ITERA: IDL Tool for Emission-line Ratio Analysis

We present a new software tool to enable astronomers to easily compare observations of emission line ratios with those determined by photoionization and shock models, ITERA, the IDL Tool for Emission-line Ratio Analysis. This tool can plot ratios of emission lines predicted by models and allows for comparison of observed line ratios against grids of these models selected from model libraries associated with the tool. We provide details of the libraries of standard photoionization and shock models available with ITERA, and, in addition, present three example emission line ratio diagrams covering a range of wavelengths to demonstrate the capabilities of ITERA. ITERA, and associated libraries, is available from \url{http://www.brentgroves.net/itera.html}Comment: Accepted for New Astronomy, 3 figures. ITERA tool available to download from http://www.brentgroves.net/itera.htm

Consumers versus Contracts: Morgan Stanley, Maine, and the Mobile-Sierra Doctrine

The Supreme Court unwittingly spawned the so-called Mobile-Sierra doctrine in 1956 with its two same-day decisions in United Gas Pipe Line Co. v. Mobile Gas Service Corp. and Federal Power Commission v. Sierra Pacific Power Co. The doctrine creates an important restriction on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission\u27s (FERC) ability to interfere with wholesale energy rates set forth in private contracts. It does this by triggering a heightened standard of review that applies when the Commission reviews fixed rates in private contracts; specifically, the doctrine shifts the standard from the default just and reasonable standard to a more rigorous public interest version. This special modification attempts to balance the parties\u27 freedom of contract with the Commission\u27s statutory obligation to ensure just and reasonable rates for consumers. For over 50 years, the doctrine has been a bedrock principle of private contract rights in the energy industry. But two recent interpretations of the doctrine by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court are likely to significantly impact its scope in the future....Part II of this Article provides a brief background of the Mobile-Sierra doctrine, explaining its basic tenets, its effect on the standard of review in Commission proceedings, how it comes to be triggered, and how it applies. Part III sets forth the interpretations provided by Morgan Stanley and Maine and explains the ramifications these holdings may have on non-party challenges to contract rates. Part IV analyzes the significance of the Supreme Court\u27s characterization of the Mobile-Sierra doctrine as representing a presumption about the contract rate. The Article concludes by speculating about the effects of Morgan Stanley and Maine decisions on the doctrine\u27s application going forward. It also lays out a policy argument favoring non-party exemption from the Mobile-Sierra doctrine. The addendum provides a brief discussion of the current appeal of the Maine case to the Supreme Court, the arguments of the parties therein, and an explanation of why this Article\u27s arguments are unique

Synthesis and characterization of compounds containing discrete tetranuclear clusters and extended arrays of molybdenum atoms

Improved synthetic pathways to the Mo(,4)Cl(,8)L(,4) cluster compounds were elucidated which provide a facile entrance to the synthesis of new four metal atom clusters. The new tetranuclear clusters, with the stoichiometry R(,4)Mo(,4)Cl(,12) (R = Et(,4)N, Pr(,4)N, O(,4)P), were prepared by the reaction of tetraalkylammonium or tetraphenylphosphonium chlorides with the rectangular tetrameric cluster Mo(,4)Cl(,8)L(,4);One electron oxidation of Mo(,4)Cl(,12)(\u274-) by I(,2) or dichlorophenyliodine yielded the Mo(,4)Cl(,12)(\u273-) cluster anion, which was shown to exist as two geometric isomers, both of which are fragments of the larger hexa- nuclear cluster anion Mo(,6)Cl(,14)(\u272-). The metal atoms in (Et(,4)N)(,3)Mo(,4)Cl(,12) form an opened tetrahedron or butterfly . In O(,4)P (,3)Mo(,4)Cl(,12), Pr(,4)N (,3)- Mo(,4)Cl(,12), and O(,4)As (,2) Et(,4)N Mo(,4)Cl(,12) the metal atoms form a planar rhomboidal cluster unit. Bond distances in both cluster units are indicative of strong metal-metal bonding. The reasons for the adop- tion of one configuration over the other are not completely clear, but extended Huckel calculations have shown that Jahn-Teller dis- tortions are responsible for the observation of a planar rhomboidal rather than square cluster geometry for the planar units. Magnetic susceptibility and electron paramagnetic resonance studies of O(,4)P (,3)Mo(,4)Cl(,12) and Pr(,4)N (,3)Mo(,4)Cl(,12) are consistent with the assign- ment of one unparied electron, delocalized over the cluster unit;The ternary molybdenum oxide, Sn(,0.9)Mo(,4)O(,6), was synthesized by high temperature reactions in sealed molybdenum tubes. The struc- ture of this compound is dominated by metal-metal bonded octa- hedal clusters which are fused on trans edges to form infinite chains through the lattice. Four such clusters are interconnected to form a tetragonal tunnel occupied by Sn. The short Sn-Sn distance along the channel, (2.836 (ANGSTROM)), is suggestive of Sn-Sn bonding which was also indicated by extended Huckel calculations. Disorder observed along the channel where the Sn atom resides is believed to be a consequence of the Sn-Sn bonding and the non-stoichiometry observed for the compound. Resistivity studies show the compound;is metallic. The compound exhibits weak, temperature independent paramagnetism; (\u271)DOE Report IS-T-1176. This work was performed in part under contract W-7405-eng-82 with the Department of Energy and in part under a grant (CHE-8406822) from the National Science Foundation

