State-building in Iraq since 2003: the Challenges and Lessons. Jean Monnet Occasional Paper No. 12/2014

Introduction. In 2003, Iraq was invaded by the US coalition forces that ousted Saddam Hussein’s regime from power before occupying the whole country. The intension, declared by the then American George W. Bush, was to ‘build a decent and democratic society at the centre of the Middle East’ that ‘will become a place of progress and peace.’1 In 2014, three years after the withdrawal of the last American soldier, however, it is difficult to overestimate or exaggerate what is at stake. National unity and territorial integrity have never been so seriously threatened since the country is experiencing the internal fighting in its modern history. Many parts of Iraq, including the northern oil city of Kirkuk, long claimed as an integral part of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan, are out of the control of the central government. Large areas in the north including the strategic city of Mosul were seized by the fighters of the Islamic State, an Al-Qaeda offshoot, formerly known as ISIS, who threatened to invade the Kurdistan region before being attacked by airstrikes by the US. They proclaimed a caliphate on both sides of the border with Syria, where they also control vast territory.

The Pro-Western Turn in Russia's Foreign Policy: Causes, Consequences and Prospects. OSW Point of View, September 2002

From Europe and Poland's point of view, one of the most important recent developments in international politics was the re-orientation of Russia's foreign policy. This paper aims to answer three important questions relating to this issue: 4. When and why did the "pro-Western turn" in the Russian Federation's policy take place? 5. Has it been profitable for Russia? 6. What goals will the Russian policy pursue in the future? An analysis of the last two years in Russia's foreign policy leads to the several conclusions, including those: 5. Clearly, the Russian leaders realise that in the longer term, Russia - in its desire for more influence in the world - will not be able to survive as an independent pole of power in international politics and it will have to join forces with the West (most likely, the European Union). 6. September 11 was not the cause of Russia's pro-Western turn, but rather a catalyst that put the process which started when Vladimir Putin took his office in sharp focus. 7. In the nearest future, this new direction of Russia's foreign policy seems not be challenged by internal opposition in Russia. 8. The "pro-Western turn" proved to be beneficial for Russia, although: d. Russia has not become a strategic ally of the US e. There has been no breakthrough in the relations between Russia and the European Union, and Moscow has not gained any real influence on NATO's important decisions. f. Russia has not become a major decision-maker of international politics. 5. Russia's closing to the West is in Poland's and Europe's interest.

The "Pro-Western Turn" in Russia's Foreign Policy: Causes, Consequences and Prospects. OSW Point of View (unspecified), September 2002

From Europe and Poland's point of view, one of the most important recent developments in international politics was the re-orientation of Russia's foreign policy. This paper aims to answer three important questions relating to this issue: 1. When and why did the "pro-Western turn" in the Russian Federation's policy take place? 2. Has it been profitable for Russia? 3. What goals will the Russian policy pursue in the future? An analysis of the last two years in Russia's foreign policy leads to the several conclusions, including those: a. Clearly, the Russian leaders realise that in the longer term, Russia - in its desire for more influence in the world - will not be able to survive as an independent pole of power in international politics and it will have to join forces with the West (most likely, the European Union). b. September 11 was not the cause of Russia's pro-Western turn, but rather a catalyst that put the process which started when Vladimir Putin took his office in sharp focus. 7. In the nearest future, this new direction of Russia's foreign policy seems not be challenged by internal opposition in Russia. c. The "pro-Western turn" proved to be beneficial for Russia, although: d. Russia has not become a strategic ally of the US e. There has been no breakthrough in the relations between Russia and the European Union, and Moscow has not gained any real influence on NATO's important decisions. f. Russia has not become a major decision-maker of international politics. g. Russia's closing to the West is in Poland's and Europe's interest.

