Four tips for Dealing with Tuk Tuk Drivers

The Tuk Tuk (wiki’s definition: a motorcycle with a cabin attached to the rear), as you are aware, is a viable alternative of transportation in Phnom Penh, only second to 'Moto' (aka Motorcycle) in terms of price. I always wonder where the word Tuk Tuk comes from. But let's not discuss it for now.

I would like to propose you four Principles tips in dealing with Tuk Tuk drivers:

1. Bargain first, then ride. There is no fixed price and there's no meter. If you ride first and pay later, be prepared to pay more.
   
2. When you give the address and they say "yes", that does not always mean that they understand and know where to go. "Yes" is more like an expression of "I agree to take you into my Tuk Tuk". So make sure that they get your point. They are equipped with map, so you can point your destination in their map. Visual is always better than verbal.
   
3. The average price (distant or near within the city center) is 1.5 dollar. I heard some people can get 1 dollar, but they speak Khmer.
   
4. A moving Tuk Tuk is generally cheaper than a stopping Tuk Tuk. There is probably a behavioral economics explanation to this, but my evidence so far is anecdotal :)
   
   

Picture: inside a Tuk Tuk

Past mid-night thought

This is my twit last night which I compile for a blog post. I do this for a longer shelf life note:

I can't sleep, I can't forget about the ojek/moto riders who are still outside. They don't dare to go home until they have enough dollars to feed their family tomorrow. I keep remembering about a little boy I met on the street who was eating from a box of food trashed by other people. I can't help to think about the skinny lady and little girl outside.. That little girl must go to school at 7am and every night she sells souvenirs till late. That skinny lady don't seem to have any assets to sell, nor skill to offer. She begged, I think she has the right to do so.

While I am enjoying this comfortable bed and warm blanket, I wonder how do they sleep? Did they fill their tummy well at dinner time? What will they tell their wives and children when they get home? Where do they sleep?

Allah please take care of them. You are the creator, the caretaker, the master of all os us.

Blog readers, do we deserve what we enjoy? Do you realy think we get what we have because we work hard? I think they work harder. We are just luckier. And luck don't come for free, I have d responsibility to give back..,to those ojek/moto riders, beggars..what have I done for them so far? ...

My best friend told me it is not right to feel guilty with the blessings I get because others don't get the same. I keep confronting my self with that statement. But I keep feeling bad about these people. Then I realize what I really feel bad about; I feel bad because.. given this abundant blessings, I haven't give forward to people who are not so lucky as I am. At least not yet enough to make me feel fulfilled.

If I could, I want to spend the rest of my career; feeding the hungry, giving the needy, teaching the uneducated, loving the insecure, employ the poor..That's just my soul, my call, my passion, what I believe as the reason why I was born in this world.

Dear Allah, kindly give me the strenght, courage and patience to answer this call, in your most appropriate time :)

Love, mulia.

Daftar Beberapa Publikasi Terakhir Yang Tersedia Online

Untuk teman teman yang tertarik mendalami persoalan air, berikut saya sertakan daftar artikel op-ed, conference paper dan peer reviewed journal terkini yang dapat diakses secara cuma cuma lewat internet.

Op-eds

1. Ultimate Risks of Water Privatizations, The Jakarta Post, May 17^th, 2007
2. Access to water is a fundamental human rights, The Jakarta Post, July 10^th2007 
3. Coastal Management Law Review, The Jakarta Post, April 15^th , 2008
4. Water Services Transparency, The Jakarta Post, March 20, 2009
5. The Need for Clarification on HP-3 Rights, The Jakarta Post, May 14^th, 2009
6. Bringing Patients to Court May Not be Efficient, The Jakarta Post, June 15, 2009
7. Can Public Service Law be Applied to Private Sector?, The Jakarta Post, July 14, 2009
8. Indonesia Needs a Strong Water Services Law, The Jakarta Post, August 31, 2009
9. The Trap of Legal Formalities and Legal Rethoric, The Jakarta Post, November 24, 2009
10. RI’s Water Services Suffering from a lack of Governance, The Jakarta Post, March 30, 2010
11. Constitutional Court Election Scandal: Forgery or a Serious Crime? The Jakarta Post, 11 October, 2011
12. When It Comes to Water Services, Jakarta Is Living in the Distant Past, The Jakarta Globe, October 16, 2011

