High School Inputs and Labor Market Outcomes for Male Workers in Their Mid-Thirties: New Data and New Estimates from Wisconsin

This study presents new evidence on the relationship between high school inputs measured at the time male respondents attended high school and the earnings of these same individuals when they were in their mid-thirties. To accomplish this task, we matched newly coded data on the characteristics of Wisconsin high schools in 1954–57 to the Wisconsin Longitudinal Survey. Our estimates show a significant relationship between the characteristics of teachers and the earnings of their students 17 years after graduation. Specifically, a 1 percent increase in the average teacher salary in a district increases the earnings of students by 0.33 percent. The magnitude of this effect is larger than estimates reported in previous research and many times larger than the impact of increasing parents’ income by a comparable amount.

Insulin/IGF-1 and hypoxia signaling act in concert to regulate iron homeostasis in C. elegans

Iron plays an essential role in many biological processes, but also catalyzes the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause molecular damage. Iron homeostasis is therefore a critical determinant of fitness. In Caenorhabditis elegans, insulin/IGF-1 signaling (IIS) promotes growth and reproduction but limits stress resistance and lifespan through inactivation of the DAF-16/FoxO transcription factor (TF). We report that long-lived daf-2 insulin/IGF-1 receptor mutants show a daf-16–dependent increase in expression of ftn-1, which encodes the iron storage protein H-ferritin. To better understand the regulation of iron homeostasis, we performed a TF–limited genetic screen for factors influencing ftn-1 gene expression. The screen identified the heat-shock TF hsf-1, the MAD bHLH TF mdl-1, and the putative histone acetyl transferase ada-2 as activators of ftn-1 expression. It also revealed that the HIFα homolog hif-1 and its binding partner aha-1 (HIFβ) are potent repressors of ftn-1 expression. ftn-1 expression is induced by exposure to iron, and we found that hif-1 was required for this induction. In addition, we found that the prolyl hydroxylase EGL-9, which represses HIF-1 via the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor VHL-1, can also act antagonistically to VHL-1 in regulating ftn-1. This suggests a novel mechanism for HIF target gene regulation by these evolutionarily conserved and clinically important hydroxylases. Our findings imply that the IIS and HIF pathways act together to regulate iron homeostasis in C. elegans. We suggest that IIS/DAF-16 regulation of ftn-1 modulates a trade-off between growth and stress resistance, as elevated iron availability supports growth but also increases ROS production

Breaking Binary Being in the Future Fiction of Star Trek

Understanding gender is more complicated than traditional views of the male sex equating to being a man, and female sex equating to being a woman. This gender binary coding does not accurately represent a large number of people who identify as agender (not of a gender), or gender-fluid (not having a fixed gender.) I am investigating to what extent Star Trek (which is a science fiction often accredited with the premise of representing humanity\u27s more equitable future society) reproduces traditional gender roles or offers alternate gender identities. I look at literature from other scholars about gender performances in Star Trek, as well as analyze an episode form ST:TNG, The Outcast , looking at how the production treats a species of androgynous beings, and ultimately seeking whether Star Trek breaks deeply embedded ideas of binary gender, or portrays a future state of humanity as more inclusive of different types of gender identity

It\u27s a Young World After All: Easily Understood Evidence

In another paper at this conference, the present author outlined three approaches to issues of doubt and the relationship of each to the question of the age of the physical universe The first of these was the method of inquiry known as the scientific method involving a cycle of observation, hypothesis formulation, experimentation and theory construction conducted within the domain of natural phenomena that are repeatably observable, testable and falsifiable.(l) (2) It was argued that the problem of cosmic antiquity is not properly a scientific question, because the development of the present universe is a one-time historical unfolding that cannot be repeated and tested and whose time frame, on anyone\u27s analysis, lies beyond the range of scientist-lifespans and thus the scope of observation. The residual evidence of the world\u27s historical development does exist in the present and Is available for careful study and analysis. On the basis of this research into presently existing data, creationist, researchers are discovering that a wealth of evidence exists which points to the conclusion of a recent cosmic origin. However, this conclusion cannot be put to direct scientific experimentation in the manner of a polio vaccine or airplane design, for instance, and so recent-creationism remains, In a strict sense, beyond the scope of science To test the concept, as well as contending points of view, one must weigh the various arguments and render judgment regarding the relative merits of each contender. The results of such a judgment process—the second approach discussed in the previous paper—are inevitably more equivocal than those obtained with questions within the proper and narrow domain of the scientific method

Preventing Out-of-Wedlock, Teenage Pregnancy: Current Practice Versus the Experimental Social Psychology Research

