Doing Gendered Time: The Harms of Women's Imprisonment

This chapter focuses on women’s imprisonment in the context of gendered punishment inflicted by the State. It considers the gender-specific consequences of incarceration for women prisoners and the potential of gender-responsive alternatives to custodial sentences. Following a brief historical overview, it traces the rise and consolidation of women’s incarceration in UK jurisdictions, noting the significance of devolution on the prison systems of Scotland and Northern Ireland. In examining the impact of neo-liberal policies and globalisation on women’s imprisonment, it draws comparisons with other advanced democratic states. Analysing the rationale underpinning the disproportionate rise in women’s incarceration, particularly in the UK and the USA the chapter identifies the persistent tensions between retributivism/ incapacitation and reformism/rehabilitation. Drawing on international research demonstrating the complex needs and vulnerabilities of women and girl prisoners, the chapter reveals the gendered harm experienced within penal regimes and the recent development - and limitations - of official gender-specific policies and practices. The emergence of distinct but related political discourses on ‘risk’ and ‘responsibilisation’ as applied to women in conflict with the law, and their consequent criminalisation, is critiqued in the contexts of structural disadvantage, gender discrimination and institutionalised racism. Within these oppressive dynamics often severe deprivations are inflicted on women’s acts of resistance both inside prison and in their communities post-release, further confining the potential of individual and collective agency. Finally, the chapter proposes fundamental change through establishing women-centred alternatives to prison, alongside policies committed to decarceration, while working towards securing the abolition of women’s imprisonment.

High accuracy android malware detection using ensemble learning

With over 50 billion downloads and more than 1.3 million apps in Google’s official market, Android has continued to gain popularity amongst smartphone users worldwide. At the same time there has been a rise in malware targeting the platform, with more recent strains employing highly sophisticated detection avoidance techniques. As traditional signature based methods become less potent in detecting unknown malware, alternatives are needed for timely zero-day discovery. Thus this paper proposes an approach that utilizes ensemble learning for Android malware detection. It combines advantages of static analysis with the efficiency and performance of ensemble machine learning to improve Android malware detection accuracy. The machine learning models are built using a large repository of malware samples and benign apps from a leading antivirus vendor. Experimental results and analysis presented shows that the proposed method which uses a large feature space to leverage the power of ensemble learning is capable of 97.3 % to 99% detection accuracy with very low false positive rates.

Applying the Transtheoretical Model to Physical Activity Behavior in Individuals With Non-Cystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis

BACKGROUND: The transtheoretical model has been successful in promoting health behavior change in general and clinical populations. However, there is little knowledge about the application of the transtheoretical model to explain physical activity behavior in individuals with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis. The aim was to examine patterns of (1) physical activity and (2) mediators of behavior change (self-efficacy, decisional balance, and processes of change) across stages of change in individuals with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

METHODS: Fifty-five subjects with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (mean age ± SD = 63 ± 10 y) had physical activity assessed over 7 d using an accelerometer. Each component of the transtheoretical model was assessed using validated questionnaires. Subjects were divided into groups depending on stage of change: Group 1 (pre-contemplation and contemplation; n = 10), Group 2 (preparation; n = 20), and Group 3 (action and maintenance; n = 25). Statistical analyses included one-way analysis of variance and Tukey-Kramer post hoc tests.

RESULTS: Physical activity variables were significantly (P < .05) higher in Group 3 (action and maintenance) compared with Group 2 (preparation) and Group 1 (pre-contemplation and contemplation). For self-efficacy, there were no significant differences between groups for mean scores (P = .14). Decisional balance cons (barriers to being physically active) were significantly lower in Group 3 versus Group 2 (P = .032). For processes of change, substituting alternatives (substituting inactive options for active options) was significantly higher in Group 3 versus Group 1 (P = .01), and enlisting social support (seeking out social support to increase and maintain physical activity) was significantly lower in Group 3 versus Group 2 (P = .038).

