Balancing Social Citizenship and New Paternalism : Finnish activation policy and street-level practice in a comparative perspective

The study examines the origin and development of the Finnish activation policy since the mid-1990s by using the 2001 activation reform as a benchmark. The notion behind activation is to link work obligations to welfare benefits for the unemployed. The focus of the thesis is policy learning and the impact of ideas on the reform of the welfare state. The broader research interests of the thesis are summarized by two groups of questions. First, how was the Finnish activation policy developed and what specific form did it receive in the 2001 activation reform? Second, how does the Finnish activation policy compare to the welfare reforms in the EU and in the US? What kinds of ideas and instruments informed the Finnish policy? To what extent can we talk about a restructuring or transformation of the Nordic welfare policy? Theoretically, the thesis is embedded in the comparative welfare state research and the concepts used in the contemporary welfare state discourse. Activation policy is analysed against the backdrop of the theories about the welfare state, welfare state governance and citizenship. Activation policies are also analysed in the context of the overall modernization and individualization of lifestyles and its implications for the individual citizen. Further, the different perspectives of the policy analysis are applied to determine the role of implementation and street-level practice within the whole. Empirically, the policy design, its implementation and the experiences of the welfare staff and recipients in Finland are examined. The policy development, goals and instruments of the activation policies have followed astonishingly similar paths in the different welfare states and regimes over the last two decades. In Finland, the policy change has been manifested through several successive reforms that have been introduced since the mid-1990s. The 2001 activation reform the Act on Rehabilitative Work Experience illustrates the broader trend towards stricter work requirements and draws its inspiration from the ideas of new paternalism. The ideas, goals and instruments of the international activation trend are clearly visible in the reform. Similarly, the reform has implications for the traditional Nordic social policies, which incorporate institutionalised social rights and the provision of services.

Efficacy of family mediation and the role of family violence: Study protocol

Background Family law reforms in Australia require separated parents in dispute to attempt mandatory family dispute resolution (FDR) in community-based family services before court attendance. However, there are concerns about such services when clients present with a history of high conflict and family violence. This study protocol describes a longitudinal study of couples presenting for family mediation services. The study aims to describe the profile of family mediation clients, including type of family violence, and determine the impact of violence profiles on FDR processes and outcomes, such as the type and durability of shared parenting arrangements and clients’ satisfaction with mediated agreements. Methods A mixed method, naturalistic longitudinal design is used. The sampling frame is clients presenting at nine family mediation centres across metropolitan, outer suburban, and regional/rural sites in Victoria, Australia. Data are collected at pre-test, completion of mediation, and six months later. Self-administered surveys are administered at the three time points, and a telephone interview at the final post-test. The key study variable is family violence. Key outcome measures are changes in the type and level of acrimony and violent behaviours, the relationship between violence and mediated agreements, the durability of agreements over six months, and client satisfaction with mediation. Discussion Family violence is a major risk to the physical and mental health of women and children. This study will inform debates about the role of family violence and how to manage it in the family mediation context. It will also inform decision-making about mediation practices by better understanding how mediation impacts on parenting agreements, and the implications for children, especially in the context of family violence.

Visual performance at passive level crossings with long sighting distances

The third edition of the Australian Standard AS1742 Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Part 7 provides a method of calculating the sighting distance required to safely proceed at passive level crossings based on the physics of moving vehicles. This required distance becomes greater with higher line speeds and slower, heavier vehicles so that it may return quite a long sighting distance. However, at such distances, there are also concerns around whether drivers would be able to reliably identify a train in order to make an informed decision regarding whether it would be safe to proceed across the level crossing. In order to determine whether drivers are able to make reliable judgements to proceed in these circumstances, this study assessed the distance at which a train first becomes identifiable to a driver as well as their, ability to detect the movement of the train. A site was selected in Victoria, and 36 participants with good visual acuity observed 4 trains in the 100-140 km/h range. While most participants could detect the train from a very long distance (2.2 km on average), they could only detect that the train was moving at much shorter distances (1.3 km on average). Large variability was observed between participants, with 4 participants consistently detecting trains later than other participants. Participants tended to improve in their capacity to detect the presence of the train with practice, but a similar trend was not observed for detection of the movement of the train. Participants were consistently poor at accurately judging the approach speed of trains, with large underestimations at all investigated distances.

