Globally, twenty-seven countries have resettlement programs associated with UNHCR - representing commitments to the international refugee framework and domestic commitments to those refugees resettled. Since 1975, the US has resettled over three million refugees, including over 75,000 Bhutanese refugees since 2008 - more than all other countries combined on both accounts. The US Office of Refugee Resettlement has the mandate to 'make available sufficient resources for employment training and placement in order to achieve economic self-sufficiency among refugees as quickly as possible' (The Refugee Act of 1980). Nevertheless, their economic self-sufficiency and the intertwined ideas of employment and wellbeing remain little examined. A global systematic review of available high-quality evidence examined whether interventions affect resettled refugees' economic self-sufficiency and wellbeing. Although 9,260 citations were reviewed from a wide variety of academic, policy, and grey literature, no studies met inclusion criteria. This Campbell-registered systematic review concludes that evidence is insufficient to determine if programs affect resettled refugees' economic self-sufficiency and wellbeing. Subsequently, qualitative research explored existing interventions to improve the economic self-sufficiency of resettled refugees, their theories of change, and perceptions of effectiveness in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Program design follows a policy mandate and expects that initial employment leads to sustained self-sufficiency and wellbeing, albeit without measuring these outcomes or providing long-term assistance. The findings serve as a basis for future research and reveal programming implications for the Bhutanese refugee community in Pittsburgh and broadly for refugee resettlement. Next, a cross-sectional survey of 145 randomly selected Bhutanese refugees in Pittsburgh (a response rate of 92.9%) was conducted to provide groundbreaking demographics, rates of economic self-sufficiency, and correlates with improved outcomes. The population was overwhelmingly low-income with high usage of certain assistance such as food assistance. Both bivariate relationships and predictive models for employment, gross income, wages, assistance usage, and having 'enough' money to pay the bills were examined. Overall, these paint a complex picture, including the potential importance of neighborhoods, household size, and religious affiliation as well as a more typical picture of the importance of gender, education levels, and time in the country for certain measures of employment, earnings, and household self-sufficiency. The evidence-based perspective on the economic self-sufficiency of resettled refugees shows that little is known globally, including the potential for interventions to cause harm or success. Understanding the employment services and perspectives of economic self-sufficiency and wellbeing for the Bhutanese population provides a lens to view not only the challenges and successes of this population, but also national and international obligations. As one focus group participant stated, 'Government should understand the nature of the refugees arriving and put us with jobs that ... allow the life to sustain.'

My Eyes Due See is a multidimensional examination of the “black experience” in America. The installation is composed of a single-channel video, a music composition that utilizes music samples and live instrumentation, and sculptures made up of car parts and broomsedge grass. Each of these elements arranged in space share a nuanced and complicated view of blackness through the lens of a black man decoding personal history and American history simultaneously. Autonomy is the overarching theme throughout the work as it pertains to race, identity, urban and rural environments, and the relationship between generational trauma and nostalgia.

教廷與中華民國之外交關係 （一九四二年至二○一二年）: 歷史、挑戰與前景 / Diplomatic relations between the Republic of China (ROC) and the Holy See were established in 1942. However, after a devastating civil war, the Chinese Communists gained control of Mainland China in 1949 and established the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Beijing. As a consequence, the Nationalist government of the ROC was forced to move from Nanking to Taipei, Taiwan. The Papal representative continued to remain at his post but the Communist government expelled him in 1951. In the following year, the Holy See decided to relocate its Apostolic Nunciature to Taipei and maintain its ties with the ROC. The tensions in the Strait between the two Chinese governments have put the Sino-Vatican relations to several tests. Indeed, the Vatican desires to normalize its relations with the PRC but is also confronted with two major issues imposed by Beijing which requests the direction of the Catholic Church in China and the end of the Holy See’s recognition of Taipei. It would strike a serious blow to Taipei if the Supreme government of the Catholic Church decides to break off diplomatic relations. It will also create a fragile position for Taiwan on the international diplomatic stage since the Holy See, at present, is the only European ally to officially recognize the ROC government. The relations of the Holy See with Taiwan are characterized by a mutually productive and cooperative partnership, especially in the promotion of human rights, culture, world peace and advocacy of religious freedom and alleviation of global poverty. This thesis aims to clarify the triangular situation between the Vatican, the ROC and the PRC and to show the challenges as well as the dilemmas the Holy See is confronted with in order to normalize its relations with China. First, this study explains the international status of the Holy See and its specific mission. Then, through a diachronic analysis, this thesis traces the evolution of Sino-Vatican relations to later on identify the difficulties the Holy See has to face across the Taiwan Strait. Then, it will analyze the efforts of Pope Benedict XVI to initiate a rapprochement with China and all the issues that have to be solved before negotiating any diplomatic ties. Based on this analysis, this thesis will show that the PRC and the Holy See are still at a stalemate and that the Vatican won’t move its Nunciature from Taipei in the foreseeable future.