CONCLUSIONS: The pattern of physical activity across stages of change is consistent with the theoretical predictions of the transtheoretical model. Constructs of the transtheoretical model that appear to be important at different stages of change include decisional balance cons, substituting alternatives, and enlisting social support. This study provides support to explore transtheoretical model-based physical activity interventions in individuals with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

Confronto tra diverse localizzazioni di un impianto eolico contemperando produttività ed impatto visivo

This paper proposes a series of variations in designing the location of a wind farm on Monti della Tolfa. These project solutions aim at mitigating the visual impact caused by the wind aerogenerators. Besides the usual location of the wind aerogenerators on the skyline, these alternatives within the project design relate to the placement of wind turbines in the middle and at the bottom of the hillside. Other possible mitigation forms relate to the dimensions and the colour of the wind towers. This study proposes both a non-monetary and monetary analysis of the visual impact related to each project proposal. The final aim of the paper is to analyze economic and financial costs-benefits for each alternative to find out the economic optimal solution.

The single component geochemical map: Fact or fiction?

Single component geochemical maps are the most basic representation of spatial elemental distributions and commonly used in environmental and exploration geochemistry. However, the compositional nature of geochemical data imposes several limitations on how the data should be presented. The problems relate to the constant sum problem (closure), and the inherently multivariate relative information conveyed by compositional data. Well known is, for instance, the tendency of all heavy metals to show lower values in soils with significant contributions of diluting elements (e.g., the quartz dilution effect); or the contrary effect, apparent enrichment in many elements due to removal of potassium during weathering. The validity of classical single component maps is thus investigated, and reasonable alternatives that honour the compositional character of geochemical concentrations are presented. The first recommended such method relies on knowledge-driven log-ratios, chosen to highlight certain geochemical relations or to filter known artefacts (e.g. dilution with SiO2 or volatiles). This is similar to the classical normalisation approach to a single element. The second approach uses the (so called) log-contrasts, that employ suitable statistical methods (such as classification techniques, regression analysis, principal component analysis, clustering of variables, etc.) to extract potentially interesting geochemical summaries. The caution from this work is that if a compositional approach is not used, it becomes difficult to guarantee that any identified pattern, trend or anomaly is not an artefact of the constant sum constraint. In summary the authors recommend a chain of enquiry that involves searching for the appropriate statistical method that can answer the required geological or geochemical question whilst maintaining the integrity of the compositional nature of the data. The required log-ratio transformations should be applied followed by the chosen statistical method. Interpreting the results may require a closer working relationship between statisticians, data analysts and geochemists.

Carbons, Ionic Liquids, and Quinones for Electrochemical Capacitors

Carbons are the main electrode materials used in supercapacitors, which are electrochemical energy storage devices with high power densities and long cycling lifetimes. However, increasing their energy density capacity will improve their potential for commercial implementation.
In this regard, the use of high surface area carbons and high voltage electrolytes are well known strategies to increase the attainable energy density, and lately ionic liquids have been explored as promising alternatives to current state of the art acetonitrile-based electrolytes. Also, in terms of safety and sustainability ionic liquids are attractive electrolyte materials for supercapacitors. In addition, it has been shown that the matching of the carbon pore size with the electrolyte ion size further increases the attainable electrochemical double layer (ECDL) capacitance and energy density.
The use of pseudocapacitive reactions can significantly increase the attainable energy density, and quinonic-based materials offer a potentially sustainable and cost effective research avenue for both the electrode and the electrolyte.
This perspective will provide an overview of the current state of the art research on supercapacitors based on combinations of carbons, ionic liquids and quinonic compounds, highlighting performances and challenges and discussing possible future research avenues. In this regard, current interest is mainly focused on strategies which may ultimately lead to commercially competitive sustainable high performance supercapacitors for different applications including those requiring mechanical flexibility and biocompatibility.