Workshops/Conference Papers

1. Safeguarding Water Contracts in Indonesia, Workshop on the “Legal Aspects of Water Sector Reform”, organised by the International Environmental Law Research Center (IELRC), Geneva, 20-21^st of April 2007. Proceedings available at http://www.ielrc.org/activities/workshop_0704/index.htmWorld Water Week Seminar: ‘Human Rights Based Approach to Improving Water Quality; organized by BothEnds, UNESCO Etxea, UNDP, Swedish Water House, delivering a presentation with the topic “The Potential Role of the Human Right to Water in the Management of Indonesia’s Water Resources” Stockholm, September 09, 2010, paper available at http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1723205
2. Anti privatization debate, opaque rules and neglected ‘privatised’ water services provision: some lessons from Indonesia, STEPS II Conference Liquid Dynamics Background Paper, IDS, Sussex, March 22-23, Sussex, UK. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1885726

Peer Reviewed Journals

1. Kampanye Melawan Terorisme telah Merusak Tatanan Hukum. (Campaign Against Terrorism has Disrupted the Legal Order) Published in Jurnal Teropong MAPPI (Masyarakat Pemantau Peradilan Indonesia, November, 2002). Available on http://www.pemantauperadilan.com
2. Constitutional Court’s Review and the Future of Water Law in Indonesia, 2/1 Law, Environment and Development Journal, 2006, published jointly by the School of Law, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London and the International environmental Law Research Center (IELRC) 2006. The paper is available at http://www.lead-journal.org/content/06001.pdf
3. Safeguarding Water Contracts in Indonesia (peer reviewed, developed from a workshop paper) 3/2 Law, Environment and Development Journal (2007), p. 148, available at http://www.lead-journal.org/content/07148.pdf
4. Religious Freedom in Indonesia Before and after Constitutional Amendments(April 10, 2010). CRITICAL THINKERS FOR ISLAMIC REFORM, Brainbow Press, 2009. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1587256
5. The transparency agenda in water utilities regulation and the role of freedom of information: England and Jakarta case studies, The Journal of Water Law, Special Issue, Vol.20 Issues 2/3, 2010

Reports

1. Feasibility Study of Right to Water and Sanitation Pilot Project in Indonesia, Both Ends, August 2009 (Submitted to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
2. Transparansi Lembaga Lembaga Regulator Penyediaan Air Minum di DKI Jakarta (Transparency in DKI Jakarta’s Drinking Water Utilities Regulatory Bodies), ECOTAS and Tifa Foundation, August, 2011)
3. Contribution to GWP IWRM Toolbox C6.03: Water Services,. Global Water Partnership, 2011

How ‘Framing’ Works in Law Enforcement: Constitutional Court’s Election Case Scandal

My Jakpost op-ed below observes how framing works in criminal justice system as evidenced by the recent general election case scandal at the Constitutional Court.

Mohamad Mova Al Afghani, Jakarta | Tue, 10/11/2011 7:00 AM

If there are any institutions the public can still have faith in in terms of law enforcement in Indonesia, they are the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Constitutional Court (MK): Both are comparatively new and insulated from the chronic, New Order mentality, while also carrying with them part of the spirit of the reform movement that began with the downfall of Soeharto in 1998. But both these institutions may also be eroding because of external pressure.

The Constitutional Court is supposed to be relatively waterproof. Unlike the KPK, it doesn’t send people to prison and there are no direct, short-term or pragmatic monetary interests at stake in the business of invalidating laws. However, there are always loopholes. If the court had been consistent in its function in dealing with the ideals, that is, in making sure the Constitution is compatible with laws, the court could be off the hook. Unfortunately, politicians wanted the court to meddle in election dispute cases and this is where the havoc began.