Investigating the interactions of road users and pedestrians in a dynamic rail level crossing environment

There are 23,500 level crossings in Australia. In these types of environments it is important to understand what human factor issues are present and how road users and pedestrians engage with crossings. A series of on-site observations were performed over a 2-day period at a 3-track active crossing. This was followed by 52 interviews with local business owners and members of the public. Data were captured using a manual-coding scheme for recording and categorising violations. Over 700 separate road user and pedestrian violations were recorded, with representations in multiple categories. Time stamping revealed that the crossing was active for 59% of the time in some morning periods. Further, trains could take up to 4-min to arrive following its first activation. Many pedestrians jaywalked under side rails and around active boom gates. In numerous cases pedestrians put themselves at risk in order to beat or catch the approaching train, ignored signs to stop walking when the lights were flashing. Analysis of interview data identified themes associated with congestion, safety, and violations. This work offers insight into context specific issues associated with active level crossing protection.

Plumbing systems of shallow level intrusive complexes

We have come a long way from simple straw and balloon models of magma plumbing systems to a more detailed picture of shallow level intrusive complexes. In this chapter, the sub-volcanic plumbing system is considered in terms of how we can define the types and styles of magma networks from the deep to the shallow subsurface. We look at the plumbing system from large igneous provinces, through rifted systems to polygenetic volcanoes, with a view to characterising some of the key conceptual models. There is a focus on how ancient magmatic centres can help us better understand magmatic plumbing. New innovative ways to consider and quantify magma plumbing are also highlighted including 3D seismic, and using the crystal cargo to help fingerprint key magma plumbing events. Conclusions are drawn to our understanding of the 3D plumbing system and how these recent advances can be helpful when exploring the other chapters of this contribution.

Fermi level depinning at the germanium Schottky interface through sulfur passivation

We demonstrate the depinning of Fermi level on both p- and n-type germanium after sulfur passivation by aqueous (NH4)(2)S treatment. Schottky contacts realized using metals with a wide range of work functions produce nearly ideal behavior confirming that the Fermi level is depinned. Examination of the passivated surface using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals bonding between Ge and sulfur.It is shown that good Ohmic contacts to n-type Ge and a hole barrier height (phi(Bp)) of 0.6 eV to p-type Ge can be achieved after this passivation treatment, with Zr Schottky contacts. This is the highest phi(Bp) reported so far.

Towards a United States of Africa? Combining Zambian and AU level debate.

Globalisaatio on luonut uuden maailmanjärjestelmän jonka myötä yksittäisten valtioiden vaikutusvalta on vähentynyt entisestään. Tämä pitää paikkansa erityisesti kehittyvien maiden kohdalla, esimerkiksi Afrikassa. Afrikka on pyrkinyt taistelemaan globalisaation tuomia negatiivisia vaikutuksia vastaan alueellistumisen ja maanosan yhtenäisyyttä ajavien hankkeiden kautta jo vuosikymmenien ajan, mutta toistaiseksi tulokset eivät ole olleet vakuttavia. Tällä hetkellä Afrikan Unionissa keskustellaan hankkeesta muodostaa Afrikan Yhdysvallat. Aiemmista hankkeista poiketen tämän uuden aloitteen ajatus perustuu ylikansallisuudelle, jossa yksittäiset valtiot luovuttavat valtaansa ylikansallisille elimille, kuten Afrikan Unionin hallitukselle. Näin ollen on tärkeää tarkastella aloitetta Afrikan Yhdysvaltojen perustamiseksi ja arvioida, voisiko tällainen ylikansallinen organisaatio auttaa Afrikkaa kääntämään globalisaation haittavaikutukset myönteisiksi. Tämä Pro Gradu-tutkielma väittää sen olevan mahdollista, mutta vain siinä tapauksessa että Afrikka on valmis hyväksymään yhtenäisyyden rajoitukset. Aiemman tutkimuksen vähyyden vuoksi on myös tarpeen tutkia Afrikan Yhdysvalloista kansallisilla tasoilla käytävää keskustelua. Tämän vuoksi tässä tutkielmassa painotetaan esimerkkimaa Sambian kautta yhden Afrikan Unionin jäsenmaan keskinäistä keskustelua aiheesta ja verrataan sitä Afrikan Unionin tason keskusteluun. Tutkielma sisältää kirjallisuuskatsauksen sekä tapaustutkimuksen. Tutkimusaineisto koostuu sambialaisista sanomalehtiotteista sekä Sambian valtion ja Afrikan Unionin virallisista asiakirjoista. Pääasiallisena tutkimusmenetelmänä on laadullinen sisällönanalyysi. Teoreettinen viitekehys perustuu afrikkalaisen valtion ja kansalaisyhteiskunnan, alueellistumisen, globalisaation hallinnan, pan-afrikkalaisuuden ja poliittisen integraation teorioihin sekä historialliseen katsaukseen Afrikan yhtenäisyydestä. Perimmäisenä tarkoituksena on lisätä ymmärrystä afrikkalaisesta valtiosta ja politiikasta. Tutkimuksen tulosten mukaan on havaittavissa aukko valtioiden virallisten toimijoiden näkemysten ja kansalaisyhteiskunnan huolenaiheiden välillä. Viralliset toimijat näyttävät olevan kansalaisyhteiskuntaa vahvemmin Afrikan Yhdysvaltojen kannalla. Virallisten toimijoiden korostaessa Afrikan aatteellista yhtenäisyyttä kansalaisyhteiskunta on huolissaan sen toteutumisesta käytännössä. Esiin nousee myös kysymys 'afrikkalaisesta' identiteetistä ja kansalaisuudesta sekä kommunikaatiosta valtion ja kansalaisten välillä.

