Transcending Cultural and Language Differences: Ethical Codes of Conduct for Translators and Interpreters in Afghanistan

This project examines what an ethical code of conduct would look like in Afghanistan through analysis of historical, cultural and linguistic aspects found within its regions, as well as an examination of ethical codes of conduct for translators and interpreters in other countries. While numerous ethical guidelines and codes of conduct for translators and interpreters exist throughout global communities, it seems that creating a successful standardized ethical code of conduct in Afghanistan may be difficult to achieve given cultural and linguistic complexities. An ethical code of conduct for translators and interpreters in Afghanistan should include particular focus on: cultural sensitivity and courtesy, impartiality, conflict of interest, options for withdrawal, as well as reflect the importance of Pashtunwali.

Surface, Thermal and Antimicrobial Release Properties of Plasma-Treated Zein Films

The effects of dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment on zein film containing thymol as an active ingredient were evaluated. The plasma discharge was optically characterized to identify the reactive species. A significant increase in the film roughness (p < 0.05) was observed due to the etching effect of DBD plasma, which was correlated with the increase in the diffusion rate of thymol in the food simulant. The diffusion of thymol from the zein film was measured in aqueous solution. The kinetics of thymol release followed the Fick’s law of diffusion as shown by the high correlation coefficients between experimental and theoretical data. No significant change (p > 0.05) was observed for the thermal properties of the antimicrobial films after DBD plasma treatment.

Characterization of polylactic acid films for food packaging as affected by dielectric barrier discharge atmospheric plasma

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) air plasma is a novel technique for in-package decontamination of food, but it has not been yet applied to the packaging material. Characterization of commercial polylactic acid (PLA) films was done after in-package DBD plasma treatment at different voltages and treatment times to evaluate its suitability as food packaging material. DBD plasma increased the roughness of PLA film mainly at the site in contact with high voltage electrode at both the voltage levels of 70 and 80 kV. DBD plasma treatments did not induce any change in the glass transition temperature, but significant increase in the initial degradation temperature and maximum degradation temperature was observed. DBD plasma treatment did not adversely affect the oxygen and water vapor permeability of PLA. A very limited overall migration was observed in different food simulants and was much below the regulatory limits. Industrial relevance: In-package DBD plasma is a novel and innovative approach for the decontamination of foods with potential industrial application. This paper assesses the suitability of PLA as food packaging material for cold plasma treatment. It characterizes the effect of DBD plasma on the packaging material when used for in-package decontamination of food. The work described in this research offers a promising alternative to classical methods used in fruit and vegetable industries where in-package DBD plasma can serve as an effective decontamination process and avoids any post-process recontamination or hazards from the package itself.

Novas tendências, o big data: deteção de fraudes e transações no comércio local: SAF-T com tecnologia big data

Dissertação apresentada à Escola Superior de Tecnologia do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desenvolvimento de Software e Sistemas Interactivos, realizada sob a orientação científica da categoria profissional do orientador Doutor Eurico Ribeiro Lopes, do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco.

Changing trade patterns, unchanging European and global governance. Bruegel Working Paper 2014/02, February 2014

The world economy is going through its biggest transformation in a relatively short space time. There have been many explanations for this phenomenon but the unprecedented scale and pace of this change and, most crucially, its implications, still seems little understood. In turn, there has been little preparation for, or adjustment to, this changing world, though if the change continues at this pace, the effectiveness of many global institutions in their current form will be threatened. We highlight the dramatic degree of the shifts taking place in world GDP and trade and include fresh projections of what world trade patterns might look like in 2020, should the trends observed over the past decade to continue. We also show the resulting shift in trade relationships for many key countries. European member states tend to have quite different trading partners’ profiles, and this heterogeneity is quite likely to become more pronounced with time. This, in turn, suggests a significant challenge for the effective functioning of the euro area and weakens the original rationale of its creation. If our projections to 2020 are broadly right, then many established frameworks for the running of the world economy and its governance are not going to be fit for purpose, and will need to change. The global monetary system itself, and global organisations such as the IMF, G7, and G20 are going to have to adapt considerably if they want to remain legitimate representatives of the world order. The alternative is their relegation to irrelevance.

An Analysis of the Capitalisation of CAP Payments into Land Rental Rates in Ireland. Factor Markets Working Document No. 68, August 2013

EDITED VERSION SOON TO BE PUBLISHED In this paper the effect of decoupling on the capitalisation of agricultural subsidies into agricultural rents in Ireland are analysed using a dynamic rental equations estimated with a two step system GMM estimator that accounts for expectation error and endogenous regressors. The findings illustrate the importance of institutional details in determining the extent to which subsidies are capitalised. In the period prior to decoupling Pillar 1 subsidies were highly capitalised into Irish agricultural rents in both the short and the long run. Depending on the farm system considered between 58 to 80 cents per euro of subsidies were capitalised into agricultural rents. In the post decoupling period the rate at which Pillar 1 subsidies are capitalised into Irish agricultural rents is found to have declined. This change is likely due to short term character of the Irish agricultural land rental market, where 11 month rental periods predominate, and the freedom that the 2003 reform of the CAP offered farmers to consolidate entitlements established on rented land. The generally very short term nature of Irish agricultural rental contracts offered farmers an opportunity to consolidate entitlements that is unlikely to have arisen in other Member States with agricultural land rental markets characterised by long term contracts. The results in both the pre and post decoupling periods highlight the high degree of inertia of agricultural rents in Ireland, and the importance of accounting for dynamics when investigating the capitalisation of agricultural subsidies into land rents. The high degree of inertia in rents means that the impact of previously capitalised agricultural policy persists through time.

Background report for the indemnification report to Congress /

Mode of access: Internet.

[Culinary ephemera : gelatin and tapioca].

Corporate contributors include: Genesee Pure Food Company; Jell-O-Co. Inc.