Scientists Have Been Out for Some Time Now: A Response to Sonia Shah

Sonia Shah\u27s categorization of the scientific community as having been by and large. impassively unmoved [by human rights], churning out their papers, applying for grants and debating esoterica at their private professional meetings is grossly inaccurate on at least two accounts

Acute effects of whole body vibration exercises with various frequencies and amplitudes on arterial stiffness in males

The purposes of the study were: 1) To examine the acute effects of dynamic whole body vibration (WBV) training on small and large arterial stiffness; 2) To examine the effects of different frequency and amplitude protocols in heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure (MAP), cardiac output (CO), and stroke volume (SV); 3) Identify the best WBV protocol to decrease acutely arterial stiffness

True-self and the uses and gratifications of Instagram among college-aged females

With more than 300 million daily users, Instagram has rapidly become one of the most widely used social networking apps worldwide. This study investigates relationships between motivations for using Instagram, whether users are portraying their true-selves and how their usage affects life satisfaction and well-being. A quantitative survey was used to collect data from 200 students at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas students. Participants were asked to provide answers regarding their habits for using Instagram, whether their online portrayal of self reflected their true self and determine overall life satisfaction. The motives studied in this research include: interpersonal communication, entertainment, information seeking, diversion and identity (Sheldon and Bryant 2015; Ting 2014; Papacharissi and Mendelson 2011; Sundar and Limperos 2013). The research question asked if there was a relationship between gender and usage of Instagram, results indicated there was less than one percent difference in usage among gender. Results support the hypothesis that there was a significant, positive relationship between the presentation of true self and life satisfaction. Other notable findings include the merging of two uses and gratification factors to become identity and social affinity; negative relationships between true-self and escape motive; and a negative relationship between the escape motive and life satisfaction

Protecting Human Rights in Conflict

The Just War Theory of Jus in Bello is the international community’s attempt to ensure respect for human rights and human welfare during armed conflicts. The principle of proportionality and the obligation to distinguish between combatants and civilians in attacks are two related notions that are fundamental to the protection of human rights during conflict. The principle of proportionality limits the amount of violence and destruction that is morally permissible. By contrast, the principle of discrimination (or distinction) discriminates between legitimate targets, such as soldiers and weapons depots, and illegitimate targets, specifically noncombatants such as civilian populations and their property

Peace Without Justice, or Justice Without Peace?

Peace without justice is an illusion. The use of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate and prosecute human rights violations not only provides restorative justice for those harmed by the wrongdoing but also retributive justice towards the perpetrators. Restorative justice seeks to help heal the wounds of the victims and community by acknowledging and witnessing the pain and suffering of the victim. Retributive justice seeks to punish the offenders. The hope is that retribution will deter or prevent future acts of violence by holding perpetrators accountable for the violations of human rights, genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Many people believe that the path to justice is through criminal prosecution of the offenders. McDonell succinctly summarizes the relationship between restorative and retributive justice when he describes the victim’s viewpoint as follows: “if peace comes, and I know the person who killed my brother, raped my sister, killed my mother, how can I live with this person?” Seeking justice by ending the impunity for crimes and seeking redress for the victims is the only way to build a stable long-lasting peace. Such justice allows for social reconciliation, restoration and perhaps forgiveness

Nocturnal Processing Of Nitrogen Oxide Pollution At High Latitudes: Off-Axis Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy Method Development And Field Measurement Results

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2008Nitrogen oxides, or NOx, play a central role in ozone and nitric acid (HNO3) pollution in the troposphere. Reactions of nitrate radical (NO3) and dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O 5) result in the removal of NOx and ozone from the nighttime atmosphere. In this thesis, we describe the configuration, operation, and performance of an off-axis cavity ring-down spectroscopy (oa-CRDS) field instrument designed for measuring NO3 and N2O5. Furthermore, we report results of an N2O5 instrument intercomparison conducted using an atmospheric simulation chamber in Julich, Germany. The results of the intercomparison demonstrate that the oa-CRDS instrument is an excellent tool for measuring NO3 and N2O 5. Also reported in this thesis are the results of two field campaigns aimed at characterizing NOx removal from the nocturnal pollution plume arising from Fairbanks, AK. The results from the field campaigns suggest ice is responsible for catalyzing N2O5 heterogeneous hydrolysis in cold, high-latitude plumes. When air masses are sub-saturated with respect to ice, the data show longer lifetimes (∼20 minutes) and elevated N2O5 levels while ice-saturated air masses show shorter lifetimes (∼6 minutes) and suppressed N2O 5 levels. Lastly, we present vertical profiles of N2O 5 measured above the seasonal snow pack. The results of the profiling studies suggest that N2O5 can be removed by heterogeneous hydrolysis on ice in the snow pack. Our findings indicate that catalysis on ice surfaces is largely responsible for nocturnal processing of N2O 5 leading to nitric acid production and loss of NOx in high latitude plumes

The Professionalization of the Supreme Court

The professional and personal backgrounds of Supreme Court Justices are becoming increasingly similar. Nearly all sitting justices hold degrees from an Ivy league law school and have experience as federal circuit judges. In earlier periods this was not the case. The Stone Court of the 1940’s had six Ivy League alumni and one judge with federal circuit experience. This begs the question, when and why did this shift take place? This study will provide an overview of the occupational and educational backgrounds of every justice from 1910 to the present, in addition to Supreme Court nominees of the same period that failed to reach the high court. The process of Supreme Court justices gradually becoming more homogenized in terms of qualifications is what this study classifies as the professionalization of the court. This study hypothesizes that as the Supreme Court nomination process became more politicized over time, presidents feared their nomination being rejected on the grounds of professional inexperience or lackluster education. Hence, justice qualifications become professionalized in a uniform manner. This paper will argue that the trend of professionalization of the Supreme Court began in the 1970’s. Academics and non-academic alike will find this study interesting as it will provide context to the current court and possibly their partisan jurisprudence. In addition, it may predict what we expect to see moving forward with the court in terms of justices’ education and employment qualifications. Lastly, we may be able to correlate court professionalization and the polarization of the Supreme Court Justice nomination process