Carbon dynamics in peatlands under changing hydrology : Effects of water level drawdown on litter quality, microbial enzyme activities and litter decomposition rates

Pristine peatlands are carbon (C) accumulating wetland ecosystems sustained by a high water level (WL) and consequent anoxia that slows down decomposition. Persistent WL drawdown as a response to climate and/or land-use change directly affects decomposition: increased oxygenation stimulates decomposition of the old C (peat) sequestered under prior anoxic conditions. Responses of the new C (plant litter) in terms of quality, production and decomposability, and the consequences for the whole C cycle of peatlands are not fully understood. WL drawdown induces changes in plant community resulting in shift in dominance from Sphagnum and graminoids to shrubs and trees. There is increasing evidence that the indirect effects of WL drawdown via the changes in plant communities will have more impact on the ecosystem C cycling than any direct effects. The aim of this study is to disentangle the direct and indirect effects of WL drawdown on the new C by measuring the relative importance of 1) environmental parameters (WL depth, temperature, soil chemistry) and 2) plant community composition on litter production, microbial activity, litter decomposition rates and, consequently, on the C accumulation. This information is crucial for modelling C cycle under changing climate and/or land-use. The effects of WL drawdown were tested in a large-scale experiment with manipulated WL at two time scales and three nutrient regimes. Furthermore, the effect of climate on litter decomposability was tested along a north-south gradient. Additionally, a novel method for estimating litter chemical quality and decomposability was explored by combining Near infrared spectroscopy with multivariate modelling. WL drawdown had direct effects on litter quality, microbial community composition and activity and litter decomposition rates. However, the direct effects of WL drawdown were overruled by the indirect effects via changes in litter type composition and production. Short-term (years) responses to WL drawdown were small. In long-term (decades), dramatically increased litter inputs resulted in large accumulation of organic matter in spite of increased decomposition rates. Further, the quality of the accumulated matter greatly changed from that accumulated in pristine conditions. The response of a peatland ecosystem to persistent WL drawdown was more pronounced at sites with more nutrients. The study demonstrates that the shift in vegetation composition as a response to climate and/or land-use change is the main factor affecting peatland ecosystem C cycle and thus dynamic vegetation is a necessity in any models applied for estimating responses of C fluxes to changes in the environment. The time scale for vegetation changes caused by hydrological changes needs to extend to decades. This study provides grouping of litter types (plant species and part) into functional types based on their chemical quality and/or decomposability that the models could utilize. Further, the results clearly show a drop in soil temperature as a response to WL drawdown when an initially open peatland converts into a forest ecosystem, which has not yet been considered in the existing models.

Humanitaarisuuden varjossa : Poliittiset tekijät lastensiirroissa Ruotsiin sotiemme aikana ja niiden jälkeen