The expensive energy revolution in Germany. The implementation of the Energiewende is behind schedule. OSW Commentary No. 77, 2012-05-10

One year after the events of Fukushima the implementation of the new German energy strategy adopted in the summer of 2011 is being verified. Business circles, experts and publicists are sounding the alarm. The tempo at which the German economy is being rearranged in order that it uses renewable energy sources is so that it has turned out to be an extremely difficult and expensive task. The implementation of the key guidelines of the new strategy, such as the development of the transmission networks and the construction of new conventional power plants, is meeting increasing resistance in the form of economic and legal difficulties. The development of the green technologies sector is also posing problems. The solar energy industry, for example, is excessively subsidised, whereas the subsidies for the construction of maritime wind farms are too low. At present, only those guidelines of the strategy which are evaluated as economically feasible by investors or which receive adequate financial support from the state have a chance of being carried through. The strategy may also turn out to be unsuccessful due to the lack of a comprehensive coordination of its implementation and the financial burden its introduction entails for both the public and the economy. In the immediate future, the German government will make efforts not only to revise its internal regulations in order to enable the realisation of the energy transformation; it is also likely to undertake a number of measures at the EU forum which will facilitate this realisation. One should expect that the German government will actively support the financing of both the development of the energy networks in EU member states and the development of renewable energy sources in the energy sector.

The language issue in Ukraine: An attempt at a new perspective. OSW Study 40/2012

Ukraine has been an independent state for only 20 years and the consequence of the long-term incorporation of Ukrainian lands into the Russian/Soviet state is an ethnically mixed society. In Ukraine, alongside Ukrainians, there are very many Russians and members of other nationalities of the former Soviet Union as well as a still large group of people who identify themselves as Soviets (in terms of their nationality). A significant part of Ukrainians use Russian in their everyday life (particularly professional) while knowing Ukrainian to only a small degree or not at all. Due to this Kyiv has to implement a language policy (which does not have to be pursued in e.g. Poland or Hungary) in search of solutions to ensure the stable functioning of a modern state for a multilingual society. The language issue is therefore an important challenge for the Ukrainian state and one of the more significant issues in Ukraine’s internal politics. In this text I eschew a detailed analysis of the question of Crimea as its social dynamics (also in the language area) is clearly distinct from the remaining part of Ukraine for four reasons: the short-term character of the region’s links with Ukraine, its relative geographic isolation (Crimea is almost an island), the formal autonomy of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and the presence of the Crimean Tatar community which is demanding the recognition of its language rights.

Economic Approaches of the Internal Market. Bruges European Economic Research (BEER) Papers 13/April 2008

What is ‘the’ EU internal market, as economists see it? The present BEER paper attempts to survey and help readers understand various ‘economic’ approaches to the internal market idea. The paper starts with a conceptual discussion of what ‘the’ internal market is (in an economic perspective). Six different economic meanings of the internal market are presented, with the sixth one being the economic benchmark in an ideal setting. Subsequently, the question is asked what the internal market (i.e. its proper functioning) is good for. Put differently, the internal market in the EU Treaty is a means, but a means to what? Beyond the typical economic growth objectives of the Rome Treaty (still valid today, with some qualifications), other Treaty objectives have emerged. Economists typically think in means-end relationships and the instrumental role of the internal market for Treaty objectives is far from clear. The ‘new’ Commission internal market strategy of 2007 proposes a more goal-oriented internal market policy. Such a vision is more selective in picking intermediate objectives to which ‘the’ internal market should be instrumental, but it risks to ignore the major deficits in today’s internal market: services and labour! The means-end relationships get even more problematic once one begins to scrutinise all the socio-economic objectives of the current (Amsterdam/Nice) Treaty or still other intermediate objectives. The internal market (explicitly including the relevant common regulation) then becomes a ‘jack of all trades’ for the environment, a high level of social protection, innovation or ‘Social Europe’. These means/ends relationships often are ill-specified. The final section considers the future of the internal market, by distinguishing three strategies: incremental strategies (including the new internal market strategy of November 2007); the internal market as the core of the Economic Union serving the ‘proper functioning of the monetary union’; and deepening and widening of the internal market as justified by the functional subsidiarity test. Even though the latter two would seem to be preferable from an economic point of view, they currently lack political legitimacy and are therefore unlikely to be pursued in the near future.