Adaptive utilitarianism, social enterprises and urban regeneration

Social enterprises have been placed at the centre of Big Society politics and an emphasis on the local as a site for experimentation and service delivery. Nationally, this has been supported by legislation in community transfer and procurement, social finance and new intermediaries to strengthen skills and loan readiness. This paper examines the role of social enterprises involved in urban development in Northern Ireland and highlights the multiple ethics, legitimation strategies and modalities that are necessary for sustainable forms of progressive regeneration. The paper concludes by stressing the possibilities of a more independent and reformist social economy and how this offers some practical alternatives to the enthusiasm for neoliberal policies in the local state.

Assessing the Potential for Saving Energy by Impersonating Idle Networked Devices

The idea of proxying network connectivity has been proposed as an efficient mechanism to maintain network presence on behalf of idle devices, so that they can “sleep”. The concept has been around for many years; alternative architectural solutions have been proposed to implement it, which lead to different considerations about capability, effectiveness and energy efficiency. However, there is neither a clear understanding of the potential for energy saving nor a detailed performance comparison among the different proxy architectures. In this paper, we estimate the potential energy saving achievable by different architectural solutions for proxying network connectivity. Our work considers the trade-off between the saving achievable by putting idle devices to sleep and the additional power consumption to run the proxy. Our analysis encompasses a broad range of alternatives, taking into consideration both implementations already available in the market and prototypes built for research purposes. We remark that the main value of our work is the estimation under realistic conditions, taking into consideration power measurements, usage profiles and proxying capabilities.

Genetic structure, relationships and admixture with wild relatives in native pig breeds from Iberia and its islands

Background: Native pig breeds in the Iberian Peninsula are broadly classified as belonging to either the Celtic or the Mediterranean breed groups, but there are other local populations that do not fit into any of these groups. Most of the native pig breeds in Iberia are in danger of extinction, and the assessment of their genetic diversity and population structure, relationships and possible admixture between breeds, and the appraisal of conservation alternatives are crucial to adopt appropriate management strategies. Methods: A panel of 24 microsatellite markers was used to genotype 844 animals representing the 17 most important native swine breeds and wild populations existing in Portugal and Spain and various statistical tools were applied to analyze the results. Results: Genetic diversity was high in the breeds studied, with an overall mean of 13.6 alleles per locus and an average expected heterozygosity of 0.80. Signs of genetic bottlenecks were observed in breeds with a small census size, and population substructure was present in some of the breeds with larger census sizes. Variability among breeds accounted for about 20% of the total genetic diversity, and was explained mostly by differences among the Celtic, Mediterranean and Basque breed groups, rather than by differences between domestic and wild pigs. Breeds clustered closely according to group, and proximity was detected between wild pigs and the Mediterranean cluster of breeds. Most breeds had their own structure and identity, with very little evidence of admixture, except for the Retinto and Entrepelado varieties of the Mediterranean group, which are very similar. Genetic influence of the identified breed clusters extends beyond the specific geographical areas across borders throughout the Iberian Peninsula, with a very sharp transition from one breed group to another. Analysis of conservation priorities confirms that the ranking of a breed for conservation depends on the emphasis placed on its contribution to the betweenand within-breed components of genetic diversity. Conclusions: Native pig breeds in Iberia reveal high levels of genetic diversity, a solid breed structure and a clear organization in well-defined clusters.