The evacuation of Finnish children to Sweden during WW II has often been called a small migration . Historical research on this subject is scarce, considering the great number of children involved. The present research has applied, apart from the traditional archive research, the framework of history-culture developed by Rüsen in order to have an all-inclusive approach to the impact of this historical event. The framework has three dimensions: political, aesthetic and cognitive. The collective memory of war children has also been discussed. The research looks for political factors involved in the evacuations during the Winter War and the Continuation War and the post-war period. The approach is wider than a purely humanitarian one. Political factors have had an impact in both Finland and Sweden, beginning from the decision-making process and ending with the discussion of the unexpected consequences of the evacuations in the Finnish Parliament in 1950. The Winter War (30.11.1939 13.3.1940) witnessed the first child transports. These were also the model for future decision making. The transports were begun on the initiative of Swedes Maja Sandler, the wife of the resigned minister of foreign affairs Rickard Sandler, and Hanna Rydh-Munck af Rosenschöld , but this activity was soon accepted by the Swedish government because the humanitarian help in the form of child transports lightened the political burden of Prime Minister Hansson, who was not willing to help Finland militarily. It was help that Finland never asked for and it was rejected at the beginning. The negative response of Minister Juho Koivisto was not taken very seriously. The political forces in Finland supporting child transports were stronger than those rejecting them. The major politicians in support belonged to Finland´s Swedish minority. In addition, close to 1 000 Finnish children remained in Sweden after the Winter War. No analysis was made of the reasons why these children did not return home. A committee set up to help Finland and Norway was established in Sweden in 1941. Its chairman was Torsten Nothin, an influential Swedish politician. In December 1941 he appealed to the Swedish government to provide help to Finnish children under the authority of The International Red Cross. This plea had no results. The delivery of great amounts of food to Finland, which was now at war with Great Britain, had automatically caused reactions among the allies against the Swedish imports through Gothenburg. This included the import of oil, which was essential for the Swedish navy and air force. Oil was later used successfully to force a reduction in commerce between Sweden and Finland. The contradiction between Sweden´s essential political interests and humanitarian help was solved in a way that did not harm the country´s vital political interests. Instead of delivering help to Finland, Finnish children were transported to Sweden through the organisations that had already been created. At the beginning of the Continuation War (25.6.1941 27.4.1945) negative opinion regarding child transports re-emerged in Finland. Karl-August Fagerholm implemented the transports in September 1941. In 1942, members of the conservative parties in the Finnish Parliament expressed their fear of losing the children to the Swedes. They suggested that Finland should withdraw from the inter-Nordic agreement, according to which the adoptions were approved by the court of the country where the child resided. This initiative failed. Paavo Virkkunen, an influential member of the conservative party Kokoomus in Finland, favoured the so-called good-father system, where help was delivered to Finland in the form of money and goods. Virkkunen was concerned about the consequences of a long stay in a Swedish family. The risk of losing the children was clear. The extreme conservative party (IKL, the Patriotic Movement of the Finnish People) wanted to alienate Finland from Sweden and bring Finland closer to Germany. Von Blücher, the German ambassador to Finland, had in his report to Berlin, mentioned the political consequences of the child transports. Among other things, they would bring Finland and Sweden closer to each other. He had also paid attention to the Nordic political orientation in Finland. He did not question or criticize the child transports. His main interest was to increase German political influence in Finland, and the Nordic political orientation was an obstacle. Fagerholm was politically ill-favoured by the Germans, because he had a strong Nordic political disposition and had criticised Germany´s activities in Norway. The criticism of child transports was at the same time criticism of Fagerholm. The official censorship organ of the Finnish government (VTL) denied the criticism of child transports in January 1942. The reasons were political. Statements made by members of the Finnish Parliament were also censored, because it was thought that they would offend the Swedes. In addition, the censorship organ used child transports as a means of active propaganda aimed at improving the relations between the two countries. The Finnish Parliament was informed in 1948 that about 15 000 Finnish children still remained in Sweden. These children would stay there permanently. In 1950 the members of the Agrarian Party in Finland stated that Finland should actively strive to get the children back. The party on the left (SKDL, the Democratic Movement of Finnish People) also focused on the unexpected consequences of the child transports. The Social Democrats, and largely Fagerholm, had been the main force in Finland behind the child transports. Members of the SKDL, controlled by Finland´s Communist Party, stated that the war time authorities were responsible for this war loss. Many of the Finnish parents could not get their children back despite repeated requests. The discussion of the problem became political, for example von Born, a member of the Swedish minority party RKP, related this problem to foreign policy by stating that the request to repatriate the Finnish children would have negative political consequences for the relations between Finland and Sweden. He emphasized expressing feelings of gratitude to the Swedes. After the war a new foreign policy was established by Prime