Lately, several scandals have rocked the Constitutional Court. In one of them, two officials were accused of issuing a forged letter that was later used as justification to get an allegedly ineligible candidate a seat in the House of Representatives. The interesting part of this case has been the tendency focus on the “supply” side of the crime and to frame it merely as “forgery” instead of an election crime or a corruption case.

In corruption cases, there is always a buyer and a seller. The seller must be someone with authority, while the buyer is a beneficiary who receives “corrupt” services in exchange for money. If a case involves a general election dispute then common sense dictates that some politicians at the end of the pipeline must have been the ultimate beneficiaries of the crime and therefore acted as buyers of the service. However, so far, no one from the “demand side” in this election scandal has been apprehended.

Limiting investigations to the supply side alone is possible if the case is framed as forgery. A forged letter was issued by some court officers and the letter was then used by the election commission as the basis to determine that a candidate has the right to win a House seat. The forgery was the crime and the case is closed. Of course, there is the question of motive, i.e., why would anyone bother to forge a letter and risk getting caught? But such motives do not need to be established.

In contrast, if the case is framed as corruption, authorities would have to show that there was a flow of money etc, which is a difficult task indeed, and would require proof of the identities of buyers and their role in the whole case. Meanwhile, if the case is framed as an election crime; a more systematic investigation of the demand side would be required in order to qualify the act as one of the criminal offenses listed in the election law.

Many judges and former judges at the Constitutional Court have expressed their disappointment at how this case investigation has unfolded, although they also note that it is too early to make any judgments. But they have many reasons to be disappointed

First, it was the Constitutional Court chief himself who reported the case to the police. Two years had passed and no significant action had been taken. An investigation was commenced, but to the shock of many people it was the same official whose signature was forged who was recently declared a suspect.

Second, with the focus on the supply side, investigations and the following criminal court proceedings will hover only around the Constitutional Court. The court’s internal administration and the ethics of its officers will be pointed out as the only culprits. The investigation and the follow-up trials will focus only on that issue and will never touch the “external forces”. This will also weaken the Court’s morale.

Third, even if the Court eventually manages to fill in the holes within its administrative system, the external forces luring the Court’s officers to commit crimes will remain. Indonesia’s general elections are notorious for being costly affairs, in which many candidates bet everything they own — including their sanity — to win elections. Hot money is always involved. Even if this administrative gap were filled, in the next election another loophole could still be found.

Finally, the curtailment of the case on the supply side may require innocent and honest Court officers to be dragged into the whole process in order to fit the whole frame. These people may have only been present at the wrong time and in the wrong place but as a consequence they will risk facing the miscarriage of justice. This will absolutely weaken the morale of officers at the Constitutional Court.

It may still be too early to drop judgments as this case is still developing. But there is a public interest in monitoring how this case unfolds and to ensure the police that the public support is with them. At the same time, the public will demand their accountability in their handling of the case. While we wait as the case progresses, the “red flags” above can be used by the public as a framework in safeguarding and ensuring that justice shall be served.

The writer is founder of the Center for Law Information.

Ruang Terbuka Hijau di Konya, Turki

Saya terpesona sekali dengan banyaknya ruang terbuka hijau di kota Konya Turki, pusatnya para sufi. Bahkan di depan Masjid Alaaddin ini, ada taman besar dengan teater terbuka dan mainan anak-anak yang bisa dikendarai serta kereta api kereta api. Tidak jauh dari taman itu adalah Kebab Haji Sukru yang saya pernah bahas di postingan sebelumnya.

Di depan pertokoan ada pelataran pelataran besar tempat bangku bangku untuk orang duduk. Di Mesjid depan makam Rumi juga ada taman untuk orang beristirahat sejenak. Konya kotanya tidak besar, tapi tamannya banyak.

Book Announcement

Dear Friends,

Deewali greetings from Manthan Adhyan Kendra.