A challenge for liberal democracy: How to understand the Russian intervention in Ukraine. Bertelsmann Policy Brief, 16.10.2014

The Russian intervention in Ukraine has provoked a deep crisis which will likely last for years, with profound consequences not only for Ukraine, Russia and Eastern Europe, but also for the internal situation in the European Union. The current Russian aggression is frequently seen as a profound violation of international law, breaking the rules that are fundamental for relations in Europe. It is perceived as perhaps a step towards rebuilding imperial Russia or, at the very least, an attempt to keep Ukraine within Russia’s sphere of influence. However, one very important aspect is virtually neglected, namely, that Russia’s Ukraine venture may have a significant impact on the future of liberal democracy in Europe and beyond.

Social Policy Reforms in the EU: A Cross-national Comparison. Social Inclusion Monitor Europe (SIM) – Reform Barometer. Pilot Study

European countries are losing momentum for social policy reforms: The results of the SIM Europe Index report on social justice, published in September 2014, suggested a growing social divide among the member states. Assessing six policy areas of social inclusion, the data revealed the deteriorating social situation since 2009 across the EU. The report stressed, in particular, the difficulties southern EU member states were having in coping with the effects of the financial and economic crisis. This second report, the SIM Europe Reform Barometer, takes up these results and delivers two tasks: to impartially assess the extent of problem awareness of governments, and to ask whether they have enacted concrete social policy initiatives to tackle these challenges and to counterbalance the growing divide. Southern European member states, especially, did not or have not been able to pursue reforms to limit their withering levels of a socially inclusive society. In almost all key dimensions of social inclusion, those member states most affected by the implications of the protracted economic and fiscal crisis in the EU have been least able to confine the ongoing ‘internal devaluation’ in terms of socially balanced governmental activity. By contrast, some northern member states have legislated acts which seem well-suited to at least stabilise or even increase their level of social inclusion.

Switching Axial Progenitors from Producing Trunk to Tail Tissues in Vertebrate Embryos

The vertebrate body is made by progressive addition of new tissue from progenitors at the posterior embryonic end. Axial extension involves different mechanisms that produce internal organs in the trunk but not in the tail. We show that Gdf11 signaling is a major coordinator of the trunk-to-tail transition. Without Gdf11 signaling, the switch from trunk to tail is significantly delayed, and its premature activation brings the hindlimbs and cloaca next to the forelimbs, leaving extremely short trunks. Gdf11 activity includes activation of Isl1 to promote formation of the hindlimbs and cloaca-associated mesoderm as the most posterior derivatives of lateral mesoderm progenitors. Gdf11 also coordinates reallocation of bipotent neuromesodermal progenitors from the anterior primitive streak to the tail bud, in part by reducing the retinoic acid available to the progenitors. Our findings provide a perspective to understand the evolution of the vertebrate body plan.

Western Maryland in the revolution /

Mode of access: Internet.

Factors affecting N2 fixation by the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium sp. GBRTRLI101

Various factors affecting N-2 fixation of a cultured strain of Trichodesmium sp. (GBRTRLI101) from the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon were investigated. The diurnal pattern of N2 fixation demonstrated that it was primarily light-induced although fixation continued to occur for at least 1 h in the dark in samples that had been actively fixing N-2. N-2 fixation was dependent on the light intensity and stimulated more by white light when compared with blue, green, yellow and red light whereas rates of N-2 fixation decreased most under red light. Inorganic phosphorous concentrations in the lower range of treatments up to 1.2 muM significantly stimulated N-2 fixation and further additions promoted little or no increase in N-2 fixation. Organic phosphorous (Na-glycerophosphate) also stimulated N-2 fixation rates. Added combined nitrogen (NH4+, NO3-, urea) of 10 muM did not inhibit N-2 fixation in short-term studies (first generation), however it was depressed in the long-term studies (fifth generation). (C) 2003 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Cardiac adaptation to endurance exercise in rats

