Magnetic, thermal and spectral properties of Ni(II) 2,3- , 3,5- and 2,6-dimethoxybenzoates

Complexes of Ni(II) 2,3-, 3,5- and 2,6-dimethoxybenzoates have been synthesized, their physico-chemical properties have been compared and the influence of the position of -OCH3 substituent on their properties investigated. The analysed compounds are crystalline, hydrated salts with green colour. The carboxylate ions show a bidentate chelating or bridging coordination modes. The thermal stabilities of Ni(II) dimethoxybenzoates were investigated in air in the range of 293-1173 K. The complexes decompose in three steps, yelding the NiO as the final product of decomposition. Their solubilities in water at 293 K are in the order of 10-2-10-4 mol×dm-3. The magnetic susceptibilities for the analysed dimethoxybenzoates of Ni(II) were measured over the range of 76-303 K and the magnetic moments were calculated. The results reveal that the complexes are the high-spin ones and the ligands form the weak electrostatic field in the octahedral coordination sphere of the central Ni(II) ion. The various position -OCH3 groups in benzene ring cause the different steric, mesomeric and inductive effects on the electron density in benzene ring.

Building-up influence: post-war industrialization in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil

This paper examines the post-War industrialization process in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais, focusing on one of its desirable outcomes, namely the capacity to generate growth through the impact of strong input-output linkages. This process is placed into historical perspective considering the ideas that permeate the economic development debate throughout the period of analysis. Changes in the regional economic structure are assessed through the use of three input-output tables for the years of 1953, 1980 and 1995. By adopting the fields of influence methodology as the analytical core, it is shown that the efforts towards the creation of a more integrated regional economy have generated stronger influence of the targeted sectors (metal products, transportation equipment, chemical, and services). However, structural changes also contributed to strengthen leakage in the system originated in traditional economic activities.

Activism and participation among people of migrant background : discourses and practices of inclusiveness in four italian cities

Alors que l’intérêt pour les processus d’intégration des immigrants et des minorités ethniques est en pleine croissance parmi les chercheurs européens, les facteurs qui expliquent les différentes formes de participation civique et politique doivent être examinés plus en profondeur. Prenant pour base la littérature sur l’immigration, cette étude examine la question de recherche suivante: Comment peut-on expliquer les variations des formes de participation civique et politique des activistes issus de l’immigration au niveau local? Afin de répondre à cette question, cette étude identifie les formes de participation de la part d’activistes issus de l’immigration dans quatre villes Italiennes et examine les discours et les pratiques de multiples acteurs impliqués dans le domaine de l’immigration dans un contexte national d’hostilité croissante. Cette thèse soutient que pour comprendre différentes formes de participation, il est important de considérer non seulement l’État et les acteurs institutionnels, mais aussi les acteurs non-institutionnels et examiner comment ces derniers influencent les opportunités ainsi que les restrictions à la participation. Par ailleurs, cette recherche examine les canaux conventionnels et non-conventionnels dans quatre villes italiennes et étudie les activistes issus de l’immigration comme des acteurs politiques pertinents, capables de se mobiliser et d’influencer la participation à travers leur interaction et alliances avec les acteurs de la société d’accueil. Cette recherche a permis de produire trois résultats. Le premier montre que les approches d’intégration adoptées par les acteurs sont importantes. Cette étude a identifié trois approches d’intégration: 1) « welfariste », basée sur l’idée que les immigrants sont dans le besoin et doivent donc recevoir des services; 2) interculturelle, basée sur l’idée que les immigrants sont de futurs citoyens et que l’intégration est réciproque; 3) promotion des droits politiques, basée sur l’idée que les immigrants ont des droits politiques fondamentaux ; et qui encourage l’ouverture des canaux de participation politique, surtout aux immigrants privés du droit de vote local. L’analyse empirique démontre que, alors que l’approche welfariste n’encourage pas la participation parce qu’elle conçoit les immigrants comme des acteurs passifs, les autres deux approches ont respectivement un impact sur les formes de participation civique et politique. La deuxième conclusion souligne le rôle des acteurs de gauche. En particulier, cette étude montre que les acteurs qui ouvrent de canaux pour la participation ne sont pas uniquement les acteurs de gauche modérée, comme les autorités locales, les partis politiques et les syndicats, mais aussi les groupes de gauche radicale et non-institutionnelle. Chaque acteur de gauche comprend et agit différemment par rapport aux sujets de l’immigration et de la participation et ce fait influence comment les activistes issues de l’immigration se mobilisent. La troisième conclusion met en évidence le rôle de la perception des opportunités par les activistes issus de l’immigration et la façon avec laquelle ils s’approprient les discours et les pratiques des acteurs de gauche. Ce travail démontre que l’ouverture de canaux est possible grâce à l’engagement de personnes issues de l’immigration qui agissent à travers les opportunités qui leurs sont offertes, créent des alliances avec la gauche et défient les discours et pratiques des acteurs locaux.