As you all know Private Sector Participation (PSP) in water sector is increasing at a very fast rate and there is serious implications of such projects on the common man as well as the impoverished. After the implementation of JNNURM and UIDSSMT, the number of private water projects have increased. Khandwa is the first town in Madhya Pradesh to execute a private water project under this scheme, hence the findings of this project would be important for other towns as well which are looking for implementing water projects under UIDSSMT in the country.

Recently we have published a report on "Private Water Supply Augmentation Project in Khandawa" which largely focuses on the issues related to the new private water supply augmentation project from Indira Sagar dam  across Narmada.

The report examines various aspects related to the new water supply project like finance, no parallel competing facility, 24x7 water supply to the town, revision of water tariffs among others.

To download soft copy, click the following link -

http://www.manthan-india.org/spip.php?article66

We welcome your comments and feedbacks. 

Senam Malam di Taman Kota Phnom Penh

 

Soal ruang terbuka publik, Jakarta harus belajar banyak dari Phnom Penh. Disini ada banyak kegiatan senam setiap sore menjelang malam yang dilakukan di taman taman kota. Entah siapa yang memberikan dana, tapi banyak orang berdatangan beberapa membawa speaker dan salah satunya jadi instruktur.

Puppet Show at Sovanna Phum Arts (Phnom Penh)

We went to Sovanna Phum Arts last weekend to watch a Puppet Show. The entrance ticket is USD 5 per person and we get to play with the instrument after its over. The Tuk Tuk cost from Wat Langka to this area is around 1,5 USD. You can ask the Tuk Tuk driver to wait for you or to return after the show is over so that you pay 3 USD all in all.

Click here for directions.

From Collages Public

The Mobile Researcher #3: Using Windows 7 Virtual Wifi with AWUS036H (Realtek 8187)

I have previously featured AWUS036H long range Wifi extender on my previous post. If you are using Windows 7 (like me), you will notice that Windows actually has built-in capability to create a virtual wifi which you can use to tether your laptop with another wireless device. The virtual wifi tricks Win 7 so that it thinks it has two wireless card, one used a station, and the other can be used as a ‘soft’ access point. 

The AWUS036H is using Realtek chipset and driver for Windows 7 (download here) and has that Soft AP capability accessible through its user interface. I have been using that for one day but last night it suddenly stopped working, after working for a few seconds each time it is enabled.

This morning I figured out why. And that was because I haven’t manually enable the Wifi. Here’s how (Via Novelust):

Type C:\Windows\system32>netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow ssid=MYLAPTOPSWIFI key=mypassword

You should see output similar to
The hosted network mode has been set to allow.
The SSID of the hosted network has been successfully changed.
The user key passphrase of the hosted network has been successfully changed.
Type C:\Windows\system32>netsh wlan start hostednetwork

You should see output similar to
The hosted network started.

Now share your active internet connection to this Virtual WIFI and connect from another device to MYLAPTOPSWIFI

So this how it works from my Command Prompt:

Of course, you can use the above built in virtual wifi without AWUS 063H. But in case you are, you need to enable it in your ALFA user interface. There, you can also reset the password and determine the encryption by clicking the ‘config’ button (see below).

As you can see my blackberry is constantly connected without experiencing any glitch:

And the wireless wifi extender working at the same time it is acting as an Access Point:

 

Related:

1. The Mobile Researcher #2: Long Range Wireless Antenna
2. The Mobile Researcher #1: Converters

Sunset in Mekong River

Today I took a four hours motorcycle ride from Phnom Penh to Pea Reang and back to Phnom Penh again. Tiring indeed. At least I got to see this.

Although the scenery is not breath taking, but sunset always is :)

Mulia

4 Tema Besar Pengaturan Pelayanan Air di Jakarta

Dear All,

Sejak zaman Soeharto, Peraturan Daerah Air belum pernah dirubah, padahal pada tahun 1998 sektor swasta mulai beroperasi. Dengan demikian, sampai saat ini sektor swasta beroperasi tanpa aturan apapun dari Pemerintah Daerah. Terdapat juga wacana-wacana untuk mengakhiri kotrak konsesi. Namun demikian, yang paling penting bagi saya adalah agar kita menyusun tata kelola pengaturan air Jakarta pasca konsesi sembari mengatur konsesi yang ada sekarang ini. 

