Integration of existing military capability models into the Comprehensive Capability Meta-model

Abstract—This paper discusses existing military capability models and proposes a comprehensive capability meta-model (CCMM) which unites the existing capability models into an integrated and hierarchical whole. The Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture is used as a structure for the CCMM. The CCMM takes into account the abstraction level, the primary area of application, stakeholders, intrinsic process, and life cycle considerations of each existing capability model, and shows how the models relate to each other. The validity of the CCMM was verified through a survey of subject matter experts. The results suggest that the CCMM is of practical value to various capability stakeholders in many ways, such as helping to improve communication between the different capability communities.

Coping with international atrocities through criminal law : a study into the typical features of international criminality and the reflection of these traits in international criminal law

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Integration of learning supportive applications into the development of the e-portfolio construction process

The portfolio as a means of demonstrating personal skills has lately been gaining prominence among technology students. This is partially due to the introduction of electronic portfolios, or e-portfolios. As platforms for e-portfolio management with different approaches have been introduced, the learning cycle, traditional portfolio pedagogy, and learner centricity have sometimes been forgotten, and as a result, the tools have been used for the most part as data depositories. The purpose of this thesis is to show how the construction of e-portfolios of IT students can be supported by institutions through the usage of different tools that relate to study advising, teaching, and learning. The construction process is presented as a cycle based on learning theories. Actions related to the various phases of the e-portfolio construction process are supported by the implementation of software applications. To maximize learner-centricity and minimize the intervention of the institution, the evaluated and controlled actions for these practices can be separated from the e-portfolios, leaving the construction of the e-portfolio to students. The main contributions of this thesis are the implemented applications, which can be considered to support the e-portfolio construction by assisting in planning, organizing, and reflecting activities. Eventually, this supports the students in their construction of better and more extensive e-portfolios. The implemented tools include 1) JobSkillSearcher to help students’ recognition of the demands of the ICT industry regarding skills, 2) WebTUTOR to support students’ personal study planning, 3) Learning Styles to determine students' learning styles, and 4) MyPeerReview to provide a platform on which to carry out anonymous peer review processes in courses. The most visible outcome concerning the e-portfolio is its representation, meaning that one can use it to demonstrate personal achievements at the time of seeking a job and gaining employment. Testing the tools and the selected open-source e-portfolio application indicates that the degree of richness of e-portfolio content can be increased by using the implemented applications.

Extending the Hydra Head to Create a Pluggable, Extensible Architecture: Diving into the Technology of Hydramata

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Integrating Student Learning into the Repository Ecosystem

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Ingest into the Digital Preservation Network: Standard Pipelines

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Language of the Future, Language of the PRC –Representations of Putonghua in South China Morning Post

As the national language of the PRC, the world's growing economic power and the sovereign of Hong Kong, Putonghua is a language with multiple facets of relevance for the current Special Administrative Region. This paper seeks to explore and explain different representations of Putonghua in Hong Kong's leading English-language newspaper South China Morning Post in articles published between January 2012 and February 2013. The representations are studied in the context of the different discourses in which they appear, some of which feature language(s) as a central theme and some more marginally. An overview is first presented of the scholarly research on the most important developments in Hong Kong's complex language scene from the beginnings of the colony until present day, with the aim of detecting developments and attitudes with potential relevance or parallels to the context of Putonghua today. The paper then reflects on the media and its role in producing and perpetuating discourses in the society, before turning to more practical considerations on Hong Kong's English and Chinese language media and the role of South China Morning Post in it. The methods used in analysing the discourses are those of discourse analysis, with textual analysis as its starting point, in which close attention is paid to linguistic forms as the concrete representations of meanings in a text. Particularly the immediate contexts of the appearances of the word “Putonghua” in the articles were studied carefully to detect vocabulary, grammar and semantical choices as signs of different discourses, potentially also revealing fundamental underlying assumptions and other “hidden meanings” in the text. Some of the most distinctive discourses in which different representations of Putonghua appeared were the Instrumental value for the individual (in which Putonghua was represented as a form of social capital); Othering of the mainlanders (in which Putonghua served as a concrete marker of distinction); Belonging to China (Putonghua as a symbol of unity); and Cultural distinctiveness of Hong Kong (Putonghua as a threat to Hong Kong's history and culture, as embodied in Cantonese). Some of these discourses were more prominent than others, and for example the discourse of Belonging to China was relatively rarely enacted in Hongkongers' voices. In general, the findings were not surprising in the light of the history, but showed a fair degree of consistency with what has been written earlier about the languages and attitudes towards them in Hong Kong. It has often been noted that Putonghua and its relation with Cantonese is a matter linked with the social identity of the colony and its citizens. While it appeared that there were no strict taboos in the representations of Putonghua in the societal context, the possibility of self-censorship cannot be ruled out as a factor toning down political discourses in the representations.

