The determinants of internationalstudent mobility : An empirical study on U.S. Data

The increase in foreign students in countries such as the US, the UK and Francesuggests that the international ‘education industry’ is growing in importance. Thepurpose of this paper is to investigate the empirical determinants of internationalstudent mobility. A secondary purpose is to give tentative policy suggestions to hostcountry, source country and also to provide some recommendations to students whowant to study abroad. Using pooled cross-sectional time series data for the US overthe time period 1993-2006, we estimate an econometric model of enrolment rates offoreign students in the US. Our results suggest that tuition fees, US federal support ofeducation, and the size of the ‘young’ generation of source countries have asignificant influence on international student mobility. We also consider other factorsthat may be relevant in this context.

Implementation and role of device management Solutions to the end users

This research is based on consumer complaints with respect to recently purchased consumer electronics. This research document will investigate the instances of development and device management as a tool used to aid consumer and manage consumer’s mobile products in order to resolve issues in or before the consumers is aware one exists. The problem at the present time is that mobile devices are becoming very advanced pieces of technology, and not all manufacturers and network providers have kept up the support element of End users. As such, the subject of the research is to investigate how device management could possibly be used as a method to promote research and development of mobile devices, and provide a better experience for the consumer. The wireless world is becoming increasingly complex as revenue opportunities are driven by new and innovative data services. We can no longer expect the customer to have the knowledge or ability to configure their own device. Device Management platforms can address the challenges of device configuration and support through new enabling technologies. Leveraging these technologies will allow a network operator to reduce the cost of subscriber ownership, drive increased ARPU (Average Revenue per User) by removing barriers to adoption, reduce churn by improving the customer experience and increase customer loyalty. DM technologies provide a flexible and powerful management method but are managing the same device features that have historically been configured manually through call centers or by the end user making changes directly on the device. For this reason DM technologies must be treated as part of a wider support solution. The traditional requirement for discovery, fault finding, troubleshooting and diagnosis are still as relevant with DM as they are in the current human support environment yet the current generation of solutions do little to address this problem. In the deployment of an effective Device Management solution the network operator must consider the integration of the DM platform, interfacing with many areas of the business, supported by knowledge of the relationship between devices, applications, solutions and services maintained on an ongoing basis. Complementing the DM solution with published device information, setup guides, training material and web based tools will ensure the quality of the customer experience, ensuring that problems are completely resolved, driving data usage by focusing customer education on the use of the wireless service In this way device management becomes a tool used both internally within the network or device vendor and by the customer themselves, with each user empowered to effectively manage the device without any prior knowledge or experience, confident that changes they apply will be relevant, accurate, stable and compatible. The value offered by an effective DM solution with an expert knowledge service will become a significant differentiator for the network operator in an ever competitive wireless market. This research document is intended to highlight some of the issues the industry faces as device management technologies become more prevalent, and offers some potential solutions to simplify the increasingly complex task of managing devices on the network, where device management can be used as a tool to aid customer relations and manage customer’s mobile products in order to resolve issues before the user is aware one exists. The research is broken down into the following, Customer Relationship Management, Device management, the role of knowledge with the DM, Companies that have successfully implemented device management, and the future of device management and CRM. And it also consists of questionnaires aimed at technical support agents and mobile device users. Interview was carried out with CRM managers within support centre to further the evidence gathered. To conclude, the document is to consider the advantages and disadvantages of device management and attempt to determine the influence it will have over customer support centre, and what methods could be used to implement it.

Stop the Presses!

Last month a new study commissioned by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) issued one of those “Duh!” reports. The new study (available here http://www. bl.uk/news/pdf/googlegen.pdf) found that the “Google Generation,” or those brought up by computer wolves, is not very Web-literate.

Public debt and the limits of fiscal policy to increase economic growth

Research that seeks to estimate the effects of fiscal policies on economic growth has ignored the role of public debt in this relationship. This study proposes a theoretical model of endogenous growth, which demonstrates that the level of the public debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio should negatively impact the effect of fiscal policy on growth. This occurs because government indebtedness extracts part of the savings of the young to pay interest on the debts of the older generation, who are no longer saving. Therefore, the payment of debt interest assumes an allocation exchange role between generations that is similar to a pay-as-you-go pension system, which results in changes in the savings rate of the economy. The major conclusions of the theoretical model were tested using an econometric model to provide evidence for the validity of this conclusion. Our empirical analysis controls for timeinvariant, country-specific heterogeneity in the growth rates. We also address endogeneity issues and allow for heterogeneity across countries in the model parameters and for cross-sectional dependence.