Dalam op-ed dibawah, saya mengemukakan 4 Tema Besar Pengaturan Pelayanan Air di Jakarta: 

1. Tata Kelola Yang Baik (Good Governance), 

2. Kepemilikan (Ownership), 

3. Model Regulasi dan 

4. Tingkat Pelayanan dan Hak Hak Pelanggan. 

Teknisnya, 4 tema besar ini bisa dibagi kedalam 4 Peraturan Daerah, atau juga bisa disatukan kedalam 2 (dua) Peraturan Daerah. Idealnya, kita semua yang merancang Naskah Akademis dan Draft Peraturannya dan menjaring aspirasi dan partisipasi publik. Isu tentang kepemilikan tentunya akan sangat menarik perhatian, lebih dari tiga tema lainnya. Insya Allah saya akan membuat paper yang lebih mendetail tentang 4 tema besar ini dan beberapa follow-up op-ed. Untuk saat ini ada beberapa paper saya yang berhubungan yang bisa diunduh di: Papers/working papers.

Saya bisa mempresentasikan kepada teman-teman tentang ide-ide diatas, dan setelah kita kritisi bersama dan dimatangkan, baiknya kita minta audiensi dengan DPRD DKI Jakarta.  

Salam,

Mova

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/when-it-comes-to-water-services-jakarta-is-living-in-the-distant-past/471774

When It Comes to Water Services, Jakarta Is Living in the Distant Past

If there is one word that could describe water services in Jakarta, anachronistic regulation might be the most appropriate. 

Jakarta's water services are still governed by two early-1990s regional bylaws that contain not a single clause on private sector participation or consumer rights. After two concession contracts were awarded to the private sector in 1997 — both to Suharto cronies — the state seemed retreat from governing water services. 

Water service is a natural monopoly, which means that there is probably only space for one or two sellers in each city. Customers are at the company's mercy, forced to take whatever quality and price they are offered. 

Many blame it on privatization — and they might be correct, at least in part. However, even in a country such as Britain, where water companies are fully privatized, water services are regulated. In Britain, there is a strong presence of the state through its regulatory body, the Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat). British legislation guarantee service levels and consumer rights in addition to prohibiting disconnection when users are unable to pay. 

In Jakarta, by contrast, although the public still owns the assets, the state's presence is hard to be seen. Local legislatures have enacted bylaws of all sorts — from parking rules to street lighting to building codes — ever since regional autonomy was introduced, but on water services Jakarta remains governed by the antiquated 1992 and 1993 bylaws. 

Why has the regulatory process stalled? Partially because of the complexity of the late-1990s concession contracts, which may constrain the state's power to regulate, but also partially because of public debate that focuses only on the question of ownership of water utilities: the public-versus-private debate. 

The concession contracts will terminate at some point, either abruptly through an international arbitration or because they simply reach their expiration in 2023. If the contracts are terminated through arbitration, one of the most important issues is whether the state has attempted to regulate the services. If the state has not made such an attempt — and if the companies have delivered what is required by the contract — then the blame for failure to provide water services, which currently reach 50-60 percent of the city's population, would not solely fall on them. Companies are there to make profit. It is the state's duty to shape their behavior by regulating them. 

The next problem is what sort of governance arrangements we will have for the environment after the current concession contracts end. The answer is that other than those two Suharto-era bylaws, we don't have any. The bylaws contain no guarantee on consumer rights and service levels, which, although lacking and defective, are somewhat guaranteed by the concession contracts. They are also very weak, because they allow water utilities to be politically captured. We should bear in mind that it is the 1992-1993 bylaws that enable the utilities to be auctioned off to the private sector without public consent and without public tendering. 

Therefore, a phased transition is the best way forward. The most appropriate thing to do is to create the blueprint for the future of Jakarta's water services regulation and at the same time regulate the present concession contracts. 

