Everyday data cultures and USB portable flash drives

In this article, we present a deeper understanding of everyday data cultures in regards to personal information management practices. We draw on a study involving 14 in-depth interviews with users of portable hard drives and USB portable flash drives in Melbourne, Australia, to examine participants’ reflections on their management of personal information on USB portable devices. In examining participant use of these devices, we consider how they kept (stored) and organized (arranged) information on these devices. We also examined device and data sharing. We conclude by thinking about their increased use within cross-tool information management, including the nexus of portable hard drive/USB use and cloud storage. The argument of this article is that portable hard drives and USBs, due to their miniaturization, ease of portability, affordability and storage capacity, add considerable complexity to established understandings of personal information management practices.

An Improved Assembly Strategy Helps Parsing the Cryptic Mitochondrial Genome Evolution in Plants

Although plant mitochondrial genomes (mitogenomes) are small, they exhibit considerable complexity not seen in other eukaryotic mitogenomes. Assembly and analysis of plant mitogenomes is hampered by their large variations in structure and size, and the mitogenome remains the last genome to be deciphered in many plant species. As a result, very few plant mitogenomes have been assembled and little is known regarding their evolution. In this study, a strategy was devised for assembly of mitogenomes from existing short reads from whole-genome sequencing projects. The strategy combined current tools and manual steps to resolve the two main challenges to mitogenome assembly: repeat and plastid insertion sequences. High-quality complete mitogenomes were assembled for 23 species from five families of the Fagales. Mitogenomes varied 2.4 times in size. The largest, Carpinus cordata, did not contain large amounts of unique sequences, but instead contained a high proportion of sequences homologous to other Fagales. Further analysis of the Fagales mitogenomes revealed highly mosaic characteristics, with horizonal transfer (HGT)-like sequences identified from almost all seed plant taxa. Independent and unequal transfers of third-party DNA may partially account for the HGT-like fragments and unbalanced size expansions observed in Fagales mitogenomes. Supporting this, a mitochondrial plasmid of nuclear origin was found in Carpinus, and this may represent an intermediate stage prior to incorporation into the mitogenome. The approaches used in this study are widely applicable and provide new insights into the mechanisms of mitogenome evolution in plants.

Willingness to communicate in the L2 about meaningful photos: Application of the pyramid model of WTC

Willingness to communicate (WTC) reflects an intersection between instructed second language acquisition and learner psychology. WTC results from the coordinated interaction among complex processes that prepare second language (L2) learners to choose to use their L2 for authentic communication. Prior research has revealed considerable complexity in the influences on dynamic changes in WTC from moment-to-moment. The heuristic ‘pyramid model’ of WTC (MacIntyre et al., 1998) proposes interactions among approximately 30 different variables that may influence WTC. The present study uses the pyramid model to interpret data from three focal participants, all English as a second language (ESL) learners and international students in Canada, with varying degrees of experience in an English-speaking context. Using the idiodynamic method, all participants were recorded while describing a self-selected, personally meaningful photo. Second, participants rated their WTC in English using software that played a recording of their speech and collected continuous WTC ratings. Finally, participants were interviewed about their WTC ratings. Triangulating the data revealed how processes on multiple timescales interact during L2 communication about the photos. WTC changes as speakers’ motivations and emotions are influenced by the deep, personal relevance of the topics under discussion. Pedagogical implications for the results of this study and the use of the idiodynamic method in L2 classrooms are discussed.

Polar maps of C-band backscatter parameters from the Advanced Scatterometer

Maps of backscatter anisotropy parameters from the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT), a C-band fan-beam scatterometer, contain unique and valuable data characterising the surface and subsurface of various cryospheric elements, including sea ice and ice sheets. The computational expense and considerable complexity required to produce parameter maps from the raw backscatter data inhibits the wider adoption of ASCAT data. Here, backscatter anisotropy parameter maps gridded at a resolution of 12.5 km per pixel are made available to the community in order to facilitate the exploitation of these parameters for cryospheric applications. These maps have been calculated from the EUMETSAT Level 1B sigma0 product acquired from ASCAT on board MetOp-A, MetOp-B and MetOp-C. The dataset is unique in that it prioritises anisotropy characterisation over temporal resolution, and combines ASCAT data from multiple platforms. The parameterisation chosen assumes a linear falloff of backscatter with incidence angle and a 4th order Fourier series parameterisation of azimuth angle anisotropy. The product (Fraser and Cartwright, 2021) is available at https://doi.org/10.26179/5dd60df7469e2 presented on three time scales depending on orbital platform availability: 5-day (2007 to present – MetOp-A only – suitable for users requiring a long time-series), 2-day (2013 to present – MetOp-A and -B), and 1-day resolution (2019 – present – MetOp -A, -B and -C – suitable for users needing both high temporal resolution and detailed anisitropy characterisation).