The labyrinth seal is a non-contact annular type sealing device used to reduce the internal leakage of the working fluid which is caused by the pressure difference between each stage in a turbomachine. Reducing the leakage mass flow rate of the working fluid through the labyrinth seal is desirable because it improves the efficiency of the turbomachine. The carry-over coefficient, based on the divergence angle of the jet, changed with flow parameters with fixed seal geometry while earlier models expressed the carry-over coefficient solely as a function of seal geometry. For both compressible and incompressible flows, the Reynolds number based on clearance was the only flow parameter which could influence the carry-over coefficient. In the case of incompressible flow based on the simulations for various seal geometries and operating conditions, for a given Reynolds number, the carry-over coefficient strongly depended on radial clearance to tooth width ratio. Moreover, in general, the lower the Reynolds number, the larger is the divergence angle of the jet and this results in a smaller carry-over coefficient at lower Reynolds numbers. However, during transition from laminar to turbulent, the carry-over coefficient reduced initially and once the Reynolds number attained a critical value, the carry-over coefficient increased again. In the case of compressible flow, the carry-over coefficient had been slightly increased if radial clearance to tooth width ratio and radial clearance to tooth pitch ratio were increased. Further, the carry-over coefficient did not considerably change if only radial clearance to tooth width ratio was decreased. The discharge coefficient for compressible and incompressible flows depended only on the Reynolds number based on clearance. The discharge coefficient of the tooth in a single cavity labyrinth seal was equivalent to that in a multiple tooth labyrinth seal indicating that flow downstream had negligible effect on the discharge coefficient. In particular, for compressible fluid under certain flow and seal geometric conditions, the discharge coefficient did not increase with an increase in the Reynolds number. It was correlated to the pressure ratio, Pr. Moreover, it was also related to the fact that the flow of the fluid through the constriction became compressible and the flow eventually became choked. At low pressure ratios (less than 0.7), Saikishan’s incompressible model deviated from CFD simulation results. Hence, the effects of compressibility became significant and both the carry-over coefficient compressibility factor and the discharge coefficient compressibility factor needed to be considered and included into the leakage model. The carry-over coefficient compressibility factor, phi, had two linear relationships with positive and negative slopes regarding the pressure ratios. This result was not associated with the seal geometry because the seal geometry ratios for each instance were located within the nearly same ranges. Further, the phi-Pr relationship was independent of the number of teeth regardless of single and multiple cavity labyrinth seals. The discharge coefficient compressibility factor, psi, was a linear relationship with pressure ratios across the tooth as Saikishan predicted. However, in certain flow and seal geometric conditions, Saikishan’s model needed to be modified for the deviation appearing when the pressure ratios were decreased. Hence, a modified psi-Pr relationship including Saikishan’s model was presented in order to compensate for the deviation between the simulations and his model.