Criminal justice system in pondicherry - a comparative critical study of the past and the presen

The Union Territory of Pondicherry prior to its merger with the Indian Union was a French Colony. The erstwhile territory of Pondicherry along with its hamlets, namely, KARAIKKAL, MAHE and YANAM was administered by the French Regime. Before it was established by French in 1 6 74 A.D. it was part of Vijayanagara Empire. Prior to this, Pondicherry was a part of the Kingdom of Chola and Pallava Kings. During French Regime, the laws which were in force in France in relation to administration of civil and criminal justice were extended to the erstwhile Territory of Pondicherry. Thus while Pondicherry stood influenced by the Inquisitorial system since the beginning of the 18th century, the neighboring states forming part of the Indian Union since Independence came under the Influence of the British system, viz. accusatorial system. The territory of Pondicherry, for administrative reasons, came to be merged with the Indian Union in the early 60's. Following the merger, the Indian administration sought to extent its own laws from time to time replacing erstwhile French Laws, however, subject to certain savings. Thus the transitional period witnessed consequential changes in the administration of the territory, including the sphere of judicial system. Since I 963, the Union Territory of Pondicherry was brought under the spell of the Indian Legal System The people in Pondicherry ' thus have had the benefit of experiencing both the svstems. Their experiences will be of much help to those who undertake comparative studies in law. The plus and minus points of the respective systems help one to develop a detachment that helps independent evaluation of the svstents. The result of these studies could be relevant in revitalising our criminal systems.The present system is evaluated in the light of the past system. New dimensions are added by way' of an empirical study also.

Influence-matrix diagnostic of a data assimilation system

The influence matrix is used in ordinary least-squares applications for monitoring statistical multiple-regression analyses. Concepts related to the influence matrix provide diagnostics on the influence of individual data on the analysis - the analysis change that would occur by leaving one observation out, and the effective information content (degrees of freedom for signal) in any sub-set of the analysed data. In this paper, the corresponding concepts have been derived in the context of linear statistical data assimilation in numerical weather prediction. An approximate method to compute the diagonal elements of the influence matrix (the self-sensitivities) has been developed for a large-dimension variational data assimilation system (the four-dimensional variational system of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts). Results show that, in the boreal spring 2003 operational system, 15% of the global influence is due to the assimilated observations in any one analysis, and the complementary 85% is the influence of the prior (background) information, a short-range forecast containing information from earlier assimilated observations. About 25% of the observational information is currently provided by surface-based observing systems, and 75% by satellite systems. Low-influence data points usually occur in data-rich areas, while high-influence data points are in data-sparse areas or in dynamically active regions. Background-error correlations also play an important role: high correlation diminishes the observation influence and amplifies the importance of the surrounding real and pseudo observations (prior information in observation space). Incorrect specifications of background and observation-error covariance matrices can be identified, interpreted and better understood by the use of influence-matrix diagnostics for the variety of observation types and observed variables used in the data assimilation system. Copyright © 2004 Royal Meteorological Society

The analytic torsion of a cone over a sphere

We compute the analytic torsion of a cone over a sphere of dimensions 1, 2, and 3, and we conjecture a general formula for the cone over an odd dimensional sphere. (C) 2009 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The public debate about agrobiotechnology in Latin American countries: comparative study of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico

Includes bibliography

Manual for the compilation of science and technology indicators in the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

AN ANALYSIS OF THE RELATIVE INFLUENCE OF RACE, INCOME, EDUCATION, AND FOOD STAMP PROGRAM PARTICIPATION/NONPARTICIPATION ON THE FOOD AND NUTRIENT CONSUMPTION OF A NORTH FLORIDA URBAN CLINIC POPULATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH A SURVEY OF NUTRITION RELATED HABITS AND ATTITUDES

