Mid-point for open-ended income category and the effect of equivalence scales on the income-health relationship

To estimate the mid-point of an open-ended income category and to assess the impact of two equivalence scales on income-health associations. Data were obtained from the 2010 Brazilian Oral Health Survey ( Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde Bucal – SBBrasil 2010). Income was converted from categorical to two continuous variables ( per capita and equivalized) for each mid-point. The median mid-point was R$ 14,523.50 and the mean, R$ 24,507.10. When per capita income was applied, 53% of the population were below the poverty line, compared with 15% with equivalized income. The magnitude of income-health associations was similar for continuous income, but categorized equivalized income tended to decrease the strength of association.

An investigation of the determinants of household demand for bushmeat in the Serengeti using an open-ended choice experiment

Illegal hunting for bushmeat is regarded as an important cause of biodiversity decline in Africa. We use a stated preferences method to obtain information on determinants of demand for bushmeat in villages around the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. We estimate the effects of changes in the own price of bushmeat and in the prices of two substitute protein sources – fish and chicken. Promoting the availability of protein substitutes at lower prices would be effective at reducing pressures on wildlife. Supply-side measures that raise the price of bushmeat would also be effective.

Brilliant activities for stretching gifted and talented children : open-ended mental stimulation activities.

Manual que ayuda a padres y profesores a prestar a los niños superdotados y con talento la estimulación mental que necesitan. En la primera parte se hacen comentarios, teorías, por ejemplo, la taxonomía de Bloom, y conceptos relacionados con la creatividad, el aprendizaje y la enseñanza. La segunda parte ofrece una selección de actividades para toda la clase: rompecabezas y ejercicios entretenidos de matemáticas. La tercera parte proporciona entretenimientos de composición abierta, ejercicios independientes para los alumnos. Todas las actividades son fotocopiables. Aunque escrito principalmente para alumnos excepcionales hasta la edad de once años, este recurso presenta enfoques e ideas que pueden aplicarse a cualquier alumno y a cualquier situación de enseñanza.

German open ended funds: was there a valuation problem?

In late 2005, a number of German open ended funds suffered significant withdrawals by unit holders. The crisis was precipitated by a long term bear market in German property investment and the fact that these funds offered short term liquidity to unit holders but had low levels of liquidity in the fund. A more controversial suggestion was that the crisis was exacerbated by a perception that the valuations of the fund were too infrequent and inaccurate. As units are priced by reference to these valuations with no secondary market, the valuation process is central to the process. There is no direct evidence that these funds were over-valued but there is circumstantial evidence and this paper examines the indirect evidence of the process to see whether the hypothesis that valuation is an issue for the German funds holds any credibility. It also discusses whether there is a wider issue for other funds of this nature or whether it is a parochial problem confined to Germany. The conclusions are that there is reason to believe that German valuation processes make over-valuation in a recession more likely than in other countries and that more direct research into the German valuation system is required to identify the issues which need to be addressed to make the valuation system more trusted.

The open-ended photothermal cell with LiTaO3 and its use in determining the photochemical loss

Comparative determinations of the noise equivalent power (NEP) of open-ended photothermal cells are performed using LiTaO3 and LiNbO3 crystals with and without indium tin oxide (ITO) transparent electrodes. Open-ended cells can be used for in vivo measurements, which are important when considering the achievability for continuous monitoring of a plant, verifying, for example, the effect of water stress or UV-B radiation on a leaf. We also show the results obtained with one of these cells in the determination of photochemical loss of plant leaves. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

General effective medium model for the complex permittivity extraction with an open-ended coaxial probe in presence of a multilayer material under test

The work presented in this thesis is focused on the open-ended coaxial-probe frequency-domain reflectometry technique for complex permittivity measurement at microwave frequencies of dispersive dielectric multilayer materials. An effective dielectric model is introduced and validated to extend the applicability of this technique to multilayer materials in on-line system context. In addition, the thesis presents: 1) a numerical study regarding the imperfectness of the contact at the probe-material interface, 2) a review of the available models and techniques, 3) a new classification of the extraction schemes with guidelines on how they can be used to improve the overall performance of the probe according to the problem requirements.

Embodied computation and life: building blocks for open-ended evolution

Il presente lavoro si propone di sviluppare una analogia formale tra sistemi dinamici e teoria della computazione in relazione all’emergenza di proprietà biologiche da tali sistemi. Il primo capitolo sarà dedicato all’estensione della teoria delle macchine di Turing ad un più ampio contesto di funzioni computabili e debolmente computabili. Mostreremo quindi come un sistema dinamico continuo possa essere elaborato da una macchina computante, e come proprietà informative quali l’universalità possano essere naturalmente estese alla fisica attraverso questo ponte formale. Nel secondo capitolo applicheremo i risultati teorici derivati nel primo allo sviluppo di un sistema chimico che mostri tali proprietà di universalità, ponendo particolare attenzione alla plausibilità fisica di tale sistema.

Enhancing skills in solving open-ended problems using game-based exercises

Some requirements for engineering programmes, such as an ability to use the techniques, skills and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering practice, as well as an understanding of professional and ethical responsibility or an ability to communicate effectively, need new activities designed for measuring students’ progress. Negotiations take place continuously at any stage of a project and, so, the ability of engineers and managers to effectively carry out a negotiation is crucial for the success or failure of projects and businesses. Since it involves communication between individuals motivated to come together in an agreement for mutual benefit, it can be used to enhance these personal abilities. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of mixing playing sessions and theory to maximise the students’ strategic vision in combination with negotiating skills. Results show that the combination of playing with theoretical training teaches students to strategise through analysis and discussion of alternatives. The outcome is then more optimised.

Using WYSIWYM to Create an Open-ended Interface for the Semantic Grid

Publisher PDF

Adaptive Crowd Algorithms for Open-Ended Problems

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Ultra Compact Inline E-Plane Waveguide Bandpass Filters Using Cross Coupling

This paper presents novel ultra-compact waveguide bandpass filters that exhibit pseudo elliptic responses with ability to place transmission zeros on both sides of the passband to form sharp roll offs. The filters contain E plane extracted pole sections cascaded with cross-coupled filtering blocks. Compactness is achieved by the use of evanescent mode sections and closer arranged resonators modified to shrink in size. The filters containing non-resonating nodes are designed by means of the generalized coupling coefficients (GCC) extraction procedure for the cross-coupled filtering blocks and extracted pole sections. We illustrate the performance of the proposed structures through the design examples of a third and a fourth order filters with center frequencies of 9.2 GHz and 10 GHz respectively. The sizes of the proposed structures suitable for fabricating using the low cost E plane waveguide technology are 38% smaller than ones of the E plane extracted pole filter of the same order.