within the larger context of Great Britain. Discussed in particular is the economic unrest and class conflict in the country that culminated in the General Strike of 1926.

Chapter 1 of the book "Modern Scotland 1914-2000" is presented. It explores the nature of politics and government in Scotland, such as the establishment of Women's League Against Bolshevism, which was designed to protect against the dangers of socialism, to promote traditional family values and to enhance the role of women in politics. It also highlights the conflict in the administration of the Liberal Party in Scottish politics.

Chapter 7 of the book "Coastal Resource Management in the Wider Caribbean: Resilience, Adaptation, and Community Diversity" is presented. It details three case studies from Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and Belize. It examines the approaches taken by the countries for co-management of their community-based fisheries. It discusses the political organization, socioeconomic aspects of fisheries and heterogeneity of fishing communities in the three countries.

We investigate the interaction between Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and an Active Queue Management (AQM) router, that are designed to control congestion in the Internet. TCP controls the sending rate with which the data is injected into the network and AQM generates control signals based on the congestion level. For a given TCP version, we define the optimal strategy for the AQM router as a solution of a nonlinear periodic optimization problem, and we find this solution using a linear programming approach. We show that depending on the choice of the utility function for the sending rate, the optimal control is either periodic or steady state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European cultivated potato (Solanum tuberosum ssp tuberosum) is a self-compatible outbreeding tetraploid species (2n = 4x = 48) and ranks fourth after wheat, rice and maize in terms of importance to human nutrition. It was introduced into Europe in the late 16th century from the Andes of South America and later transported to the rest of the world. By the end of the 18th century, it had been adapted to long-day conditions through selection by its early cultivators for early-tubering and high yields. Potato is susceptible to a wide range of fungal, bacterial and virus diseases as well as various insect and nematode pests. As its importance as a staple food crop increased, so did problems associated with its clonal means of multiplication, notably caused by various virus diseases, described as a degeneration of seed tubers due to ‘the curl' (reviewed by Salaman, 1926). In time it was realized that some of the viruses were transmitted by aphids. This led to the development of seed industries in many countries where highgrade virus-free seed tubers were produced in areas that are climatically and geographically suitable with regards to isolation from sources of infection and reduced numbers of virus vectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce METAMorph, an open source software platform for the experimental design of simulated cellular development processes using genomes encoded as genetic regulatory networks (GRNs). METAMorph allows researchers to design GRNs by hand and to visualise the resulting morphological growth process. As such, it is a tool to aid researchers in developing an understanding of the expressive properties of GRNs. We describe the software and present our preliminary observations in the form of techniques for realising some common structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animal studies, cell biology, observational epidemiology, and recently randomized controlled trails have clarified the mechanisms and benefits of diets low in fat and high in insoluble cereal fibers for prevention of bowel cancer. Vegetables (especially cruciferous vegetables) are consistently associated with benefit in observational epidemiology, but the mechanism of benefit remains to be clarified. Current randomized controlled trials of intervention aimed at preventing adenoma growth may promote the strength of evidence from the level II currently available. The data for the prevention of colorectal cancer continue to rest with level III observational epidemiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the involvement of central nervous system (CNS) in Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH). Pathogenesis of CNS LCH; Association between neuronal death in dementia and AIDS; Detection of activated macrophages in LCH cell in other organs.

Photoelastic stress analysis is a full-field technique for measuring the magnitudes and directions of principal stresses. The technique has been used traditionally to study plane polymer models of structures (Frocht, 1941a, 1941b) by passing polarized light through transparent, loaded models and interpreting stress fields from the formation of interference fringes. The fringes appear because the chosen materials become optically anisotropic when loaded. Although the formation of photoelastic fringes has been known since the early nineteenth century — the relationship between fringes and stresses was deduced in the 1850s — practical applications were initially hindered by impractical model materials such as glass. The use of celluloid by Coker in 1906 represented significant progress (Coker and Filon, 1957). Since then, more versatile polymer materials, including epoxy resins and urethane rubbers, have become available for modelling. Applications in biomechanics have developed in parallel to those of traditional engineering (Orr, 1992), particularly in the fields of orthopaedics (Orr et al., 1990) and dental surgery (Arcan and Zandman, 1984;Wang itet al., 1992). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advantages of microtiter-based ELISAs in diagnostic techniques can be briefly summarized by the economic use of reagents and by the ease of their application to large numbers of test samples. ELISAs are widely applied to the serological diagnosis of both human and animal bacterial and mycoplasmal disease, but similar assays for the diagnostic detection of antigen rather than antibody are not as commonly used. Although many antigen-capture or sandwich ELISAs have been developed, their application has been largely confined to research. This is mainly owing to their limited sensitivity in comparison with standard culture techniques. This means that pre-enrichment is inevitably necessary before testing to achieve an acceptable sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on several books about nutrition. "Mothers and Medicine: A Social History of Infant Feeding, 1890-1950," by Rima D. Apple; "Vitamania: Vitamins in American Culture," by Rima D. Apple; "Protein and Energy: A Study in Changing Ideas in Nutrition," by Kenneth J. Carpenter.

Presents information on reference sources about German chemist Justus von Liebig. "Justus von Liebig: The Chemical Gatekeeper," by William H. Brock; "Robert Mayer and the Conservation of Energy," by Kenneth L. Caneva; "Contrasts in Scientific Style: Research Groups in the Chemical and Biological Sciences," by Joseph S. Fruton; "Liebig and After Liebig: A Century of Progress in Agricultural Chemistry," edited by Forest Ray Moulton.

The β-decay of 11Li has been studied at ISAC/TRIUMF using the 8pi spectrometer, an array of 20 Compton-suppressed high-purity germanium detectors. Most of the 11Li β-decay strength is observed to proceed through unbound states in 11Be, which subsequently decay by one-neutron emission to 10Be. This results in the observation of a γ-spectrum dominated by the decay of the excited states in 10Be. These transitions exhibit characteristic Doppler broadened lineshapes, due to the the recoiling effect induced by the neutron emission. A Monte-Carlo simulation was developed to analyze the complex shape of these γ-lines. Both the half-lives of states in 10Be and the energies of the β-delayed neutrons feeding those states were obtained. It was also possible to determine the excitation energies of the parent states in 11Be. The present contribution was the subject of a publication in a scientific journal (F. Sarazin et al., Phys. Rev. C 70, 031302(R)(2004) )shortly before the conference. It was judged not appropriate to submit for peerreviewing a contribution with nearly the same content. The reader is therefore invited to read the original publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]