The relative influence of race, income, education, and Food Stamp Program participation/nonparticipation on the food and nutrient intake of 102 fecund women ages 18-45 years in a Florida urban clinic population was assessed using the technique of multiple regression analysis. Study subgroups were defined by race and Food Stamp Program participation status. Education was found to have the greatest influence on food and nutrient intake. Race was the next most influential factor followed in order by Food Stamp Program participation and income. The combined effect of the four independent variables explained no more than 19 percent of the variance for any of the food and nutrient intake variables. This would indicate that a more complex model of influences is needed if variations in food and nutrient intake are to be fully explained.^ A socioeconomic questionnaire was administered to investigate other factors of influence. The influence of the mother, frequency and type of restaurant dining, and perceptions of food intake and weight were found to be factors deserving further study.^ Dietary data were collected using the 24-hour recall and food frequency checklist. Descriptive dietary findings indicated that iron and calcium were nutrients where adequacy was of concern for all study subgroups. White Food Stamp Program participants had the greatest number of mean nutrient intake values falling below the 1980 Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). When Food Stamp Program participants were contrasted to nonparticipants, mean intakes of six nutrients (kilocalories, calcium, iron, vitamin A, thiamin, and riboflavin) were below the 1980 RDA compared to five mean nutrient intakes (kilocalories, calcium, iron, thiamin and riboflavin) for the nonparticipants. Use of the Index of Nutritional Quality (INQ), however, revealed that the quality of the diet of Food Stamp Program participants per 1000 kilocalories was adequate with exception of calcium and iron. Intakes of these nutrients were also not adequate on a 1000 kilocalorie basis for the nonparticipant group. When mean nutrient intakes of the groups were compared using Student's t-test oleicacid intake was the only significant difference found. Being a nonparticipant in the Food Stamp Program was found to be associated with more frequent consumption of cookies, sweet rolls, doughnuts, and honey. The findings of this study contradict the negative image of the Food Stamp Program participant and emphasize the importance of education. ^

A characterisation of passive and active interactions and their influence on student's achievement using Moodle LMS Logs

During the last years, there has been much concern about learning management systems' (LMS) effectiveness when compared to traditional learning and about how to assess students' participation during the course. The tracking and monitoring capabilities of most recent LMS have made it possible to analyse every interaction in the system. The issues addressed on this study are: a) Is LMS student's interaction an indicator of academic performance?; b) Are different results in performance expected between distance and in-class LMS-supported education?; c) How can LMS interactions from logs be categorised?; d) May this categorisation detect 'learning witnesses'? To answer these questions, a set of interaction types from Moodle LMS activity record logs has been analysed during two years in online and in-class Master's degrees at the UPM. The results show partial or no evidence of influence between interaction indicators and academic performance, although the proposed categorisation may help detect learning witnesses.

The effects of caffeine consumption on direct and indirect majority and minority influence

A study is reported that examines the effect of caffeine consumption on majority and minority influence. In a double blind procedure, 72 participants consumed an orange drink, which either contained caffeine (3.5mg per kilogram of body weight) or did not (placebo). After a 40-minute delay, participants read a counter-attitudinal message (antivoluntary euthanasia) endorsed by either a numerical majority or minority. Both direct (message issue, i.e., voluntary euthanasia) and indirect (message issue-related, i.e., abortion) change was assessed by attitude scales completed before and after exposure to the message. In the placebo condition, the findings replicated the predictions of Moscovici's (1980) conversion theory; namely, majorities leading to compliance (direct influence) and minorities leading to conversion (indirect influence). When participants had consumed caffeine, majorities not only led to more direct influence than in the placebo condition but also to indirect influence. Minorities, by contrast, had no impact on either level of influence. The results suggest that moderate levels of caffeine increase systematic processing of the message but the consequences of this vary for each source. When the source is a majority there was increased indirect influence while for a minority there was decreased indirect influence. The results show the need to understand how contextual factors can affect social influence processes.