Minister (1944 1946) and later President (1946 1956) Juho Kusti Paasikivi. The main cornerstone of this policy was to establish good relations with the Soviet Union. The other, often forgotten, cornerstone was to simultaneously establish good relations with other Nordic countries, especially Sweden, as a counterbalance. The unexpected results of the child evacuation, a Swedish initiative, had violated the good relations with Sweden. The motives of the Democratic Movement of Finnish People were much the same as those of the Patriotic Movement of Finnish People. Only the ideology was different. The Nordic political orientation was an obstacle to both parties. The position of the Democratic Movement of Finnish People was much better than that of the Patriotic Movement of Finnish People, because now one could clearly see the unexpected results, which included human tragedy for the many families who could not be re-united with their children despite their repeated requests. The Swedes questioned the figure given to the Finnish Parliament regarding the number of children permanently remaining in Sweden. This research agrees with the Swedes. In a calculation based on Swedish population registers, the number of these children is about 7 100. The reliability of this figure is increased by the fact that the child allowance programme began in Sweden in 1948. The prerequisite to have this allowance was that the child be in the Swedish population register. It was not necessary for the child to have Swedish nationality. The Finnish Parliament had false information about the number of Finnish children who remained in Sweden in 1942 and in 1950. There was no parliamentary control in Finland regarding child transports, because the decision was made by one cabinet member and speeches by MPs in the Finnish Parliament were censored, like all criticism regarding child transports to Sweden. In Great Britain parliamentary control worked better throughout the whole war, because the speeches regarding evacuation were not censored. At the beginning of the war certain members of the British Labour Party and the Welsh Nationalists were particularly outspoken about the scheme. Fagerholm does not discuss to any great extent the child transports in his memoirs. He does not evaluate the process and results as a whole. This research provides some possibilities for an evaluation of this sort. The Swedish medical reports give a clear picture of the physical condition of the Finnish children when arriving in Sweden. The transports actually revealed how bad the situation of the poorest children was. According to Titmuss, similar observations were made in Great Britain during the British evacuations. The child transports saved the lives of approximately 2 900 children. Most of these children were removed to Sweden to receive treatment for illnesses, but many among the healthy children were undernourished and some suffered from the effects of tuberculosis. The medical inspection in Finland was not thorough. If you compare the figure of 2 900 children saved and returned with the figure of about 7 100 children who remained permanently in Sweden, you may draw the conclusion that Finland as a country failed to benefit from the child transports, and that the whole operation was a political mistake with far-reaching consequenses. The basic goal of the operation was to save lives and have all the children return to Finland after the war. The difficulties with the repatriation of the children were mainly psychological. The level of child psychology in Finland at that time was low. One may question the report by Professor Martti Kaila regarding the adaptation of children to their families back in Finland. Anna Freud´s warnings concerning the difficulties that arise when child evacuees return are also valid in Finland. Freud viewed the emotional life of children in a way different from Kaila: the physical survival of a small child forces her to create strong emotional ties to the person who is looking after her. This, a characteristic of all small children, occurred with the Finnish children too, and it was something the political decision makers in Finland could not see during and after the war. It is a characteristic of all little children. Yet, such experiences were already evident during the Winter War. The best possible solution had been to limit the child transports only to children in need of medical treatment. Children from large and poor families had been helped by organising meals and by buying food from Denmark with Swedish money. Assisting Finland by all possible means should have been the basic goal of Fagerholm in September 1941, when the offer of child transports came from Sweden. Fagerholm felt gratitude towards the Swedes. The risks became clear to him only in 1943. The war children are today a rather scattered and diffuse group of people. Emotionally, part of these children remained in Sweden after the war. There is no clear collective memory, only individual memories; the collective memory of the war children has partly been shaped later through the activities of the war child associations. The main difference between the children evacuated in Finland (for example from Karelia to safer areas with their families) and the war children, who were sent abroad, is that the war children lack a shared story and experience with their families. They were outsiders . The whole matter is sensitive to many of such mothers and discussing the subject has often been avoided in families. The war-time censorship has continued in families through silence and avoidance and Finnish politicians and Finnish families had to face each other on this issue after the war. The lack of all-inclusive historical research has also prevented the formation of a collective awareness among war children returned to Finland or those remaining permanently abroad.. Knowledge of historical facts will help war-children by providing an opportunity to create an all-inclusive approach to the past. Personal experiences should be regarded as part of a large historical entity shadowed by war and where many political factors were at work in both Finland and Sweden. This means strengthening of the cognitive dimension discussed in Rüsen´s all-inclusive historical approach.