What are we going to regulate and where should we start? There are four big themes in regulating water services. 

First is the question of governance, which consists of three themes: transparency, participation and accountability. Transparency is enabled by publishing information in public domains and by publishing explanations behind regulatory decisions. Participation is enabled by opening channels to assess citizens' aspirations, by giving them venues to voice their concern and to exercise control on the most important regulatory issues. Accountability is enabled by obligating the utilities to report to the public and the local legislature. 

Second is the question of ownership. Here we need to determine whether water utilities should be publicly owned, and if so, what type of legal entities are appropriate for them. Utilities could be incorporated as an ordinary legal liability company with 100 percent share ownership or as a state-owned enterprise, regional-owned enterprise or even as a cooperative. Each form has different benefits and advantages. 

We should also discuss the extent to which private sector participation is permitted and under what conditions. The conditions could vary — we could say that a local referendum would be required for a large-scale contract or that legislative approval is necessary. 

Third is the question of regulatory model. Utilities could be regulated directly by the provincial government and be obligated to present their accountability reports to the legislature and the public. Authorities could then benchmark their performance against other utilities. This obligatory benchmarking exercise is known as the "Dutch Model" of water regulation. Alternatively, we could implement designs in which the utilities and the government operate at arm's length. This way they will have independence and isolation from political capture. An independent regulator is then installed to act as a "referee" who supervises, monitors and sanctions utilities or sets prices. This "Scottish Model" appears robust but the regulatory cost is high. 

Fourth is the question of service levels and customer rights, entailing quality, quantity and water pressures, in addition to guarantees on service disruptions or contamination, as well as discount tariffs for and protection for vulnerable groups. 

Each of these four big themes contains many details that Jakartans need to discuss. The most important thing, however, is to get these blueprints discussed from the bottom up. This is the public's water, so discussion should not be confined to local political elites. Let the public discuss key regulatory features of their water services. The local legislature should select a review committee and issue a green paper outlining their proposal. Later, the draft regional bylaws should be published and feedback sought. 

Please, no more elitist regulation. Let us not repeat past mistakes. Water services are very politically sensitive, and the public must be involved in the regulatory process from the beginning. If they are not, transparency will suffer, ultimately to the detriment of both the capital's water services and the nation's democracy. 

Mohamad Mova Al Afghani is a doctoral candidate at the Unesco Center for Water Law, Policy and Science in Britain.

2011 Nobel Prize Laureates' Papers (Free on Elsevier)

 

 

