Tensions in Latin American structural adjustment: allocation versus distribution

Includes bibliography

Youth employment: characteristics, tensions and challenges

Includes bibliography

Oxygen consumption by the hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus (Bosc, 1802) in declining oxygen tensions

1. 1. Oxygen consumption and its relationship to stepwise declining oxygen tension were examined in the common striped hermit crab, Clibanarius vittatus. 2. 2. Weight-specific oxygen consumption varied with body weight (W), according to the equation log V ̇o2 = 2.1639 + (-0.419 log W). 3. 3. Shell-less individuals of 1-2 g wet wt, where found to be oxygen conformers, since oxygen consumption ( V ̇o2) decreased with declining oxygen tensions. At ambient oxygen tensions below 35.4 mmHg, oxygen consumption remained constant, suggesting an increased ventilation. 4. 4. C. vittatus was found to survive in oxygen-free seawater for 5.5 hr, and no significant differences were found in oxygen consumption rates, for shelled and shell-less crabs, measured in water and air. 5. 5. The use of a K1 K2 index of oxygen independence, showed that larger animals were better able to maintain oxygen-independence during hypoxia than smaller individuals. 6. 6. C. vittatus displayed a pattern of no oxygen debt, once returned to normoxia. © 1983.

Computer simulation methods to study interfacial tensions : from the Ising model to colloidal crystals

In condensed matter systems, the interfacial tension plays a central role for a multitude of phenomena. It is the driving force for nucleation processes, determines the shape and structure of crystalline structures and is important for industrial applications. Despite its importance, the interfacial tension is hard to determine in experiments and also in computer simulations. While for liquid-vapor interfacial tensions there exist sophisticated simulation methods to compute the interfacial tension, current methods for solid-liquid interfaces produce unsatisfactory results.rnrnAs a first approach to this topic, the influence of the interfacial tension on nuclei is studied within the three-dimensional Ising model. This model is well suited because despite its simplicity, one can learn much about nucleation of crystalline nuclei. Below the so-called roughening temperature, nuclei in the Ising model are not spherical anymore but become cubic because of the anisotropy of the interfacial tension. This is similar to crystalline nuclei, which are in general not spherical but more like a convex polyhedron with flat facets on the surface. In this context, the problem of distinguishing between the two bulk phases in the vicinity of the diffuse droplet surface is addressed. A new definition is found which correctly determines the volume of a droplet in a given configuration if compared to the volume predicted by simple macroscopic assumptions.rnrnTo compute the interfacial tension of solid-liquid interfaces, a new Monte Carlo method called ensemble switch method'' is presented which allows to compute the interfacial tension of liquid-vapor interfaces as well as solid-liquid interfaces with great accuracy. In the past, the dependence of the interfacial tension on the finite size and shape of the simulation box has often been neglected although there is a nontrivial dependence on the box dimensions. As a consequence, one needs to systematically increase the box size and extrapolate to infinite volume in order to accurately predict the interfacial tension. Therefore, a thorough finite-size scaling analysis is established in this thesis. Logarithmic corrections to the finite-size scaling are motivated and identified, which are of leading order and therefore must not be neglected. The astounding feature of these logarithmic corrections is that they do not depend at all on the model under consideration. Using the ensemble switch method, the validity of a finite-size scaling ansatz containing the aforementioned logarithmic corrections is carefully tested and confirmed. Combining the finite-size scaling theory with the ensemble switch method, the interfacial tension of several model systems, ranging from the Ising model to colloidal systems, is computed with great accuracy.

Troublesome Issues: Current Debates on Tensions between Gender Equality and Cultural Diversity in Austria

This paper will first deal with the legal and social situation of Islam and Muslims in Austria and then turn to particular “troublesome issues” at the intersection of gender equality and ethnic/religious diversity. The public debate on Muslims particularly focuses on the notion “not willing to integrate” and in the assumption of “parallel societies”. Hierarchical gender relations and “harmful traditions” such as veiling, female genital cutting, forced marriage and honour based violence recently became the centre of attention. We will show that the Austrian debate on these issues is shaped by the idea of “dangerous cultural difference” as something coming from outside and being concentrated in segregated Muslim enclaves. Despite the public authorities’ rejection of the idea that Islam was responsible for “harmful traditions”, legal as well as political measures in Austria not only combat violence against women but also fuel “cultural anxieties” between different ethnic and religious groups.