Phase equilibria modeling for biofuels production

Em consequência de uma série de problemas ambientais, económicos e políticos relacionados com o uso de combustíveis convencionais, vários países estão agora a focar as suas atenções em combustíveis alternativos. O biodiesel está na linha da frente das alternativas ao petróleo no sector dos transportes, sendo considerado uma opção a curto prazo visto que o seu preço é competitivo e não são necessárias mudanças nos motores para implementar o seu uso. De entres os possíveis processos de produzir biodiesel, a reacção de transesterificação com catálise básica é o método preferido. Depois da reacção são sempre necessários processos de purificação de modo ao biodiesel produzido cumprir os standards definidos para os combustíveis alternativos, reduzindo problemas de motor e consequentemente aumentando a sua aceitação por parte dos consumidores. De entre as especificações encontram-se o conteúdo em água, em álcool e em glicerol. Ser-se capaz de descrever correctamente o equilíbrio de fases de sistemas que são de interesse para os processos de purificação de biodieseis numa gama alargada de condições termodinâmicas é uma condição necessária para uma correcta simulação do processo industrial, de modo a se atingir uma elevada produtividade a baixos custos de operação. O uso de moléculas oxigenadas como combustíveis representa uma alteração significativa em termos da termodinâmica de soluções. Para combustíveis baseados em petróleo as equações de estado cúbicas e os modelos clássicos de coeficientes de actividade mostraram ser apropriados, no entanto para combustíveis novos como o biodiesel, sendo mais complexos do ponto de vista das interacções intermoleculares com formação de dipolos e pontes de hidrogénio, são necessários modelos termodinâmicos mais complexos para descrever essas interacções. Neste trabalho a CPA EoS (Cubic-Plus-Association Equation of State) será desenvolvida de modo a permitir uma descrição adequada dos equilíbrios líquido-vapor e líquido-líquido para uma serie de sistemas binários e multicomponentes contendo água, ácidos gordos, ésteres de ácidos gordos, glicerol e álcoois.

A multi-attribute ranking solutions confirmation procedure

Ranking problems arise from the knowledge of several binary relations defined on a set of alternatives, which we intend to rank. In a previous work, the authors introduced a tool to confirm the solutions of multi-attribute ranking problems as linear extensions of a weighted sum of preference relations. An extension of this technique allows the recognition of critical preference pairs of alternatives, which are often caused by inconsistencies. Herein, a confirmation procedure is introduced and applied to confirm the results obtained by a multi-attribute decision methodology on a tender for the supply of buses to the Porto Public Transport Operator. © 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

Optical fiber sensing using quantum dots

Recent advances in the application of semiconductor nanocrystals, or quantum dots, as biochemical sensors are reviewed. Quantum dots have unique optical properties that make them promising alternatives to traditional dyes in many luminescence based bioanalytical techniques. An overview of the more relevant progresses in the application of quantum dots as biochemical probes is addressed. Special focus will be given to configurations where the sensing dots are incorporated in solid membranes and immobilized in optical fibers or planar waveguide platforms.

Para uma sistematização do método transcricional guitarrístico

O presente trabalho apresenta um levantamento de processos transcricionais usados por músicos, desde compositores do período barroco até músicos contemporâneos. Este conjunto de técnicas permite encontrar alternativas às eventuais problemáticas levantadas durante a transcrição e simultaneamente, processos para manter inalterada a significação proposta pelo compositor. Seguidamente, apresenta-se um conjunto de obras transcritas com apoio nas técnicas anteriormente observadas.

Microbiological quality of bivalves: relevance to food safety

Os moluscos bivalves constituem um recurso haliêutico de elevada importância na economia (inter)nacional pelas suas características organolépticas, valor nutritivo e relevância na gastronomia tradicional. Não obstante, representam um produto alimentar de elevado risco para a saúde pública. A contaminação microbiológica (autóctone e antropogénica), sendo crónica nos bancos de bivalves das zonas estuarino-lagunares, constitui uma das principais preocupações associadas à segurança alimentar. Aquando da filtração inerente aos processos de respiração e alimentação, os bivalves bioacumulam passivamente microrganismos incluindo os patogénicos. A sua colocação no mercado impõe pois, prévia salubrização para níveis microbiológicos compatíveis com a legislação em vigor, salvaguardando a saúde pública. Apesar da monitorização das áreas de apanha e produção, das medidas de prevenção e da depuração, a ocorrência de surtos associados ao consumo de bivalves tem aumentado. Tal deve-se à insuficiente monitorização da contaminação microbiológica dos bivalves, contribuindo para uma gestão ineficaz do produto e consequente sub-valorização. O presente trabalho pretendeu caracterizar o estado de desenvolvimento do sector de exploração de bivalves em Portugal do ponto de vista da segurança alimentar, e analisar os aspectos cruciais da monitorização e da depuração do produto apresentando alternativas abrangentes e aplicáveis ao sector. Assim, desenvolveu-se uma metodologia de base molecular passível de adaptação à monitorização dos bivalves das zonas conquícolas, como alternativa ao método de referência vigente do Número Mais Provável que é baseado apenas na quantificação de Escherichia coli. O mexilhão (Mytilus edulis) da Ria de Aveiro, bivalve de interesse comercial a nível (inter)nacional serviu de modelo para a comparação de protocolos de extração de DNA. Esta metodologia foi desenvolvida de modo a que os métodos de extração de DNA sejam passíveis de aplicação a outras matrizes biológicas ou ambientais. Para além da detecção e quantificação directa de bactérias patogénicas, esta metodologia poderá ser aplicada à monitorização da transferência vertical microbiana nos bancos de bivalves bem como à caracterização da dinâmica espacio-temporal das populações microbianas no ambiente e à monitorização dos processos de depuração. Foi ainda abordado o potencial da aplicação de bacteriófagos ou de enzimas líticas para a optimização dos processos de purificação. O trabalho realizado e as perspectivas futuras propostas pretendem contribuir para a dinamização e requalificação do sector de exploração de bivalves através da melhoria do nível de segurança alimentar dos moluscos bivalves comercializados para alimentação humana, valorizando este recurso.