The 2011 Nobel Prize Laureates Elsevier congratulates the 2011 Nobel Laureates and their prominent findings in the fields of Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Economics. We feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with these remarkable scientists in the creation and publication of their award-winning research. In recognition of these extraordinary scholars, we make their articles published with Elsevier freely available.   2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology Elsevier congratulates Professor Ralph M. Steinman, Professor Jules A. Hoffmann and Professor Bruce A. Beutler     Dr. Steinman, who was a senior physician at The Rockefelller University Hospital and professor of cellular physiology and immunology Rockefeller University, New York, won half the award "for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity", ultimately providing us with the missing link in our understanding of how the adaptive immunity is triggered and shaped in responses to different pathogens.  Dr. Steinman served as a reviewer for Elsevier's journals   Cell , and   Immunity, also publishing extensively with a variety of other Elsevier journals, such as   Trends in Immunology,   Current Biology, Cellular Immunology, Current Opinion in Immunology and Elsevier S&T Books:   Dendritic Cells: Biology and Clinical Applications, 2nd Edition and   The Mouse in Biomedical Research, 2nd Edition, Volume IV, Immunology. Elsevier is saddened by the news that Dr. Steinman died just three days before the Nobel committee publically awarded him the prize.  Dr. Hoffman, and  Dr. Beutler share the other half of the award "for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity", enabling us to understand the etiology of some autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Hoffman is a member of   Cell Host & Microbe's editorial board, reviewer for  Immunity and has published extensively in Elsevier's journals, including:   Cell, Current Opinion in Immunology,   Current Opinion in Microbiology and   Current Biology. Dr. Beutler, has written numerous articles for journals, including   Immunity, Trends in Molecular Medicine,   Trends in Immunology and Virology . He has also served as a reviewer for the journals   Cell,   Immunity, and   Cell Host & Microbe.  Read more   here. Access a variety of their articles published with Elsevier for free.       2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Elsevier congratulates Professor Dan Shechtman Dr. Shechtman, professor of materials science at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, professor at Iowa State University and a researcher at the United States Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, won the award "for the discovery of quasicrystals." He fought a "fierce battle against established science" which "fundamentally altered how chemists conceive of solid matter."  Crystals are solid materials in which the atoms that make up the material are arranged in a periodic pattern. However, certain symmetries do not allow periodic, translational patterns to form, and so it became a long held belief that materials would not adopt structures that contained such configurations. Dr. Shechtman found otherwise, with the discovery of a metal alloy that possessed five-fold rotational symmetry. His discovery meant a fight against established science, and in the wake of his breakthrough, the field of crystallography has changed fundamentally. Dr. Shechtman published in Elsevier journals:   Materials Letters,   Materials Science & Engineering A, Materials Science & Engineering B,   Acta Materialia,   Ultramicropsy,   Diamond and Related Materials,   Acta Biomaterialia and   Metal Powder Report. Read more   here.  Access Dr. Shechtman articles published with Elsevier for free.       2011 Nobel Prize in Physics Elsevier congratulates Professor Saul Perlmutter, Professor Brian P. Schmidt and Professor Adam G. Riess Saul Perlmutter, UC Berkeley professor and astrophysicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, won half the award; Brian Schmidt, astronomer at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University, and Adam Riess, professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University won the second half. All three received the award "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae" – a finding which came as a surprise to even the Laureates themselves, since they, along with the research community, expected a cosmic deceleration to be measured. Their work has been published in Elsevier journals, including:   Astroparticle Physics,   Physics Reports,   Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, and   New Astronomy Reviews. Read more   here. Access a variety of their articles published with Elsevier for free.       2011 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences Elsevier congratulates Professor Christopher A. Sims and Professor Thomas J. Sargent Christopher A. Sims and Thomas J. Sargent were jointly awarded the prize "for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy". Independently conducted, their complementary research has been fundamental to policymakers' and researchers' understanding of the major short and long term aspects of macroeconomics. Sims has identified and analyzed the impact of unanticipated events on the economy, such as an increase in the price of oil. Sargent's research analyzes the effects and consequences of changes in economic policy including GDP, inflation and investment. As Harold H. Helm Professor of Economics and Banking at Princeton University, Christopher A. Sims is a contributing author to the Handbook of Monetary Economics, Vol 3A, and has published in Elsevier journals including the Journal of Econometrics, Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy (now published through the Journal of Monetary Economics), Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, European Economic Review, and the Journal of Monetary Economics. Thomas J. Sargent is the William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business at New York University and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Review of Economic Dynamics. He is also a contributor to the Handbook of Monetary Economics Volume 3B and the Handbook of Computational Economics and has published frequently in a number of Elsevier journals: Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Monetary Economics, Economics Letters, European Economic Review, Review of Economic Dynamics, Japan and the World Economy, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Econometrics and the European Journal of Political Economy. Read more   here. Access a variety of their articles published with Elsevier for free.

 

University, New York, won half the award "for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in adaptive immunity", ultimately providing us with the missing link in our understanding of how the adaptive immunity is triggered and shaped in responses to different pathogens.  Dr. Steinman served as a reviewer for Elsevier's journals   Cell , and   Immunity, also publishing extensively with a variety of other Elsevier journals, such as   Trends in Immunology,   Current Biology, Cellular Immunology, Current Opinion in Immunology and Elsevier S&T Books:   Dendritic Cells: Biology and Clinical Applications, 2nd Edition and   The Mouse in Biomedical Research, 2nd Edition, Volume IV, Immunology.