Crystal Structure and Superconductivity of YBa2Cu3O7-x

The crystal structure and superconducting properties of samples of YBa2Cu3O7-x with oxygen contents 0.21 ≤ x ≥ 0.67 were investigated. The crystal structure and magnetic properties change with oxygen content. All samples were found to have orthorhombic crystal structure. The lattice parameters a and c were observed to monotonically increase while b nearly monotonically decreases with decreasing oxygen content. The unit cell volume increases with decreasing oxygen content as well. The critical temperature, Tc, and the superconducting volume fraction of the samples decreased with decreasing oxygen content

The Necessity of Spiritual Preparation in Short-Term Missions as it Correlates to Ministry Effectiveness

There is a lack of resources available providing spiritual preparation training specifically for teams preparing for a STM with M4 Institute. The purpose of this action research project is two-fold. First, to develop a spiritual preparation resource for STM work in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Second, to determine if providing spiritual preparation training for a team preparing for said STM work will improve the ministry effectiveness of the trip. An eight-week, five-phase intervention guide was created to implement with the focus group. This consisted of two in-person, on-site team trainings, three pre-trip Zoom team meetings, mid-trip communications with participants to gauge the effectiveness of the trip, and post-trip Zoom individual interviews. The triangulation method for gathering data was followed. Side one consisted of two questionnaires; side two consisted of a discussion question guide; and side three consisted of a set of interview questions. Three modes of observation were used: researcher field notes; insider observation through team responses during training, questionnaires, and post-trip interviews; and outsider observations from two credible witnesses. Results and conclusions to determine the effectiveness of the trip and for further research were drawn from the study. All interviews and conversations with the participants, both individually and corporately, were confidential; the names of the participants are withheld by mutual agreement. All participant names used in the action research project are pseudonyms. Real names are not used to protect the identity and confidentiality of the participants

Paul and Economics: A Theology of the Gospel and Economics

An often overlooked biblical theology that the Apostle Paul addresses is economics. Economics impacts every area of an individual\u27s life and even more so in the ancient world. Paul\u27s chief concern is with the gospel of Jesus and one of the chief components of a believer\u27s new life in Christ is how they handle their own economic situation. This work seeks to analyze the writings of Paul and explore his comments on the economic realities of individuals based on God\u27s authority

The First Amendment and Homosexual Expression: The Need for an Expanded Interpretation

Homosexuality is today essentially a form of political, social, and moral dissent on par with the best American traditions of dissent and even subversive advocacy.... Those that support criminalization find today in homosexuality what they found before in the family planning of Sanger, the atheism of Darwin, the socialism of Debs, or the Marxist advocacy of the American Communist Party. Ostensibly, the First Amendment guarantees all people freedom of expression of every belief. The free exchange of ideas forms the basis of a democratic government. Only citizens with unhindered access to the famed marketplace of ideas can participate meaningfully in a dialogue and achieve political and social solutions that the community will respect. For this reason, courts balk at even the suggestion of limiting expression that might function as political or social advocacy. Despite the seemingly boundless tolerance our judiciary purports to extend to all ideas, however, courts deny much expression the full protection of the First Amendment because of the expression\u27s form and content. Specifically, courts exclude from protection speech deemed not to contribute significantly to the civil discourse of ideas that the First Amendment seeks to maintain. For example, the Supreme Court has excluded from protection fighting words, obscenity, sexual harassment, and the advocacy of illegal acts. Thus, the Supreme Court has determined that certain classes of speech, although arguably expressive, do not advocate concepts protected by the First Amendment

Undergraduates’ Collective Argumentation Regarding Integration of Complex Functions Within Three Worlds of Mathematics

Although undergraduate complex variables courses often do not emphasize formal proofs, many widely-used integration theorems contain nuanced hypotheses. Accordingly, students invoking such theorems must verify and attend to these hypotheses via a blend of symbolic, embodied, and formal reasoning. Using Tall’s three worlds of mathematics as a theoretical lens, this research explores undergraduate student pairs’ collective argumentation about integration of complex functions, with emphasis placed on students’ attention to the hypotheses of integration theorems. Data consisted of videotaped, semistructured interviews with two pairs of undergraduates, during which they collectively reasoned about thirteen integration tasks. Videotaped classroom observations were also conducted during the integration unit of the course in which these students were enrolled. Interview data were analyzed by categorizing participants’ responses according to Toulmin’s argumentation scheme, as well as classifying each statement as embodied, symbolic, formal, or blends of the three worlds. The student pairs’ responses were further coded according to Levinson’s four speaker roles in order to document how individuals contributed socially to the collective arguments, and backing statements were identified as either supporting a warrant’s validity, correctness, or field. Findings revealed that participants’ nonverbal modal qualifiers and explicit challenges to each other’s assertions catalyzed new arguments allowing students to reach consensus, verify conjectures, or revisit prior assertions. Hence, while existing frameworks identify two types of participation in collective argumentation, the aforementioned challenges suggest an important third type of participation. Although participants occasionally conflated certain formal hypotheses from the integration theorems, their arguments married traditional integral symbolism with dynamic gestures and clever embodied diagrams. Participants also attended to a phenomenon, referred to in the literature as thinking real, doing complex, in three distinct manners. First, they took care to avoid invoking attributes of real numbers that no longer apply to the complex setting. Second, they intermittently extended their real intuition to the complex setting erroneously. Third, they deliberately called upon attributes of the real numbers that were productive in describing analogous complex number operations. This three-tiered attention to the thinking real, doing complex phenomenon is notable because only the second type is currently documented in existing literature. Collectively, the findings suggest that instructors of complex analysis courses might wish to heavily underscore the importance of geometric interpretations of complex arithmetic early in the course and avoid utilizing acronyms that de-emphasize individual theorem hypotheses. The results also indicate that a more multimodal stance is needed when studying collective argumentation in order to capture covert aspects of students’ communication