Biodiesel fuel formulation

O consumo de energia a nível mundial aumenta a cada dia, de forma inversa aos recursos fósseis que decrescem de dia para dia. O sector dos transportes é o maior consumidor deste recurso. Face ao actual cenário urge encontrar uma solução renovável e sustentável que permita não só, diminuir a nossa dependência de combustíveis fósseis mas fundamentalmente promover a sua substituição por energias de fontes renováveis. O biodiesel apresenta-se na vanguarda das alternativas aos combustiveis derivados do petróleo, para o sector dos transportes, sendo considerado uma importante opção a curto prazo, uma vez que o seu preço pode ser competitivo com o diesel convencional, e para a sua utilização o motor de combustão não necessita de alterações. O biodiesel é uma mistura líquida, não tóxica, biodegradável de ésteres de ácidos gordos, sem teor de enxofre ou compostos aromáticos, apresenta boa lubricidade, alto número de cetano, e origina emissões gasosas mais limpas. O presente trabalho contribui para um melhor conhecimento da dependência das propriedades termofisicas do biodiesel com a sua composição. A publicação de novos dados permitirá o desenvolvimento de modelos mais fiáveis na previsão do comportamento do biodiesel. As propriedades densidade e viscosidade são o espelho da composição do biodiesel, uma vez que dependem directamente da matéria prima que lhe deu origem, mais do que do processo de produção. Neste trabalho os dados medidos de densidade e viscosidade de biodiesel foram testados com vários modelos e inclusivamente foram propostos novos modelos ajustados para esta família de compostos. Os dados medidos abrangem uma ampla gama de temperaturas e no caso da densidade também foram medidos dados a alta pressão de biodiesel e de alguns ésteres metilico puros. Neste trabalho também são apresentados dados experimentais para o equilíbrio de fases sólido-liquído de biodiesel e equlibrio de fases líquidolíquido de alguns sistemas importantes para a produção de biodiesel. Ambos os tipos de equilíbrio foram descritos por modelos desenvolvidos no nosso laboratório. Uma importância especial é dado aqui a propriedades que dependem do perfil de ácidos gordos da matéria-prima além de densidade e viscosidade; o índice de iodo e temperature limite de filtrabalidade são aqui avaliados com base nas considerações das normas. Os ácidos gordos livres são um sub-produto de refinação de óleo alimentar, que são removidos na desodoração, no processo de purificação do óleo. A catálise enzimática é aqui abordada como alternativa para a conversão destes ácidos gordos livres em biodiesel. Estudou-se a capacidade da lipase da Candida antartica (Novozym 435) para promover a esterificação de ácidos gordos livres com metanol ou etanol, utilizando metodologia de superfície de resposta com planeamento experimental. Avaliou-se a influência de diversas variáveis no rendimento da reacção.