Elsevier is saddened by the news that Dr. Steinman died just three days before the Nobel committee publically awarded him the prize. 

Dr. Hoffman, and  Dr. Beutler share the other half of the award "for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity", enabling us to understand the etiology of some autoinflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Dr. Hoffman is a member of   Cell Host & Microbe's editorial board, reviewer for  Immunity and has published extensively in Elsevier's journals, including:   Cell, Current Opinion in Immunology,   Current Opinion in Microbiology and   Current Biology. Dr. Beutler, has written numerous articles for journals, including   Immunity, Trends in Molecular Medicine,   Trends in Immunology and Virology . He has also served as a reviewer for the journals   Cell,   Immunity, and   Cell Host & Microbe. 

Read more   here.

Access a variety of their articles published with Elsevier for free.

 

 

 

2011 Nobel Prize in Chemistry Elsevier congratulates Professor Dan Shechtman Dr. Shechtman, professor of materials science at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, professor at Iowa State University and a researcher at the United States Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, won the award "for the discovery of quasicrystals." He fought a "fierce battle against established science" which "fundamentally altered how chemists conceive of solid matter."  Crystals are solid materials in which the atoms that make up the material are arranged in a periodic pattern. However, certain symmetries do not allow periodic, translational patterns to form, and so it became a long held belief that materials would not adopt structures that contained such configurations. Dr. Shechtman found otherwise, with the discovery of a metal alloy that possessed five-fold rotational symmetry. His discovery meant a fight against established science, and in the wake of his breakthrough, the field of crystallography has changed fundamentally. Dr. Shechtman published in Elsevier journals:   Materials Letters,   Materials Science & Engineering A, Materials Science & Engineering B,   Acta Materialia,   Ultramicropsy,   Diamond and Related Materials,   Acta Biomaterialia and   Metal Powder Report. Read more   here.  Access Dr. Shechtman articles published with Elsevier for free.

2011 Nobel Prize in Physics Elsevier congratulates Professor Saul Perlmutter, Professor Brian P. Schmidt and Professor Adam G. Riess Saul Perlmutter, UC Berkeley professor and astrophysicist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, won half the award; Brian Schmidt, astronomer at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University, and Adam Riess, professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University won the second half. All three received the award "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae" – a finding which came as a surprise to even the Laureates themselves, since they, along with the research community, expected a cosmic deceleration to be measured. Their work has been published in Elsevier journals, including:   Astroparticle Physics,   Physics Reports,   Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section A: Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, and   New Astronomy Reviews. Read more   here. Access a variety of their articles published with Elsevier for free.

2011 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences Elsevier congratulates Professor Christopher A. Sims and Professor Thomas J. Sargent Christopher A. Sims and Thomas J. Sargent were jointly awarded the prize "for their empirical research on cause and effect in the macroeconomy". Independently conducted, their complementary research has been fundamental to policymakers' and researchers' understanding of the major short and long term aspects of macroeconomics. Sims has identified and analyzed the impact of unanticipated events on the economy, such as an increase in the price of oil. Sargent's research analyzes the effects and consequences of changes in economic policy including GDP, inflation and investment. As Harold H. Helm Professor of Economics and Banking at Princeton University, Christopher A. Sims is a contributing author to the Handbook of Monetary Economics, Vol 3A, and has published in Elsevier journals including the Journal of Econometrics, Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy (now published through the Journal of Monetary Economics), Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, European Economic Review, and the Journal of Monetary Economics. Thomas J. Sargent is the William R. Berkley Professor of Economics and Business at New York University and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Review of Economic Dynamics. He is also a contributor to the Handbook of Monetary Economics Volume 3B and the Handbook of Computational Economics and has published frequently in a number of Elsevier journals: Journal of Economic Theory, Journal of Monetary Economics, Economics Letters, European Economic Review, Review of Economic Dynamics, Japan and the World Economy, Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Journal of Econometrics and the European Journal of Political Economy. Read more   here. Access a variety of their articles published with Elsevier for free.