Behavioral effects of "vehicle" microinjected into the dorsal periaqueductal grey of rats tested in the elevated plus maze

To investigate the behavioral effects of different vehicles microinjected into the dorsal periaqueductal grey (DPAG) of male Wistar rats, weighing 200-250 g, tested in the elevated plus maze, animals were implanted with cannulas aimed at this structure. One week after surgery the animals received microinjections into the DPAG of 0.9% (w/v) saline, 10% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), 2% (v/v) Tween-80, 10% (v/v) propylene glycol, or synthetic cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Ten min after the injection (0.5 &micro;l) the animals (N = 8-13/group) were submitted to the elevated plus maze test. DMSO significantly increased the number of entries into both the open and enclosed arms when compared to 0.9% saline (2.7 &plusmn; 0.8 and 8.7 &plusmn; 1.3 vs 0.8 &plusmn; 0.3 and 5.1 &plusmn; 0.9, respectively, Duncan test, P<0.05), and tended to increase enclosed arm entries as compared to 2% Tween-80 (8.7 &plusmn; 1.3 vs 5.7 &plusmn; 0.9, Duncan test, P<0.10). In a second experiment no difference in plus maze exploration was found between 0.9% saline- or sham-injected animals (N = 11-13/group). These results indicate that intra-DPAG injection of some commonly used vehicles such as DMSO, saline or Tween-80 affects the exploratory activity of rats exposed to the elevated plus maze in statistically different manners

Cardiovascular responses to microinjection of trans-(±)-ACPD into the NTS were similar in conscious and chloralose-anesthetized rats

The changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) in response to the activation of metabotropic receptors in the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) with trans-(±)-1-amino-1,3-cyclopentanedicarboxylic acid (trans-(±)-ACPD) were evaluated in conscious and anesthetized Wistar, male rats weighing 240-260 g (N = 8). The responses obtained with trans-(±)-ACPD were compared with the responses to L-glutamate (1 nmol/100 nl), since in a previous study we showed that anesthesia converted a pressor response to L-glutamate microinjected into the NTS of conscious rats to a depressor response in the same rats under urethane or chloralose anesthesia. Microinjection of 3 doses of trans-(±)-ACPD (100, 500 and 1000 pmol/100 nl) produced a dose-dependent fall in MAP (range, -20 to -50 mmHg) and HR (range, -30 to -170 bpm) under both conscious and chloralose anesthesia conditions. These data indicate that the cardiovascular responses to the activation of metabotropic receptors by trans-(±)-ACPD are not affected by chloralose anesthesia while the cardiovascular responses to the activation of excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors by L-glutamate are significantly altered

Respiratory effects of kynurenic acid microinjected into the ventromedullary surface of the rat

