Rural-urban TBI outcomes : system design, experience and paramedic intervention

The results of this research suggest that outcomes following severe TBI are similar between rural and urban locations, and that paramedics face unique challenges when managing high-acuity low-frequency cases in rural areas.

A Physarum-inspired multi-agent system to solve maze

Physarum Polycephalum is a primitive unicellular organism. Its foraging behavior demonstrates a unique feature to form a shortest path among food sources, which can be used to solve a maze. This paper proposes a Physarum-inspired multi-agent system to reveal the evolution of Physarum transportation networks. Two types of agents – one type for search and the other for convergence – are used in the proposed model, and three transition rules are identified to simulate the foraging behavior of Physarum. Based on the experiments conducted, the proposed multiagent system can solve the two possible routes of maze, and exhibits the reconfiguration ability when cutting down one route. This indicates that the proposed system is a new way to reveal the intelligence of Physarum during the evolution process of its transportation networks.

A novel Physarum-Based ant colony system for solving the real-world traveling salesman problem

The solutions to Traveling Salesman Problem can be widely applied in many real-world problems. Ant colony optimization algorithms can provide an approximate solution to a Traveling Salesman Problem. However, most ant colony optimization algorithms suffer premature convergence and low convergence rate. With these observations in mind, a novel ant colony system is proposed, which employs the unique feature of critical tubes reserved in the Physaurm-inspired mathematical model. A series of experiments are conducted, which are consolidated by two realworld Traveling Salesman Problems. The experimental results show that the proposed new ant colony system outperforms classical ant colony system, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization algorithm in efficiency and robustness.

Women in politics in matrilineal society (a case study of West Sumatra, Indonesia)

 The study found that the West Sumatran matrilineal system offered limited support to female politicians who still experienced disadvantages in the national system. It concludes that there is a need to include aspects of local culture into regional electoral policy and for women to develop better political credential.

IUCN red list of ecosystems

We begin by briefly examining the achievements of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and offering it as the model and motivator for the creation of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE). The history of the RLE concept within IUCN is briefly summarized, from the first attempt to formally establish an RLE in 1996 to the present. Major activities since 2008, when the World Conservation Congress initiated a "consultation process for the development, implementation and monitoring of a global standard for the assessment of ecosystem status, applicable at local, regional and global levels," have included: Development of a research agenda for strengthening the scientific foundations of the RLE, publication of preliminary categories and criteria for examination by the scientific and conservation community, dissemination of the effort widely by presenting it at workshops and conferences around the world, and encouraging tests of the system for a diversity of ecosystem types and in a variety of institutional settings. Between 2009 and 2012, the Red List of Ecosystems Thematic Group of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management organized 18 workshops and delivered 17 conferences in 20 countries on 5 continents, directly reaching hundreds of participants. Our vision for the future includes the integration of the RLE to the other three key IUCN knowledge products (IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, World Database on Protected Areas and Key Biodiversity Areas), in an on-line, user-driven, freely-accessible information management system for performing biodiversity assessments. In addition we wish to pilot the integration of the RLE into land/water use planning and macro-economic planning. Fundamental challenges for the future include: Substantial expansion in existing institutional and technical capacity (especially in biodiversity-rich countries in the developing world), progressive assessment of the status of all terrestrial, freshwater, marine and subterranean ecosystems, and development of a map of the ecosystems of the world. Our ultimate goal is that national, regional and global RLEs are used to inform conservation and land/water use decision-making by all sectors of society. © Author(s) 2012.

The political economy of markets and development: a case study of health care consumption in the State of Kerala, India

Marketing theory has largely ignored the issue of power in influencing exchanges. Most of the studies either disregard the role of power, or resource power is the only dimension taken into account. In this study, we expand the existing understanding by centrally situating the role of socio-political power in the consumption process. We examine the health care system in the Indian state of Kerala and highlight that socio-political power is a crucial determinant of consumption levels. In the process, we argue that in a resource—constrained Third World society socio-political empowerment is critical to the development process.

Tightening eligibility for bail for persons on supervision orders in Victoria: repairing a broken system?

Victoria Nourse has observed that political debates about crime legislation are predictable and invariably one-sided because ‘no-one is “for” crime.’1 This certainly appears to be the case with regard to recent proposed changes to the Bail Act 1977 (‘the Act’) by the government of Victoria. The reforms were triggered by the case of Sean Price, an offender with a history of mental disorder, serious offending and lengthy incarceration who was on bail and subject to a supervision order when he murdered Masa Vukotic, raped another woman and assaulted a third person in March 2015. The Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, stated that a bail system that allowed Price to be free and unmonitored was failing the community and pledged to repair ‘a system that is broken.’

The effect of complainant age on outcomes in the criminal justice system: case tracking from report to conviction

 The thesis explored child sexual abuse in the criminal justice system and how victim age predicted case outcomes, including disclosures, charges and convictions. The findings highlighted that adolescent victims may experience unique challenges. Further, the relationships between victim age, case characteristics and evidence are crucial to explaining case outcomes.

