Ranging code processor

System extracts range data from pseudorandom-coded range radar used to track a moving body. Pseudorandom binary waveforms with favorable correlation properties are transmitted and their reflections received and processed. The phase difference between the received and transmitted codes gives an accurate measure of the distance to the moving body

SB 909/HB 1408 Virginia Fair Housing Law; unlawful discriminatory housing practices

This report provides a legislative racial impact analysis of Senate Bill (SB) 909, a proposed bill in the Virginia General Assembly, to expand the Virginia Fair Housing Law to include lawful sources of income. Specifically, this report examines state and county source of income laws and their variances by race and ethnicity

Rain

In eloquent tones, a young soldier walks point: “Fatigues glued to my skin, rain of a thousand years, I am sitting on my helmet, towel around my neck, a Cambodian green rubber sheet covering me.” Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit

Detected

A Navy sub commander plays hide-and-seek with a Soviet sub. Articles, stories, and other compositions in this archive were written by participants in the Mighty Pen Project. The program, developed by author David L. Robbins, and in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia War Memorial in Richmond, Virginia, offers veterans and their family members a customized twelve-week writing class, free of charge. The program encourages, supports, and assists participants in sharing their stories and experiences of military experience so both writer and audience may benefit

The three-legged stool of corporate governance reform

In March 1998, the London Stock Exchange issued some proposed changes to its Listing Rules. This document incorporates what has become known as the “combined Code” of corporate governance practices, a project of the Committee on Corporate Governance (“the Hampel Committee”). Article by Jayne W. Barnard (Professor of Law, The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA) published in Amicus Curiae - Journal of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies and its Society for Advanced Legal Studies. The Journal is produced by the Society for Advanced Legal Studies at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, University of London

Patient Safety Initiative : Web based Education on the VCUHS Code Carts

We developed standardized web based learning modules on the VCUHS adult and pediatric code carts that enables health care providers in an organization to receive standardized training that is readily accessible to improve retention of the items and their location in the code carts

The “Principal Purpose” Driven Life: How Hospitals Should Apply ERISA’s Church Plan Exemption After Advocate v. Stapleton

The United States’ health care industry is filled with numerous protections for individuals and entities who have objections based on religious beliefs and moral convictions. For example, there is a long history of conscience protections for individuals that object to performing or assisting in the performance of abortion or sterilization procedures or assisted suicide (including euthanasia or mercy killing). Over time, as more medical entities declare affiliation with religious entities, Congress has expanded conscience protections to cover more than just the daily activities of medical professionals. Generally, churches have to comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA or the Act) just like any other employer. Yet, Congress provided an exception from ERISA for the administration of “church plans.” This exemption has existed for many years without issue until recently, when this exemption became the subject of increased litigation. ERISA defines “church plan” to apply more broadly than merely to plans covering people who work in houses of worship; schools, nursing homes, and hospitals may also comply if they are controlled or owned by religious entities. Most recently, questions have risen regarding whether the employee pension plans used by religiously-affiliated hospitals have been correctly classified as “church plans” exempt from ERISA. The answers to these questions carry with it large consequences because qualified church plans are excused from certain coverage, vesting, benefit accrual, and funding requirements of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) that otherwise apply to tax-qualified plans. In the 2017 landmark case Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton, one question that had long been debated between circuit courts regarding the extent of this exemption was resolved; the Court determined that a plan established and maintained by a church includes a plan maintained by a principal purpose organization. This ruling means that any religiously-controlled entity that manages an employee benefit plan no longer must be created by a religious entity in order to qualify for this exemption. Regardless of how (and by whom) the entity was first established, an organization may still take advantage of this exemption from ERISA as long as the entity is maintained by a principal purpose organization. This Supreme Court ruling is far from a full resolution of the issue. Advocate left a few issues unresolved, such as the definition of “principle purpose organization.” This leaves religiously-affiliated hospitals in a sticky place: unsure if they qualify for—and therefore can rely on—the ERISA church exemption. Since there are many potentially devastating effects on non-qualifying hospitals that mistakenly relied on this exemption, it is important for the qualifying factors to be clear. No longer should religiously-affiliated hospitals seek and rely on non-binding (and sometimes inaccurate) private letter rulings (PLRs) issued by the IRS in order to determine their exemption status. In Part I, this Comment will discuss ERISA’s church plan exemption pre- and post-Advocate. Additionally, it will cover a brief overview of the history of employee benefit plans in the healthcare system and describe the roles of different governmental entities. In Part II, this Comment will discuss the landmark case Advocate v. Stapleton and its impact on the employee benefit industry, and the current status of ERISA’s principal purpose requirement. Last, Part III will suggest a new set of factors that each religiously-controlled hospital and its employee benefit subcommittees can rely on in determining if it meets the “principal purpose” requirement

Block encoders for Reed-Muller codes

Encoding algorithms generate a 32 x 64-bit matrix Reed-Muller code from a 6-bit orthogonal code-word. This increases error-free reception by a high rate telemetry channel under adverse signal noise with minimal use of additional hardware