Second generation European corn borer injury and Irish potato physiology, yield, and quality

European corn borer (ECB) [Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner)] (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is known to infest Irish potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) but only causes economic damage during the first generation in East Coast potato producing areas. However, in Nebraska, second generation ECB infest potato plants during the bulking period and may reduce yield and/or potato quality. Experiments were conducted in 2001, 2002, and 2003 to examine physiological and yield effects of second generation ECB injury to potato in Nebraska. Pike, Atlantic, and three Frito Lay proprietary varieties (FL1867, FL1879, and FL1833) were used. Experimental plots were infested with four ECB egg masses per plant to simulate ECB infestation by second-generation larvae; controls received no egg masses. Photosynthetic rates, tuber weights, tuber size grades, solids, and fry quality were measured. Potato plants with ECB infestation had significantly reduced photosynthetic rates on ECB-infested stems and on uninfested stems on the same plant when larvae were in the fifth instar. When insects were in the fourth instar, photosynthetic rates were reduced only on ECB-infested stems. In 2001, ECB infestation reduced the average mass of large tubers and increased the amount of small tubers in FL1867 and FL1879. In 2002, significant yield reductions were not observed. Across both years, ECB-infested plots produced fewer large (65- to 100-mm diam.) tubers than control plots. Other tuber properties and chip qualities were unaffected. This study indicates that second generation ECB infestation of approximately 30% infested plants results in economic loss for some chipping varieties and affects tuber bulking. In contrast to east coast growers, Midwest potato farmers must be concerned with second generation ECB.

Analysis of the performance of an extraction-condensation steam turbine on a cogeneration system of a Brazilian sugar-alcohol factory

In this work a detailed thermodynamic analysis for an extraction-condensation steam turbine capable to drive a 40 MVA electricity generator in a sugar-alcohol factory was carried out. The use of this turbine in the cogeneration system showed that its efficiency contributed to increase the power generation, although the condensation reduces the overall efficiency of the plant. Sensibility analyses were performed to evaluate the behavior of the overall energy efficiency of a plant with the extraction-condensation turbine in function of the boiler efficiency, the specific consumption of steam in the processes and the condensation rate in the turbine. It was observed that the plant efficiency is very sensible to the condensation rate variation and it increases when there is an increase in the demand of steam for processes.

Copper Hexacyanoferrate Formation on the Modified Silica Surface with DAB-Am-16 Dendrimer

The third generation (G-3) polypropylenimine hexadecaamine dendrimer (DAB-Am-16) was grafted onto the silica gel surface. The modified silica interacts easily with Cu(2+) and then with potassium ferrocyanide to form copper hexacyanoferrate. The modified silica was characterized by the following techniques: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), FTIR spectroscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Cyclic Voltammetry. The modified silica containing copper hexacyanoferrate (CuHCFSD) was tested for a voltammetric determination of nitrite using a modified graphite paste electrode.

Investigation about the copper adsorption on the chloropropylsilica gel surface modified with a nanostructured dendrimer DAB-Am-16: an analytical application for determination of copper in different samples

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of obesity on rat reproduction and on the development of their adult offspring

The aim of the present study was to assess the reproductive parameters of obese Wistar rats and to determine the frequency of their obese adult offspring. Neonatal rats were divided into two groups: F-1 generation, induced to obesity by monosodium glutamate (MSG; F(1)MSG, N = 30), and rats given saline (F1CON, N = 13). At 90 days of age all animals were mated, producing the F-2 offspring (F2CON, N = 28; F(2)MSG, N = 15). Reproductive parameters (fertility, pregnancy, and delivery indexes) were evaluated in F-1 rats. F-2 newborns were weighed, and the obesity parameter for F-1 and F-2 generations was determined from months 5 to 7 of life. At month 7, periovarian fat was weighed and no differences were found. Mean newborn weight also did not differ. The F-1 and F(2)MSG groups presented approximately 90% of obese rats since month 5 of life, whereas F-1 and F2CON groups presented only 33%. There was no difference in periovarian weight among groups. Although obesity did not affect reproductive parameters, obese dams (F(1)MSG) were responsible for the appearance of obesity in the subsequent generation. Thus, obesity induced by neonatal MSG administration did not interfere with reproduction, but did provide a viable model for obesity in second-generation adult Wistar rats. This model might contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in transgenerational obesity.

The development of resistance to caffeine in Drosophila prosaltans: productivity and longevity after ten generations of treatment

The productivity of Drosophila prosaltans treated with six concentrations of caffeine (from 50 mu g/ml to 2,500 mu g/ml of culture medium) during ten generations (similar to 8 months) decreased in a dosage dependent manner in every generation, but at the end of the treatment the flies in all experiments recovered normal productivity, except for those treated with 2,500 mu g/ml. Longevity in the tenth generation was significantly reduced in males and females only in the 2,500 mu g/ml dosage, with males being much more affected than females. In a previous study in which the treatment was done in a single generation, productivity exhibited only a partial recovery when the treatment ceased and longevity was significantly reduced in 1,500 mu g/ml dosages. The hypothesis of selection occurring in ten generations leading to recovery in productivity and to a reduction in the processes which cause a decrease in longevity is being considered.

Four-fermion contact interactions at one-loop and the new atomic parity violation results.

We investigate the possibility that four-fermion contact interactions give rise to the observed deviation from the Standard Model prediction for the weak charge of cesium, through one-loop contributions. We show that the presence of loops involving the third generation quarks can explain such deviation.

Determination of the Width of the Top Quark

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Search for Pair Production of Second-Generation Scalar Leptoquarks in pp Collisions at root s=7 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Measurement of sin(2)theta(l)(eff) and Z-light quark couplings using the forward-backward charge asymmetry in p(p)over-bar -> Z/gamma* -> e(+)e(-) events with L=5.0 fb(-1) at root s=1.96 TeV

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Improved determination of the width of the top quark

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)