Covid 19 Contexts Shaping Teaching Practice Discourses: University of Eswatini

This study examines how the Covid 19 Teaching practice contexts elicited the intended professional development principles among the PGCEs’ and BEDS’ four 2020 cohorts at the University of Eswatini. The pedagogical knowledge interaction scheme theoretical framework was used to unpack related concepts. The participants, 23 were sampled through purposive stratified sampling. The semi-semi structured questionnaires and classroom observations were used to collect data. Content analysis was used as a data collecting and analysing tool to analyse and describe the pedagogical discourses within the classroom and institutional contexts. The finding indicated that the mismatch subject arrangement undermined the production of specialised knowledge and alienated some students from their professional engagement and, stifled students’ capabilities to engage into self-reflection. Covid 19 pandemic created complex educational contexts in which incongruent messages related to the fundamental principles of teaching practices were communicated and reinforced. It is concluded that Covid 19 contexts presented a challenge of considerable complexity for the 2020 teaching practice and denied the Trainees the opportunity to learn from experienced teachers or mentors. It is recommended that Coordinators should embrace Covid 19 dynamics in their planning and implementation to protect the teaching practice principles. Key words: Covid 19 contexts, Teaching practice principles

Arbeitnehmerentsendungen im internationalen Ertragsteuerrecht

Secondments form an essential link between domestic and foreign group companies. Thus, the taxation of secondments affects both the employee and employer as well as several tax jurisdictions. This results in a considerable complexity of the taxation of secondments, which in turn creates various tax risks for all parties involved. The thesis systematically presents the taxation consequences of secondments, embeds them in an overarching economic and legal framework, and critically evaluates various norms of national tax law and treaty law.

Underground Structure Inspection in Geological Groundwater Environment Base on Geologic Radar Technology

How to accurately detect the anti-slide pile and the surrounding rock hole is the key to the correct application of the concrete quality treatment method, at the same time, it can ensure the control effect to a certain extent, and make the treatment project more economical and effective. The presence of water in the reinforced concrete layer, coupled with the void shape, and the irregular nature of the water in the hole, may be filled with air, mud, soil and other media factors, so there is considerable complexity. The number of abnormal bodies in the contrast enhancement diagram increases significantly, which is helpful for us to observe the loose area of anti-slide pile. We can find the pixel value corresponding to the feature by detecting the abnormal data of the pile one by one.

Criminal Liability for Knowingly Unlawful Sentence, Decision or Other Judicial Act

Introduction. The publication is devoted to the corpus delicti, provided for by Art. 305 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which, being, in fact, a special type of official abuse, stands out as the direct object of a criminal assault and a special subject, since it can be committed exclusively by professional judges. The main features of the objective and subjective parties, qualifying signs of the offense are revealed, some problems that arise when applying this criminal law are outlined. Purpose. The goal is to analyze the design features of the crime and issues that arise when applying this rule. Methodology. The method of a formal legal analysis of the norms of the criminal law and theoretical provisions on problems directly related to the application of this rule was used. Results. The public danger of a criminal act that undermines the very foundations of justice is obvious, in connection with which it stands out as an independent crime by all the Russian Criminal Codes, starting in 1922, the history of criminal responsibility for its commission can be traced in our country in general since the 16th century. The current criminal law prohibition is characterized by considerable complexity, due to both the blanket nature of the disposition of the norm itself and the presence of discrepancies in the understanding of the signs embodied in it. Conclusion. The implementation of criminal liability for this crime involves the establishment of not only circumstances directly related to the corpus delicti that lie in the criminal law field. The subject of an infringement, a judicial act, must be subjected to procedural review without fail, after which, subject to the consent of the Higher Qualification Collegium of Judges of the Russian Federation, in fact, and the mechanism of criminal prosecution is “launched”. That is, a truly “multi-way” combination of actions is necessary, carried out in several stages, and the problem itself to some extent becomes interdisciplinary, going beyond only criminal law.

Forced Heirship in Italy

Civil law systems do not generally grant testamentary freedom without limitations. Often, the most significant constraints on the freedom to dispose of assets on death derive from legislative provisions that protect the interests of close family members by way of a forced share, even against the wishes of the deceased. These restrictions can be more or less extensive. In the case of Italy, they are significant, both in terms of how little the testator can sometimes freely dispose of, whether on death or during her lifetime, and in terms of the limited degree of autonomy with which she can modify or reduce the forced share in the estate and enter into agreements with those entitled to a forced share. This chapter provides an historical overview of forced heirship in Italy and examines its main features as well as the mechanisms that are in place to protect forced shares. It evaluates the various proposals to reform forced heirship, including proposals to abolish forced heirship altogether, none of which have been implemented. It argues that Italian law in this area is in an unsatisfactory state, for not only do forced heirship provisions impinge on a person’s freedom of testation and her freedom to make gratuitous transfers during her lifetime, they also affect the interests of donees and other third parties, ultimately hampering the free movement of goods. What is more, the provisions that are in place, including those on the calculation of the forced share and on anti-avoidance, are of considerable complexity. A reform of this area of law is therefore highly desirable.

Edward Angle (1855 to 1930) ... the father of modern Orthodontics

A man of considerable complexity, Edward Angle combined a fierce determination to achieve perfection with an uncompromising demand that all those around him should also be imbued with the same commitment. It was a combination that enabled Angle to become an icon in Dentistry, for he is widely regarded as the father of modern Orthodontics and his concepts and appliances still provide the foundation for much of the discipline today. He was born in Herrick, Pennsylvania on June 1st 1855. Abandoning the option to continue the family tradition of farming, the young Angle apprenticed himself to a dentist, then enrolled as a student in the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. He developed an abiding interest in the challenges of malocclusion and became known for his innovative views on corrective treatment. Appointed as teacher in Orthodontics at St Louis and Washington Universities where the subject was a minor component of the Department of Prosthetics, he became convinced that the discipline warranted separate educational facilities. That became a lifelong objective and indeed resulted in the first institution devoted exclusively to the teaching of Orthodontics... recognised by the State of California in 1924 and designated as The Edward H Angle College of Orthodontia.