The 5-Methyl Group in Thymine Dynamically Influences the Structure of A-Tracts in DNA at the Local and Global Level

DNA sequences containing a stretch of several A:T basepairs without a 5'-TA-3' step are known as A-tracts and have been the subject of extensive investigation because of their unique structural features such as a narrow minor groove and their crucial role in several biological processes. One of the aspects under investigation has been the influence of the 5-methyl group of thymine on the properties of A-tracts. Detailed molecular dynamics simulation studies of the sequences d(CGCAAAUUUGCG) and d(CGCAAATTTGCG) indicate that the presence of the 5-methyl group in thymine increases the frequency of a narrow minor groove conformation, which could facilitate its specific recognition by proteins, and reduce its susceptibility to cleavage by DNase I. The bias toward a wider minor groove in the absence of the thymine 5-methyl group is a static structural feature. Our results also indicate that the presence of the thymine 5-methyl group is necessary for calibrating the backbone conformation and the basepair and dinucleotide step geometry of the core A-tract as well as the flanking CA/TG and the neighboring GC/GC steps, as observed in free and protein-bound DNA. As a consequence, it also fine-tunes the curvature of the longer DNA fragment in which the A-tract is embedded.

A split cassette attachment for recording all the reflections on the upper level Weissenberg photographs either as elongated or as contracted spots

A split-cassette arrangement has been incorporated in the Weissenberg camera for recording all reflections on the upper level photographs either as elongated or as contracted spots. This arrangement employs two semicylindrical cassettes which are separated by a horizontal plane. These half-cassettes are translated in opposite directions. A suitable split-cassette attachment has been constructed for the Unicam Weissenberg goniometer S-35 The subject of 'displaced-film' Weissenberg photograph is also discussed.

Optimum Design for External Seismic Stability of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Walls: Reliability Based Approach

In this paper, an analytical study considering the effect of uncertainties in the seismic analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) walls is presented. Using limit equilibrium method and assuming sliding wedge failure mechanism, analysis is conducted to evaluate the external stability of GRS walls when subjected to earthquake loads. Target reliability based approach is used to estimate the probability of failure in three modes of failure, viz., sliding, bearing, and eccentricity failure. The properties of reinforced backfill, retained backfill, foundation soil, and geosynthetic reinforcement are treated as random variables. In addition, the uncertainties associated with horizontal seismic acceleration and surcharge load acting on the wall are considered. The optimum length of reinforcement needed to maintain the stability against three modes of failure by targeting various component and system reliability indices is obtained. Studies have also been made to study the influence of various parameters on the seismic stability in three failure modes. The results are compared with those given by first-order second moment method and Monte Carlo simulation methods. In the illustrative example, external stability of the two walls, Gould and Valencia walls, subjected to Northridge earthquake is reexamined.

Optimum Design for External Seismic Stability of Geosynthetic Reinforced Soil Walls: Reliability Based Approach

In this paper, an analytical study considering the effect of uncertainties in the seismic analysis of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) walls is presented. Using limit equilibrium method and assuming sliding wedge failure mechanism, analysis is conducted to evaluate the external stability of GRS walls when subjected to earthquake loads. Target reliability based approach is used to estimate the probability of failure in three modes of failure, viz., sliding, bearing, and eccentricity failure. The properties of reinforced backfill, retained backfill, foundation soil, and geosynthetic reinforcement are treated as random variables. In addition, the uncertainties associated with horizontal seismic acceleration and surcharge load acting on the wall are considered. The optimum length of reinforcement needed to maintain the stability against three modes of failure by targeting various component and system reliability indices is obtained. Studies have also been made to study the influence of various parameters on the seismic stability in three failure modes. The results are compared with those given by first-order second moment method and Monte Carlo simulation methods. In the illustrative example, external stability of the two walls, Gould and Valencia walls, subjected to Northridge earthquake is reexamined.

Framework for enabling highly available distributed applications for utility computing

The move towards IT outsourcing is the first step towards an environment where compute infrastructure is treated as a service. In utility computing this IT service has to honor Service Level Agreements (SLA) in order to meet the desired Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees. Such an environment requires reliable services in order to maximize the utilization of the resources and to decrease the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Such reliability cannot come at the cost of resource duplication, since it increases the TCO of the data center and hence the cost per compute unit. We, in this paper, look into aspects of projecting impact of hardware failures on the SLAs and techniques required to take proactive recovery steps in case of a predicted failure. By maintaining health vectors of all hardware and system resources, we predict the failure probability of resources based on observed hardware errors/failure events, at runtime. This inturn influences an availability aware middleware to take proactive action (even before the application is affected in case the system and the application have low recoverability). The proposed framework has been prototyped on a system running HP-UX. Our offline analysis of the prediction system on hardware error logs indicate no more than 10% false positives. This work to the best of our knowledge is the first of its kind to perform an end-to-end analysis of the impact of a hardware fault on application SLAs, in a live system.