Of Law, Lawlessness, and Sovereignty : Multinational Peacekeeping and International Law

Laws of war have been carefully defined by individual nations’ own codes of law as well as by supranational bodies. Yet the international scene has seen an increasing movement away from traditionally declared war toward multinational peacekeeping missions geared at containing local conflicts when perceived as potential threats to their respective regions’ political stability. While individual nations’ laws governing warfare presuppose national sovereignty, the multinational nature of peacekeeping scenarios can blur the lines of command structures, soldiers’ national loyalties, occupational jurisdiction, and raise profound questions as to which countries’ moral sense/governmental system is to be the one upheld. Historically increasingly complex international relations have driven increasingly detailed internationally drafted guidelines for countries’ interactions while at war, yet there are operational, legislative, and moral issues arising in multinational peacekeeping situations which these laws do not address at all. The author analyzes three unique peacekeeping operations in light of these legislative voids and suggests systematic points to consider to the end of protecting the peacekeepers, the national interests of the countries involved, operational matters, and clearly delineating both the objective and logical boundaries of a given multinational peacekeeping mission.

Special interests and political business cycles

In this paper we bridge the gap between special interest politics and political business cycle literature. We build a framework where the interplay between the lobby power of special interest groups and the voting power of the majority of the population leads to political business cycles. We apply our set up to explain electoral cycles in government expenditure composition, aggregate expenditures and real exchange rates.

Equidade e descentralização: os mitos do SUS

O Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS) foi configurado para ser um instrumento de justiça social, utilizando a estratégia de descentralização político-administrativa, com vistas à equidade, universalização e integridade das ações de saúde. No entanto, após oito anos de aprovação e legitimação constitucional, o seu processo de implantação tem sofrido desvios na sua trajetória idealizada pela Reforma Sanitária. Nesta dissertação serão enfocadas as possíveis causas dos obstáculos desencaminhadores do SUS. Pontualizando duas questões conceituais: a equidade e a descentralização dos serviços de saúde. A grande interrogação que permeia todo o trabalho está no questionamento sobre a factibilidade do SUS, enquanto um modelo teórico, realizado em moldes utópicos, passível de transformar-se em mais um mito do imaginário social brasileiro, do que uma efetiva política social, voltada para a obtenção de uma sociedade democrática e participativa.

Barriers faced by the Brazilian business community to access the United States market system

Trade history between Brazil and the United States is long and complicated but it is only in recent years that the trade balance has become more equal in terms of both imports and exports. As Brazil continues to establish its position in the world economy and expand its export market it is only natural that it seeks to increase exports to its single largest trading partner, the United States, and maintain the market share already established. In order to achieve success in these regards Brazil must have a deep understanding of the American political economy system. Part of this entails understanding barriers that must be overcome by Brazilian businesses to access United States markets, particularly the access of certain products at the industry level.

Uma discussão acerca das regras eleitorais do sistema político brasileiro e dos incentivos aos comportamento parlamentar

O presente trabalho objetiva avaliar os impactos provenientes das regras eleitorais do sistema político brasileiro sobre o comportamento dos deputados federais, em particular, quanto à decisão de alocação de recursos orçamentários através das emendas feitas ao Orçamento. A literatura tradicional pressupõe que estas escolhas estarão vinculadas essencialmente à formação e manutenção do reduto eleitoral de domínio do deputado. Os incentivos, que direcionariam a ação completamente individual dos candidatos no período de eleições, permaneceriam na mesma direção durante a atuação do parlamentar eleito. Isto resultaria em uma Câmara de Deputados completamente desarticulada, sem nenhuma influência dos partidos políticos. No extremo oposto deste cenário, ainda que parcela dos autores assuma posição intermediária, interpretações recentes contestam esta visão, trazendo diferentes motivações para a atuação individual do parlamentar, mais organizadas e coordenadas, atribuindo papel ao funcionamento dos partidos. Esta literatura mais atual, porém, não investigou os incentivos para a proposição de emendas orçamentárias, lacuna que este trabalho pretendeu cobrir. Os resultados encontrados aqui corroboram a interpretação mais recente sobre o funcionamento do sistema político. No capítulo primeiro, em que são propostos indicadores que avaliam a concentração eleitoral dos deputados paulistas, os resultados indicam que as votações não são tão concentradas como a interpretação tradicional afirma. No segundo capítulo, é avaliada empiricamente a possibilidade da existência da dominância política para o caso de São Paulo. Esta investigação sugere que este conceito não pode ser afirmado como a regra para o sistema político. Em seu lugar, os modelos trabalhados, em que as eleições para deputado e prefeito mostram ser correlacionadas, parecem refletir melhor o funcionamento do sistema político nacional. Por fim, o terceiro capítulo verifica os incentivos para a proposição de emendas. Seus resultados sugerem que os deputados se influenciam não só por seus resultados individuais nas eleições, mas levam em conta as cidades em que os prefeitos são de seu partido. Além disto, os dados sugerem haver a existência de um ciclo de alocação de emendas de acordo com o momento ao longo do mandato. As evidências trazidas por este trabalho sugerem avanços na literatura recente sobre o sistema político brasileiro e merecem novas investigações que ampliem a compreensão sobre tema tão relevante.