The Auer and Herzog collections: Two encyclopaedic projects in Switzerland

Abstract

‘Made in Switzerland. The Photography Collections of the Swiss Confederation’ was an exhibition organized by the Swiss Federal Office of Culture and hosted by the Musee de l'Elysee in Lausanne in 1997. The exhibition officially confIrmed that the Swiss are at last beginning to recognize the value of their national photographic heritage. Official efforts concerning the conservation of photographs have until recently consisted of the preservation of architectural documents by the Federal Archive for the Protection of Monuments in Bern and of the rather limited activities of the Swiss Foundation of Photography, located in Zurich since 1971, which has primarily focused on professional reportage. Two private collectors, however, have been discreetly active for over three decades amassing thousands of photographs, albums, cameras, and books on photography, thus safeguarding material that might have been lost or destroyed due to the general lack of interest shown by public institutions. Michele and Michel Auer, two photography encyclopaedists living in Hermance on Lake Geneva, and Ruth and Peter Herzog in Basle have assembled the two largest private photography collections in Switzerland. But whereas collecting is an extension of the professional work of the Auers, Ruth Herzog-Wyss, a book dealer, and Peter Herzog, a lawyer and art expert, are amateur collectors.     

CSCL for intellectually disabled pupils: Stimulating interaction by using a floor control mechanism

Computer-supported collaborative learning has an unexploited potential of becoming an effective learning method for pupils with intellectual disabilities. This paper aims at showing how some specific requirements of this target group may be met by structuring a learning situation with the help of floor control, which restricts the opportunities of a learning dyad to act simultaneously within the learning environment. It was expected that floor control could improve communication between pupils with intellectual disabilities by explicitly structuring and restricting activities in the learning environment and making it necessary for the pupils to communicate. To examine if floor control really supports the collaboration process in the hypothesized way, two different versions of a CSCL environment were implemented and compared. The results revealed improved task-related communication and a higher quality of interaction outcomes.     

The inverse problem in granulation modeling—Two different statistical approaches

This article is concerned with parameter estimation for a multidimensional population balance model for granulation. Experimental results were obtained by running a laboratory mixer with sodium carbonate and aqueous polyethylene glycol solutions. Subsequently, a prescan of suitable parameter combinations utilising the experimental results is performed, and a local surrogate model constructed around the best combination. For the actual estimation of the parameters and their uncertainties two different approaches are applied—a projection method and a Bayesian approach. It is found that the model predictions with the parameters obtained through both methods are similar. Furthermore, the uncertainties in the model predictions increase as the experimental uncertainties are increased. Studies of the marginal densities of two‐parameter combinations obtained through the Bayesian approach show a correlation between the collision and breakage rate constant, giving potential hints for further model development. Furthermore, a bimodal distribution of the compaction rate constant is observed. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2011     

The letter of recommendation effect in informant ratings of personality.

In most studies using informant reports of personality, the informants are recruited by the targets. Such informants may tend to like the targets and thus portray them in specific ways (e.g., too positively). Study 1 (N = 403) demonstrated the necessity to distinguish between “liking” and “knowing” in studying the relationships between informants and targets. Informants who liked their targets better described them more positively (i.e., as being more extraverted, agreeable, open, conscientious, and less neurotic). The association between personality ratings and liking was moderated by item evaluativeness. Liked targets were also described as being more similar to each other (range restriction), which would lower correlations of informant ratings of personality with external variables. Study 2 (N = 90) used a within-subjects design to disentangle actual personality differences between targets (substance) from the informants’ specific views on the targets (style). Ninety informants were asked to nominate targets they did not like. These targets then nominated informants of their own choice. Target-nominated informants liked the targets very much and described the targets’ personalities very positively and in ways that were highly redundant with the average target’s self-rating. There was evidence that lower liking may be associated with better accuracy. Higher subjective levels of knowing were not associated with better interrater agreement but with a greater willingness to describe targets negatively. Implications for the field of recruiting are discussed. Where possible, the choice of informants and referees should be made independent of the targets’ preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Me-DLC films as material for highly sensitive temperature compensated strain gauges

