Moving Forward, Never Backwards: Preventing Fraud In the European Union and Defining European Central Bank Independence

Part I of this Note will describe the need for anti-fraud measures within the Community. Part I will also detail the various legislative actions taken by the Commission, the Parliament and Council, and by the ECB and by the EIB to combat fraud. Part II will present the Commission\u27s case against the ECB, the ECB\u27s defense, the views expressed by Advocate General Jacobs and the ultimate judgment of the ECJ. Part II will focus primarily on the Commission v. ECB, but will note similarities and variances from the Commission\u27s case against the EIB. Finally, Part III will discuss the leeway afforded to fraud prevention within the EC, the fundamental basis of ECB independence, and the impetus of the ECJ\u27s decision regarding the nature of ECB independence and to some degree EIB independence

Flexible Learning Spaces Evaluation Report

City University, London is tackling the challenge of ensuring the learning spaces provided are able to meet the anticipated increase in technology usage and prevalent pedagogies. There is no longer a standard classroom design that will achieve this goal and therefore it is imperative to pilot and explore a variety of flexible learning spaces. This report feeds back on an evaluation of two flexible learning space approaches piloted in the autumn term of 2012 as alternatives to traditional computer rooms laid out in rows with the lecturer positioned at the front. These approaches are: pop-up computers on circular tables in AG24A; and laptop lockers enabling staff to borrow laptops to use with students on node chairs in AG24B. Each of these approaches also supported the use of students’ own devices in learning spaces. These methods were evaluated using surveys, interviews and an open house forum. The report shares the findings and recommendations from this evaluation and future plans for learning spaces

Apparatus for making curved reflectors Patent

Forming mold for polishing and machining curved solar magnesium reflector with reinforcing rib

Method and apparatus for making curved reflectors Patent

Fabrication of curved reflector segments for solar mirro

Process sequence produces strong, lightweight reflectors of excellent quality

Large compound curved surfaces for collecting and concentrating radiation are fabricated by the use of several common machining and forming processes. Lightweight sectors are assembled into large reflectors. With this concept of fabrication, integrally stiffened reflective sectors up to 25 square feet in area have been produced

UK Sugar Beet Farm Productivity Under Different Reform Scenarios: A Farm Level Analysis

The purpose of this paper is to study the effect that the imminent reform in the European Union (EU) sugar regime may have on farm productivity in the United Kingdom (UK). We perform the analysis on a sample of sugar beet farms representative of all the UK sugar beet regions. To estimate the changes in productivity, we estimate a multi-output cost function representing the cropping part of the farm, which is the component that would be mostly affected by the sugar beet reform. We use this cost function to compute the new allocation of outputs and inputs after the changes in the sugar beet quota and price support. This are subsequently used to compute measures of total factor productivity. Our results show slight decreases in the productivity at the individual farm level under both quota and price support reduction. However, when considering the aggregate level, the reduction in the price support shows significant increases in productivity, in contrast to the results obtained from a reduction in quota.EU sugar reform, UK agriculture, UK sugar beet production, multi-output cost function, total factor productivity, Agricultural and Food Policy, Productivity Analysis, Q00, D24,

Atomic Spectroscopic Databases at NIST

We describe recent work at NIST to develop and maintain databases for spectra, transition probabilities, and energy levels of atoms that are astrophysically important. Our programs to critically compile these data as well as to develop a new database to compare plasma calculations for atoms that are not in local thermodynamic equilibrium are also summarized

Seasonal contribution of terrestrial organic matter and biological oxygen demand to the Baltic Sea from three contrasting river catchments

To examine the potential influence of terrestrially derived DOM on the Baltic Sea, a year-long study of dissolved organic matter (DOM) was performed in three river catchments in Sweden. One catchment drains into the Bothnian Sea, while two southern catchments drain into the Baltic proper. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations were positively correlated with discharge from forested catchments over the year. While the overall concentrations of DOC were several times higher in the southern two catchments, higher discharge in the northern catchment resulted in the annual loadings of DOC being on the same order of magnitude for all three catchments. Biological oxygen demand (BOD) was used as a proxy for the lability of carbon in the system. The range of BOD values was similar for all three catchments, however, the ratio of BOD to DOC (an indication of the labile fraction) in Ume river was four times higher than in the southern two catchments. Total annual BOD loading to the Baltic Sea was twice as high in the northern catchment than in the two southern catchments. Lower winter temperatures and preservation of organic matter in the northern catchment combined with an intense spring flood help to explain the higher concentrations of labile carbon in the northern catchment. Lower lability of DOM as well as higher colour in the southern catchments suggest that wetlands (i.e. peat bogs) may be the dominant source of DOM in these catchments, particularly in periods of low flow. With climate change expected to increase precipitation events and temperatures across the region, the supply and quality of DOM delivered to the Baltic Sea can also be expected to change. Our results indicate that DOM supply to the Baltic Sea from boreal rivers will be more stable throughout the year, and potentially have a lower bioavailability

EUV spectra of highly-charged ions W54+^{54+}-W63+^{63+} relevant to ITER diagnostics

We report the first measurements and detailed analysis of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectra (4 nm to 20 nm) of highly-charged tungsten ions W$^{54+}$ to W$^{63+}$ obtained with an electron beam ion trap (EBIT). Collisional-radiative modelling is used to identify strong electric-dipole and magnetic-dipole transitions in all ionization stages. These lines can be used for impurity transport studies and temperature diagnostics in fusion reactors, such as ITER. Identifications of prominent lines from several W ions were confirmed by measurement of isoelectronic EUV spectra of Hf, Ta, and Au. We also discuss the importance of charge exchange recombination for correct description of ionization balance in the EBIT plasma.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure