A rarefaction-tracking method for hyperbolic conservation laws

We present a numerical method for scalar conservation laws in one space dimension. The solution is approximated by local similarity solutions. While many commonly used approaches are based on shocks, the presented method uses rarefaction and compression waves. The solution is represented by particles that carry function values and move according to the method of characteristics. Between two neighboring particles, an interpolation is defined by an analytical similarity solution of the conservation law. An interaction of particles represents a collision of characteristics. The resulting shock is resolved by merging particles so that the total area under the function is conserved. The method is variation diminishing, nevertheless, it has no numerical dissipation away from shocks. Although shocks are not explicitly tracked, they can be located accurately. We present numerical examples, and outline specific applications and extensions of the approach.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures. Similarity 2008 conference proceeding

Vote buying or (political) business (cycles) as usual?

We study the short-run effect of elections on monetary aggregates in a sample of 85 low and middle income democracies (1975-2009). We find an increase in the growth rate of M1 during election months of about one tenth of a standard deviation. A similar effect can neither be detected in established OECD democracies nor in other months. The effect is larger in democracies with many poor and uneducated voters, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and in East-Asia and the Pacific. We argue that the election month monetary expansion is related to systemic vote buying which requires significant amounts of cash to be disbursed right before elections. The finely timed increase in M1 is consistent with this; is inconsistent with a monetary cycle aimed at creating an election time boom; and it cannot be, fully, accounted for by alternative explanations

Polymorphs and hydrates of acyclovir

Acyclovir (ACV) has been commonly used as an antiviral for decades. Although the crystal structure of the commercial form, a 3:2 ACV/water solvate, has been known since 1980s, investigation into the structure of anhydrous ACV has been limited. Here, we report the characterization of four anhydrous forms of ACV and a new hydrate in addition to the known hydrate. Two of the anhydrous forms appear as small needles and are stable to air exposure, whereas the third form is morphologically similar but quickly absorbs water from the atmosphere and converts back to the commercial form. The high-temperature modification is achieved by heating anhydrous form I above 180°C. The crystal structures of anhydrous form I and a novel hydrate are reported for the first time. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 100:949–963, 2011Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79417/1/22336_ftp.pd

Lessons to Be Learned: Political Party Research and Political Party Assistance

Generally speaking, the effects of international political party assistance are viewed nega-tively, or at least controversially. This study attributes some of the shortcomings of political party aid to the poor relationship between assistance providers and political science party research. They simply operate in different worlds. Party assistance lacks clear-cut concepts and strategies in practice, which makes it difficult to adequately evaluate it. At issue is its 'standard method,' with its 'transformative' intention to change the party organization of the assistance receivers. At the same time, the scholarship on political parties can provide only limited help to assistance providers due to its own conceptual and methodological re-strictions, such as the Western European bias underlying its major concepts, the predominance of a functionalist approach, and the scant empirical research on political parties outside of Europe and the US. Taking a cue from recent political party research, we could begin to question the overarching role of political parties in the transition and consolidation proc-ess of new democracies. Other research findings emphasize the coexistence of different types of party organizations, and the possibility of different organizational developments, which might all be consistent with consolidating democracy. All this suggests the necessity of abandoning the controversial aim of the 'transformative impact' of political party aid.Die Wirksamkeit der internationalen Parteienförderung wird als wenig effektiv beurteilt - auch wenn dieses Urteil umstritten ist. Ein Grund für die Schwierigkeiten der Parteienförderung wird hier in den kaum vorhandenen Beziehungen zwischen Parteienförderern und der Parteienforschung gesehen, die weitgehend isoliert voneinander arbeiten. Der Parteienförderung fehlen klare Konzepte und Strategien, die eine angemessene Evaluierung ihrer Aktivitäten erlauben würden. Ein Grundproblem ist ihre so genannte 'Standardmethode' mit ihrem 'Transformationsziel', dem zufolge die Organisation der Empfängerpartei verändert werden soll. Zugleich kann die Parteienforschung aufgrund ihrer eigenen Wissensgrenzen bisher nur beschränkt Hilfe anbieten. Dazu zählen der westeuropäische Bias ihrer zentralen Konzepte, die Dominanz des funktionalistischen Ansatzes und die noch immer geringen empirischen Forschungsergebnisse zu Parteien außerhalb Europas und der USA. Jüngste Forschungsergebnisse lassen vermuten, dass die Rolle der Parteien im Transitions- und Konsolidierungsprozess überschätzt wurde, andere betonen die gleichzeitige Koexistenz ganz unterschiedlicher Parteitypen und die Möglichkeit unterschiedlicher Organisationsentwicklung, was letztlich zur Konsolidierung von Demokratie führen kann. All dies legt schließlich nahe, das grundlegende Transformationsziel der Parteienförderung aufzugeben

U.S. URBAN POLICY: THE POSTWAR STATE AND CAPITALIST REGULATION

What is the precise legacy of federal urban policy? How does it fit into the broader political economy? What causes it to change in terms of its form, content and socio-spatial effects? These are some of the questions addressed in this paper. In the following, we provide a theoreticize