Das Ziel der Arbeit „The Technological improvement of Portuguese pinewood by chemical modification” bestand darin, die Charakteristiken des Holzes der See-Kiefer (Pinus pinaster Ait.) und den Einfluss der chemischen Modifizierung hinsichtlich des Widerstandes gegen Meeresorganismen, sowie ihrer physikalischen und mechanischen Eigenschaften zu untersuchen. Vier Modifizierungstypen wurden getestet: 1,3-Dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethylen-Harnstoff (DMDHEU), N-Methylol-Melamine (MMF), Tetra-alkoxysilane (TEOS) und Wachs. Diese Arbeit besteht aus zwei Teilen: eine vorläufige und eine Haupt-Studie. In ersterer wurde eine Vielzahl von Materialeigenschaften untersucht - physikalische und mechanische Eigenschaften und ihre Wechselwirkungen. Besonderes Augenmerk wurde auf die Resistenz gegenüber Meeresorganismen gelegt, wobei die Rolle der Härte, der Form der Proben sowie der Toxizität der Chemikalien untersucht wurde. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurde eine ausführliche Studie zum Thema Kriechen durchgeführt. Art und Grad der Modifizierung wurden in Abhängigkeit von der Belastung, von verschiedenen Umgebungsbedingungen und vom mechano-sorptiven Effekt evaluiert. Obwohl die Steifigkeit nicht signifikant verschieden war, traten Unterschiede in den anderen Eigenschaften auf. Einerseits waren die Anti-Quellungs-Effizienz und Steifigkeit-Stabilisierung erhöht. Andererseits waren die Bruchschlagarbeit und die Gleichgewichtsfeuchte signifikant durch Zellwand-Modifizierung (DMDHEU und MMF-Harz) reduziert, wobei eine enge Wechselbeziehung zwischen letzteren Variablen beobachtet wurde. Unter hohem Belastungsgrad oder unter dem Einfluss des mechano-sorptiven Effekts war für das modifizierte Holz mit Zellwandreaktion (DMDHEU and MMF) das Ausmaß des Kriechens geringer als das des unmodifiziertem Holzes. Für beide Arten von Harz wurde das relative Kriechen deutlich verringert, trotz unterschiedlicher Veränderungen in der Ausgleichsfeuchte, Steifigkeit Stabilisierung und Festigkeit. Die Anti-Kriech-Effizienz zeigte eine enge Korrelation mit der Abnahme der Gleichgewichtsfeuchte, der Anti-Quell-Effizienz und der Steifigkeits-Stabilisationseffizienz. Die lumen-füllende Modifizierung mit TEOS-Lösung hatte weder einen Einfluss auf den Kriech-Faktor noch auf die Gleichgewichtsfeuchte und die Steifigkeits-Stabilisationseffizienz. Bei den Meerwasseruntersuchungen waren die wichtigsten Schlussfolgerungen, dass die Härte und die Form der Proben keinen Einfluss auf die Resistenz gegenüber einem Befall durch die Meerwasser-Bohrschädlinge (Limnoriden und Terediniden) haben. Lumen-füllende Modifizierungen (TEOS und Wachs) hatten keine Wirkung hinsichtlich der Resistenz gegen Meerwasser-Bohrschädlinge. Hölzer, die mit Kondensationsharzen (DMDHEU und MMF) modifiziert waren, waren von einem Befall mit Limnoriden nicht betroffen. Aber nur DMDHEU mit einem Minimum an Modifizierung war geeignet, um einen Befall durch Terediniden über eine Expositionsdauer von 3 Jahren zu verhindern. Die Verwendung von modifiziertem Holz als Baumaterial für nicht-tragende Bauteile wie Anwendungen in Feuchträumen, Wandfassaden oder Gartenmöbeln ist bekannt. Diese Untersuchung unterstützt die Ausweitung seiner Anwendung für tragende Bauteile, besonders wenn das Design durch die Möglichkeit von Deformation bestimmt wird, die seine Funktionsfähigkeit einschränkt. Deshalb müssen das Versprödungsverhalten, insbesondere bei der Zellwand-Modifizierung mit DMDHEU, und die Designmöglichkeiten für mechanische Verbindungen bestimmt werden, um die Anwendungsmöglichkeiten des modifizierten Holzes als tragende Komponente auszuweiten, bei denen oft der Grenzzustand der Tragfähigkeit das Design der strukturellen Komponenten bestimmt.

Diss. Univ. Genève. / Ed. commerciale de la thèse de Genève, 2007. Bibliogr.

This paper attempts to develop a mathematically rigid and unified framework for neural spatial interaction modeling. Families of classical neural network models, but also less classical ones such as product unit neural network ones are considered for the cases of unconstrained and singly constrained spatial interaction flows. Current practice appears to suffer from least squares and normality assumptions that ignore the true integer nature of the flows and approximate a discrete-valued process by an almost certainly misrepresentative continuous distribution. To overcome this deficiency we suggest a more suitable estimation approach, maximum likelihood estimation under more realistic distributional assumptions of Poisson processes, and utilize a global search procedure, called Alopex, to solve the maximum likelihood estimation problem. To identify the transition from underfitting to overfitting we split the data into training, internal validation and test sets. The bootstrapping pairs approach with replacement is adopted to combine the purity of data splitting with the power of a resampling procedure to overcome the generally neglected issue of fixed data splitting and the problem of scarce data. In addition, the approach has power to provide a better statistical picture of the prediction variability, Finally, a benchmark comparison against the classical gravity models illustrates the superiority of both, the unconstrained and the origin constrained neural network model versions in terms of generalization performance measured by Kullback and Leibler's information criterion.