In technical applications strain gauges are widely used. Apart from conventional polymer foil based strain gauges that are glued to the work piece surface, sputtered strain gauges are already commercially used in special applications. Those sputter strain gauges are typically made of NiCr alloy and the sensor layer is as sensitive to strain as the ones used in the glued strain gauges with a gauge factor of 2, but neglecting problems of creeping and swelling of the involved polymer materials. Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films offer significantly higher strain sensitivity, but usually they are also very sensitive to temperature effects. Using metal doped diamond-like carbon (Me-DLC), higher strain sensitivity than conventional metal based systems, in combination with thermal compensation, is possible. The influence of different process parameters on the gauge factor and temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of DLC and Me-DLC films produced in industrial sputtering systems was investigated. Gauge factors up to 13 in combination with a high negative TCR in the range of a few thousand ppm/K were reached with sputtered DLC films. The substrate bias voltage in particular showed a strong influence on the resulting gauge factor of the films. For Me-DLC films different deposition methods (dc and rf sputtering) and various doping metals (Ag, Ni, Ti, and W) were investigated. Using dc sputtering of the Me-DLC films only Ni-DLC showed gauge factors slightly higher than 2. Furthermore, only for Ni-DLC zero crossing of the TCR was observed by variation of the metal content. Using rf excitation especially Ni-DLC films showed gauge factors exceeding values of 15 in combination with a TCR close to zero.     

Are supplementary services provided during methadone maintenance really cost-effective?

OBJECTIVE: Previous research has suggested that support services supplementing methadone maintenance programs vary in their cost-effectiveness. This study examined the cost-effectiveness of varying levels of supplementary support services to determine whether the relative cost-effectiveness of alternative levels of support is sustained over time. METHOD: A group of 100 methadone-maintained opiate users were randomly assigned to three treatment groups receiving different levels of support services during a 24-week clinical trial. One group received methadone treatment with a minimum of counseling, the second received methadone plus more intensive counseling, and the third received methadone plus enhanced counseling, medical, and psychosocial services. The results at the end of the trial period have been published elsewhere. This article reports the results of an analysis at a 6-month follow-up. RESULTS: The follow-up analysis reaffirmed the preliminary findings that the methadone plus counseling level provided the most cost-effective implementation of the treatment program. At 12 months, the annual cost per abstinent client was $16,485, $9,804, and $11,818 for the low, intermediate, and high levels of support, respectively. Abstinence rates were highest, but modestly so, for the group receiving the high-intensity, high-cost methadone with enhanced services intervention. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that large amounts of support to methadone-maintained clients are not cost-effective, but it also demonstrates that moderate amounts of support are better than minimal amounts. As funding for these programs is reduced, these findings suggest a floor below which supplementary support should not fall.     

Policies to support renewable energies in the heat market

Whereas the contribution from renewable energies in the electrical power market is increasing rapidly, similar progress in the heat market is yet to be made. A prerequisite for progress is the development of innovative support instruments that transcend the usual support through public subsidies or tax reductions. We present an overview of the various classes of possible instruments. Some particularly interesting instruments will be selected and evaluated, comparing them qualitatively and quantitatively for the case of Germany. The most favourable model is found to be a new, allocation-financed¹ model known as the Bonus Model. This model will be described in more detail.     

Rod outer segment maintenance is enhanced in the presence of bFGF, CNTF and GDNF

We employed a morphological assay of outer segment collapse to determine if growth factors or other supplements directly affect dissociated rod photoreceptors in vitro. The morphological changes in outer segments were correlated with the light responsiveness of rods. Time-lapse video microscopy was used to observe the collapse of rod outer segments from isolated single cells and small clumps of cells. A consistent pattern of outer segment collapse into the inner segment was observed, yielding a convenient assay of the effects of neurotrophic factors on photoreceptor functional maintenance. The functional state of rods, defined as light-responsiveness, was measured with suction electrode recordings and matched with the various stages of outer segment collapse. Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and glial cell-line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) at a high concentration, yielded statistically significant improvements in rat outer segment survival times. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), which rescues photoreceptors in several rodent models of retinal degeneration, produced a significant increase in survival time in the presence of the cofactor heparin. In 4 out of 10 cases using human tisue, bFGF also yielded a significant increase in survival times. When brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was applied to rat rods, outer segment survival times did not change. Outer segments collapsed more quickly when either pigment epithelial cell derived factor (PEDF) or sugar N-acetyl D-galactosamine (NAD-gal) were present. Our results show that rod photoreceptors can respond to bFGF, GDNF and CNTF in vitro and provide evidence for a direct effect of these neurotrophic factors on rods. The rapid collapse of isolated photoreceptors in this model provides a convenient means for testing various neurotrophic agents and the induced cellular responses.