Endurance exercise is widely assumed to improve cardiac function in humans. This project has determined cardiac function following endurance exercise for 6 (n = 30) or 12 ( n = 25) weeks in male Wistar rats (8 weeks old). The exercise protocol was 30 min/day at 0.8 km/h for 5 days/week with an endurance test on the 6th day by running at 1.2 km/h until exhaustion. Exercise endurance increased by 318% after 6 weeks and 609% after 12 weeks. Heart weight/kg body weight increased by 10.2% after 6 weeks and 24.1% after 12 weeks. Echocardiography after 12 weeks showed increases in left ventricular internal diameter in diastole (6.39 +/- 0.32 to 7.90 +/- 0.17 mm), systolic volume (49 +/- 7 to 83 +/- 11 mul) and cardiac output (75 +/- 3 to 107 +/- 8 ml/min) but not left wall thickness in diastole (1.74 +/- 0.07 to 1.80 +/- 0.06 mm). Isolated Langendorff hearts from trained rats displayed decreased left ventricular myocardial stiffness (22 +/- 1.1 to 19.1 +/- 0.3) and reduced purine efflux during pacing-induced workload increases. P-31-NMR spectroscopy in isolated hearts from trained rats showed decreased PCr and PCr/ATP ratios with increased creatine, AMP and ADP concentrations. Thus, this endurance exercise protocol resulted in physiological hypertrophy while maintaining or improving cardiac function.

A simplified PCR test for early detection of dwarf off-types in micropropagated Cavendish bananas (Musa spp. AAA)

The dwarf somaclonal variant is a major problem affecting micropropagation of the banana cultivar Williams (Musa spp. AAA; subgroup Cavendish). This problem arises from genetic changes that occur during the tissue culture process. Early identification of this problem is difficult and propagators must wait until plants are ex vitro in order to visualise the dwarfism phenotype. In this study, we have improved a SCAR-based molecular diagnostic technique, developed by Damasco et al. [Acta Hortic. 461 (1997) 157], for the early identification of dwarf off-types. We have included a positive internal control in a multiplex PCR and adapted the technique for use with small amounts of fresh in vitro leaf material as PCR template. The control product is a 500 bp fragment from 18S rRNA and is amplified in all tissues irrespective of phenotype. The use of small in vitro leaf material removing the need for genomic DNA extraction. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Pollen transport and deposition in riverine and marine environments within the humid tropics of northeastern Australia

Mechanisms of pollen transport in the humid tropics region of northeastern Australia were investigated to support the interpretation of a long Quaternary pollen record from ODP Site 820 located on the adjacent continental slope. Pollen analysis of surface sediment samples from the channels of two major river catchments demonstrated internal consistency in pollen spectra and little fluvial pollen sorting in relation to sediment variation. Differences in modem pollen spectra between catchments reflect existing variation in vegetation cover that, in turn, reflects climatic differences between catchments. Recent pollen spectra from top samples of the ODP core have sufficient in common with the riverine samples to suggest that the rivers are contributing a major pollen component to the offshore sediments, but these have been size sorted by marine action. Recent pollen samples from core tops taken from the Grafton Passage on the continental shelf that was thought to be the major passage for pollen transport to ODP Site 820 show significant differences to both riverine and ODP samples and suggest that pollen are dispersed across the continental shelf and through the outer Great Barrier Reef system in a more complex way than anticipated. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A study of outcomes measures in forensic mental health

Outcomes measures, which is the measurement of effectiveness of interventions and services has been propelled onto the health service agenda since the introduction of the internal market in the 1990s. It arose as a result of the escalating cost of inpatient care, the need to identify what interventions work and in what situations, and the desire for effective information by service users enabled by the consumerist agenda introduced by Working for Patients white paper. The research reported in this thesis is an assessment of the readiness of the forensic mental health service to measure outcomes of interventions. The research examines the type, prevalence and scope of use of outcomes measures, and further seeks a consensus of views of key stakeholders on the priority areas for future development. It discusses the theoretical basis for defining health and advocates the argument that the present focus on measuring effectiveness of care is misdirected without the input of users, particularly patients in their care, drawing together the views of the many stakeholders who have an interest in the provision of care in the service. The research further draws on the theory of structuration to demonstrate the degree to which a duality of action, which is necessary for the development, and use of outcomes measures is in place within the service. Consequently, it highlights some of the hurdles that need to be surmounted before effective measurement of health gain can be developed in the field of study. It concludes by advancing the view that outcomes research can enable practitioners to better understand the relationship between the illness of the patient and the efficacy of treatment. This understanding it is argued would contribute to improving dialogue between the health care practitioner and the patient, and further providing the information necessary for moving away from untested assumptions, which are numerous in the field about the superiority of one treatment approach over another.