Several studies demonstrate that, within the ventral medullary surface (VMS), excitatory amino acids are necessary components of the neural circuits involved in the tonic and reflex control of respiration and circulation. In the present study we investigated the cardiorespiratory effects of unilateral microinjections of the broad spectrum glutamate antagonist kynurenic acid (2 nmol/200 nl) along the VMS of urethane-anesthetized rats. Within the VMS only one region was responsive to this drug. This area includes most of the intermediate respiratory area, partially overlapping the rostral ventrolateral medulla (IA/RVL). When microinjected into the IA/RVL, kynurenic acid produced a respiratory depression, without changes in mean arterial pressure or heart rate. The respiratory depression observed was characterized by a decrease in ventilation, tidal volume and mean inspiratory flow and an increase in respiratory frequency. Therefore, the observed respiratory depression was entirely due to a reduction in the inspiratory drive. Microinjections of vehicle (200 nl of saline) into this area produced no significant changes in breathing pattern, blood pressure or heart rate. Respiratory depression in response to the blockade of glutamatergic receptors inside the rostral VMS suggests that neurons at this site have an endogenous glutamatergic input controlling the respiratory cycle duration and the inspiratory drive transmission.

Role of angiotensin II and vasopressin receptors within the supraoptic nucleus in water and sodium intake induced by the injection of angiotensin II into the medial septal area

In this study we investigated the effects of the injection into the supraoptic nucleus (SON) of non-peptide AT1- and AT2-angiotensin II (ANG II) receptor antagonists, DuP753 and PD123319, as well as of the arginine-vasopressin (AVP) receptor antagonist d(CH2)5-Tyr(Me)-AVP, on water and 3% NaCl intake induced by the injection of ANG II into the medial septal area (MSA). The effects on water or 3% NaCl intake were assessed in 30-h water-deprived or in 20-h water-deprived furosemide-treated adult male rats, respectively. The drugs were injected in 0.5 µl over 30-60 s. Controls were injected with a similar volume of 0.15 M NaCl. Antagonists were injected at doses of 20, 80 and 180 nmol. Water and sodium intake was measured over a 2-h period. Previous administration of the AT1 receptor antagonist DuP753 into the SON decreased water (65%, N = 10, P<0.01) and sodium intake (81%, N = 8, P<0.01) induced by the injection of ANG II (10 nmol) into the MSA. Neither of these responses was significantly changed by injection of the AT2-receptor antagonist PD123319 into the SON. On the other hand, while there was a decrease in water intake (45%, N = 9, P<0.01), ANG II-induced sodium intake was significantly increased (70%, N = 8, P<0.01) following injection of the V1-type vasopressin antagonist d(CH2)5-Tyr(Me)-AVP into the SON. These results suggest that both AT1 and V1 receptors within the SON may be involved in water and sodium intake induced by the activation of ANG II receptors within the MSA. Furthermore, they do not support the involvement of MSA AT2 receptors in the mediation of these responses.

Anxiolytic effect of methylene blue microinjected into the dorsal periaqueductal gray matter

The dorsal periaqueductal gray (DPAG) has been implicated in the behavioral and autonomic expression of defensive reactions. Several results suggest that, along with GABA, glutamate and serotonin, nitric oxide (NO) may play a role in defense reactions mediated by this region. To further investigate this possibility we microinjected methylene blue (MB; 10, 30 or 100 nmol/0.5 µl) into the DPAG of rats submitted to the elevated plus-maze test, an animal model of anxiety. MB has been used as an inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) to demonstrate cGMP-mediated processes, and there is evidence that NO may exert its biological effects by binding to the heme part of guanylate cyclase, causing an increase in cGMP levels. The results showed that MB (30 nmol) significantly increased the percent of time spent in the open arms (saline = 11.57 ± 1.54, MB = 18.5 ± 2.45, P<0.05) and tended to do the same with the percentage of open arm entries (saline = 25.8 ± 1.97, MB = 33.77 ± 3.07, P<0.10), but did not change the number of enclosed arm entries. The dose-response curve, however, had an inverted U shape. These results indicate that MB, within a limited dose range, has anxiolytic properties when microinjected into the DPAG.