Modelling and simulation are essential to modern research in cell biology. This thesis follows a journey starting from the construction of new stochastic methods for discrete biochemical systems to using them to simulate a population of interacting haematopoietic stem cell lineages. The first part of this thesis is on discrete stochastic methods. We develop two new methods, the stochastic extrapolation framework and the Stochastic Bulirsch-Stoer methods. These are based on the Richardson extrapolation technique, which is widely used in ordinary differential equation solvers. We believed that it would also be useful in the stochastic regime, and this turned out to be true. The stochastic extrapolation framework is a scheme that admits any stochastic method with a fixed stepsize and known global error expansion. It can improve the weak order of the moments of these methods by cancelling the leading terms in the global error. Using numerical simulations, we demonstrate that this is the case up to second order, and postulate that this also follows for higher order. Our simulations show that extrapolation can greatly improve the accuracy of a numerical method. The Stochastic Bulirsch-Stoer method is another highly accurate stochastic solver. Furthermore, using numerical simulations we find that it is able to better retain its high accuracy for larger timesteps than competing methods, meaning it remains accurate even when simulation time is speeded up. This is a useful property for simulating the complex systems that researchers are often interested in today. The second part of the thesis is concerned with modelling a haematopoietic stem cell system, which consists of many interacting niche lineages. We use a vectorised tau-leap method to examine the differences between a deterministic and a stochastic model of the system, and investigate how coupling niche lineages affects the dynamics of the system at the homeostatic state as well as after a perturbation. We find that larger coupling allows the system to find the optimal steady state blood cell levels. In addition, when the perturbation is applied randomly to the entire system, larger coupling also results in smaller post-perturbation cell fluctuations compared to non-coupled cells. In brief, this thesis contains four main sets of contributions: two new high-accuracy discrete stochastic methods that have been numerically tested, an improvement that can be used with any leaping method that introduces vectorisation as well as how to use a common stepsize adapting scheme, and an investigation of the effects of coupling lineages in a heterogeneous population of haematopoietic stem cell niche lineages.

These are the abstracts of the oral presentations of the 6th PhD conference held on 10. June 2022 in Freiberg.

[pt] Esta pesquisa procura apresentar os elementos básicos da qual se compõe uma Teologia Fundamental latino-americana. Tal teologia tenciona explicitar os desafios específicos da Revelação de Deus em seu contexto, marcado pela opressão e exclusão, mas também por uma teologia que busca a libertação. No presente trabalho serão investigados a Teologia Fundamental, enquanto disciplina teológica que procura justificar a automanifestação de Deus na história; o conceito de Revelação, como conteúdo daquela teologia, compreendido a partir dos desafios da Modernidade e das intuições do Concílio Vaticano II; e a Teologia da Libertação latino-americana, enquanto perspectiva que compreende a revelação a partir do excluídos. Através de uma inter-relação entre as questões abordadas, a pesquisa buscará apontar as principais características de uma Teologia Fundamental em perspectiva latino-americana: primeiro, em relação ao papel dos pobres, seja enquanto lugar social, lugar hermenêutico ou lugar teológico; segundo, em relação às particularidades de uma Teologia Fundamental latino-americana, na qual destaca-se o reconhecimento de que Deus se manifesta também na história presente, a centralidade da opção preferencial pelos pobres, a necessidade do método ver, julgar e agir, a singularidade da identidade eclesial libertadora, bem como a relevância de um fazer teológico dialogal, crítico, plural e transdisciplinar, e a constituição de um modelo de Teologia Fundamental latino-americano centrado na libertação. Uma Teologia Fundamental latino-americana é, portanto, uma reflexão sobre a historicização do Reinado de Deus nos excluídos, e tal revelação só pode ser percebida e descrita com eles, a partir deles e neles, tendo em vista sua libertação. / [en] This research aims to present elements that make up a Latin American Fundamental Theology. Such theology intends to explain the challenges of the Revelation of God in its context, marked not only by oppression and exclusion but also by a theology that pursues liberation. Fundamental Theology is investigated further as a discipline that seeks to justify the self-manifestation of God in history; the concept of Revelation, conceived from the challenges of Modernity and the intuitions of the Second Vatican Council; and Latin American Liberation Theology, as a perspective that understands Revelation from the point of view of the excluded. Through an interrelationship among the issues addressed, the research will seek to point out the main characteristics of a Fundamental Theology from a Latin American perspective: first, concerning the role of the poor, whether as a social place, hermeneutic place, or theological place; second, regarding the particularities of a Latin American Fundamental Theology, in which the recognition that God is present in history, the centrality of the preferential option for the poor, the need for the See, Judge, and Act Methodology, the uniqueness of the liberating ecclesial identity, along with the relevance of dialogical, critical, plural and transdisciplinary theological practice, and the constitution of a Latin American model of Fundamental Theology focused on liberation. A Latin American Fundamental Theology is, therefore, a reflection on the historicization of the Reign of God through excluded that can be recognized and described with them, from them, and in them, aiming for their liberation.