This paper expands the range of scientific-creationist thought to include experimental social psychology. It examines experimental research relevant to the crisiS of out-of-wedlock, teen-age pregnancy in the U.S.A. The author follows the model set forth by creationists in the physical and biological sciences who have defended the Genesis record of creation over and against the claims of Darwinist evolution. As creationists have exposed Darwinism for its philosophical bias and scientific weakness, this paper examines current approaches to the teen-pregnancy crisis showing how they reflect humanisVevolutionist philosophy rather than sound experimental science. This paper shows that many sex education activities and Initiatives, ostensibly aimed at reducing risky teen sexual activity, will increase it. The experimental social psychology research base is consistent with biblical principles of public and individual morality. Regarding the teen-pregnancy epidemic, the scientific evidence is consistent with biblical standards based on parental supervision, discipline and clear moral guidelines. Those who hope to see their children and grandchildren raised under the guidance of biblical values need to become informed in order to counter present-day trends

World View of Aquinas, Luther, and Calvin: Modern Message Theory and the Creation Model

William Placher has forwarded a challenging description ofthe historical changes that took place in the way Christians think about God and biblical doctrine as the age of reason took center stage beginning in the seventeenth century. His thesis is that the proper sense of God\u27s transcendence was lost as philosophers and theologians came to believe that, apart from Scripture, and solely by human reason, they could think clearly about God and His mode of operation in the world. Placher\u27s analysis is reviewed in detail to establish a sense of direction for the development of a creation model of origins that is properly honoring of Scripture and the character of God. The author concludes that a biblically appropriate model of origins will have the following characteristics: God will be presented as relating personally to the creation; and because God is all powerful and sovereign over all things, including what we refer to as natural law, the particulars of the universe\u27s origin and operation will be viewed as reflective of Divine plan and purpose rather than physical necessity. The most promising of current creationist models in this regard is Walter ReMine\u27s biotic message theory. Message theory proposes that the purpose of God in creation was to communicate a message of where the universe came from, and to frustrate alternative interpretations to the biblical revelation of supernatural creation by one almighty God. First, certain patterns and features of the universe and its life forms frustrate the idea of a naturalistic origin; second, the distribution of similar features and processes frustrates the idea of multiple gods or processes of origin; and third, the apparent intentional nature of the data frustrates the idea of an impersonal, pantheistic divine force

Human Creativity: Evolution or Biblical Creation?

The problem of accounting for human creativity in an evolutionist paradigm is examined. A variety of approaches are documented followed by a contrasting biblical-creation perspective. Examples of research evidence supportive of the biblical framework are explained. In sum, God-as-Creator and man-created-in-the-image-of-God are pivotal truths for providing an epistemology for meaningful human creativity

The Age of the World: Beyond Reasonable Doubt

The present paper will discuss three approaches to issues of doubt and their relation to the question of the world\u27s age. The first two approaches are methods of inquiry: the scientific method, and the exercise of judgment. The third approach Is not a method of inquiry, but rather a procedure of organizing known facts into an a priori or given framework. One may refer to this third approach as the partisan procedure. That each of the three approaches has legitimate applications is acknowledged, but most people are not aware that with regard to the issue of cosmos antiquity, evolutionists have been conferred the mantle and authority of the scientific method when, in fact, they have operated as committed partisans. Neither the scientific method nor the partisan approach, however, is appropriate for inquiry into the age of the cosmos. The partisan procedure is not appropriate because it is not a method of inquiry, and the scientific method is not appropriate because the issue of the world\u27s age is a historical rather than a scientific question. The proper approach for inquiry into the when of creation Is the exercise of judgment in which evidence on alternative sides of an issue is weighed. When this approach is taken with regard to the question of cosmic antiquity, it is the contention of recent-creationists that the straightforward Genesis record is more plausible than the evolution alternative involving vast spans of time

Breaking Binary Being in the Future Fiction of Star Trek

Understanding gender is more complicated than traditional views of the male sex equating to being a man, and female sex equating to being a woman. This gender binary coding does not accurately represent a large number of people who identify as agender (not of a gender), or gender-fluid (not having a fixed gender.) I am investigating to what extent Star Trek (which is a science fiction often accredited with the premise of representing humanity\u27s more equitable future society) reproduces traditional gender roles or offers alternate gender identities. I look at literature from other scholars about gender performances in Star Trek, as well as analyze an episode form ST:TNG, The Outcast , looking at how the production treats a species of androgynous beings, and ultimately seeking whether Star Trek breaks deeply embedded ideas of binary gender, or portrays a future state of humanity as more inclusive of different types of gender identity

Recent Longitudinal Spin Asymmetry Measurements for Inclusive Jet Production at STAR

We present measurements of the longitudinal spin asymmetry, $A_{LL}$, for the inclusive jet signal at STAR. The data presented here are mid-rapidity jets in the transverse momentum range of $5<pT<35$ GeV/c and come from polarized proton-proton collisions at center of mass energies of $\sqrt{s}=200$ GeV. We compare our measured $A_{LL}$ values to predictions derived from various parameterizations of the polarized gluon distribution function. The results are shown to provide significant constraints for allowable gluon parameterizations within the measurement's kinematic Bjorken-x range of $0.03<x<0.3$.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures, to appear in PANIC 2008 Proceedings, Nuclear Physics A special issu