The effects of caffeine consumption on direct and indirect majority and minority influence

A study is reported that examines the effect of caffeine consumption on majority and minority influence. In a double blind procedure, 72 participants consumed an orange drink, which either contained caffeine (3.5mg per kilogram of body weight) or did not (placebo). After a 40-minute delay, participants read a counter-attitudinal message (antivoluntary euthanasia) endorsed by either a numerical majority or minority. Both direct (message issue, i.e., voluntary euthanasia) and indirect (message issue-related, i.e., abortion) change was assessed by attitude scales completed before and after exposure to the message. In the placebo condition, the findings replicated the predictions of Moscovici's (1980) conversion theory; namely, majorities leading to compliance (direct influence) and minorities leading to conversion (indirect influence). When participants had consumed caffeine, majorities not only led to more direct influence than in the placebo condition but also to indirect influence. Minorities, by contrast, had no impact on either level of influence. The results suggest that moderate levels of caffeine increase systematic processing of the message but the consequences of this vary for each source. When the source is a majority there was increased indirect influence while for a minority there was decreased indirect influence. The results show the need to understand how contextual factors can affect social influence processes.

The interaction between the implementation of an occupational health and safety management system and safety culture:a case study in the rubber industry

A prominent theme emerging in Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) is the development of management systems. A range of interventions, according to a prescribed route detailed by one of the management systems, can be introduced into an organisation with some expectation of improved OSH performance. This thesis attempts to identify the key influencing factors that may impact upon the process of introducing interventions, (according to B88800: 1996, Guide to Implementing Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems) into an organisation. To help identify these influencing factors a review of possible models from the sphere of Total Quality Management (TQM) was undertaken and the most suitable TQM model selected for development and use in aSH. By anchoring the aSH model's development in the reviewed literature a range ofeare, medium and low level influencing factors were identified. This model was developed in conjunction with the research data generated within the case study organisation (rubber manufacturer) and applied to the organisation. The key finding was that the implementation of an OSH intervention was dependant upon three broad vectors of influence. These are the Incentive to introduce change within an organisation which refers to the drivers or motivators for OSH. Secondly the Ability within the management team to actually implement the changes refers to aspects, amongst others, such as leadership, commitment and perceptions of OSH. Ability is in turn itself influenced by the environment within which change is being introduced. TItis aspect of Receptivity refers to the history of the plant and characteristics of the workforce. Aspects within Receptivity include workforce profile and organisational policies amongst others. It was found that the TQM model selected and developed for an OSH management system intervention did explain the core influencing factors and their impact upon OSH performance. It was found that within the organisation the results that may have been expected from implementation of BS8800:1996 were not realised. The OSH model highlighted that given the organisation's starting point, a poor appreciation of the human factors of OSH, gave little reward for implementation of an OSH management system. In addition it was found that general organisational culture can effectively suffocate any attempts to generate a proactive safety culture.

Getting marketing back into the boardroom:the influence of the marketing department in companies today

What influence do marketing departments have in companies today? Which factors determine this influence? These are the issues discussed in the present article. Empirical evidence based on data from companies in the Netherlands demonstrates that accountability, innovativeness and customer connections are the three major drivers of influence. The need for a strong marketing department within companies is also discussed, supported by empirical data.

Strategists' reactions and resistance towards forces of inclusion:soothing the anxiety of marketing (non-) influence

The firm is becoming more and more inclusive in its conception. And yet, marketing studies point to the same overwhelming conclusion that marketing, marketing departments and marketers are being increasingly 'pushed out' - excluded. We argue that where and when inclusion-exclusion intersect in the practice of strategic marketing is important, not least because their powerful boundary-setting and spanning roles have a determinant effect on the places and spaces, within which marketing strategists are (counter-) mobilized. This paper provides new insights relating to the contradictory forces existing around inclusion-exclusion in corporate strategizing. A further aim is to present the position of marketing (non-) influence within this context. The paper provides a unique theoretical contribution by illustrating some of the contradictions, struggles and activities that make the theoretical shift towards strategic inclusivity unstable, partial and by no means inevitable. A further contribution is a linking of this broader strategic debate, with anxieties over the influence of marketing in corporate strategizing. This leads to a discussion of the various ways that marketing research can sooth the anxiety of influence on multiple fronts via: understanding agency and strategic action; shaping marketing curriculum development; and, reconsidering the spatial dimensions of marketing influence. © 2010 Taylor & Francis.