The President and Nuclear Weapons: Authorities, Limits, and Process

There is no more consequential decision for a president than ordering a nuclear strike. In the Cold War, the threat of sudden nuclear annihilation necessitated procedures emphasizing speed and efficiency and placing sole decision-making authority in the president’s hands. In today’s changed threat environment, the legal authorities and process a U.S. president would confront when making this grave decision merit reexamination. This paper serves as a resource in the national discussion about a president’s legal authority and the procedures for ordering a nuclear strike, and whether to update them

It's Time for Summer: An Analysis of Recent Policy and Funding Opportunities

Recommends ways to improve and expand summer learning programs by better coordinating federal, state and local programs, including ensuring that federal program regulations explicitly allow spending for summer programs and creating funding collaboratives

Ashley B. Living Memoirs Interview

Ashley B., an alumnus of Southern Adventist University, shared about her interesting time serving as a business student missionary for Akuna Soaps Industries in the Southern Province of Zambia. She shared about her business background and how this impacted her time serving as well as how her missionary year impacted her career goals. Zambia is a land-locked country in south-central Africa located on a high plateau. The most commonly spoken languages include the Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo language family, but English is the official language of the government and is used for education, commerce, and law. Zambia is known for one-third of the country being national parks and for containing Victoria Falls. Williams, Geoffrey J. , Hobson, Richard Hamilton and Roberts, Andrew D.. Zambia . Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Nov. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/place/Zambia. Accessed 2 November 2023

Detection of Radio Emission from the Hyperactive L Dwarf 2MASS J13153094-2649513AB

We report the detection of radio emission from the unusually active L5e + T7 binary 2MASS J13153094-2649513AB made with the Australian Telescope Compact Array. Observations at 5.5 GHz reveal an unresolved source with a continuum flux of 370+/-50 microJy, corresponding to a radio luminosity of L_rad = nuL_nu = (9+/-3)x10^23 erg/s and log10(L_rad/L_bol) = -5.44+/-0.22. No detection is made at 9.0 GHz to a 5 sigma limit of 290 microJy, consistent with a power law spectrum S_nu ~ nu^-a with a > 0.5. The emission is quiescent, with no evidence of variability or bursts over 3 hr of observation, and no measurable polarization (V/I < 34%). 2MASS J1315-2649AB is one of the most radio-luminous ultracool dwarfs detected in quiescent emission to date, comparable in strength to other cool sources detected in outburst. Its detection indicates no decline in radio flux through the mid-L dwarfs. It is unique among L dwarfs in having strong and persistent Halpha and radio emission, indicating the coexistence of a cool, neutral photosphere (low electron density) and a highly active chromosphere (high electron density and active heating). These traits, coupled with the system's mature age and substellar secondary, makes 2MASS J1315-2649AB an important test for proposed radio emission mechanisms in ultracool dwarfs.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

USING DATA MINING TO DETECT ANOMALOUS PRODUCER BEHAVIOR: AN ANALYSIS OF SOYBEAN PRODUCTION AND THE FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE PROGRAM

The analysis was conducted on the USDA's Risk Management Agency insurance data and NRCS Land Resource Regions from 1994 - 2001 to assist RMA in improving program integrity. The objective is to develop a data-mining algorithm that identifies anomalous producers and counties within LRRs based upon the percentage of acres harvested.Risk and Uncertainty,

Phenology satellite experiment

The detection of a phenological event (the brown wave-vegetation senescence) for specific forest and crop types using ERTS-1 imagery is described. Data handling techniques included computer analysis and photo interpretation procedures. Computer analysis of ERTS-1 multispectral scanner digital tapes in all bands was used to give the relative changes of spectral reflectance with time of forests and specified crops. These data were obtained for a number of the study's twenty-four sites located within four north-south corridors across the United States. Analysis of ground observation photography and ERTS-1 imagery for sites in the Appalachian Corridor and Mississippi Valley Corridor indicates that the recession of vegetation development can be detected very well. Tentative conclusions are that specific phenological events such as crop maturity or leaf fall can be mapped for specific sites and possibly for entire regions

Are Long-acting Reversible Contraceptives (LARCs) a Viable Solution for Adolescents in Rural Eastern North Carolina?

Background: Many of the highest teen pregnancy rates within North Carolina (NC) are in rural counties in the eastern part of the state. Long-acting reversible contraceptives, which include intrauterine devices and the contraceptive implant, are highly effective and can provide contraception for years, offering a possible solution to this problem. / / Purpose: The purpose of this Senior Honors Project was to determine the contraceptive use trends of adolescents and young adults in rural eastern NC. The objectives of this project were to interview key informants about the utilization of LARCs and provider attitudes regarding their recommendation, assess contraceptive choice of adolescents seeking services in the family planning clinic, and identify barriers to access of LARCs. / / Methodology: A program evaluation was conducted at a rural health department in eastern NC in partnership with a public health nurse preceptor. Key informants were identified and interviewed. Also, clients in the family planning clinic were assessed to determine their contraceptive method of choice. / / Findings: Out of 34 family planning clinic clients between the ages of 14-28 years, 7 chose to initiate a LARC method. The health department offered two types of IUDs, but referred the contraceptive implant insertion to a local physician office. The discontinuation rate among one type of IUD high due to side effects experienced after insertion. Key informants believed that IUDs were safe for adolescents to use, but were less likely to recommend an IUD for clients who were nulliparous or had a history of sexually transmitted infection. / / Conclusions: Many clients were unfamiliar with LARCs, so continued community education is needed to increase knowledge and utilization of these methods. Health care professionals must stay current on the However, there were clients who did initiate or were interested in LARC methods.

The Intermediate Mass Black Hole Candidate in the Center of NGC 404: New Evidence from Radio Continuum Observations

We present the results of deep, high-resolution, 5 GHz Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA) observations of the nearby, dwarf lenticular galaxy and intermediate mass black hole candidate (M ~4.5 x 10^5 M_sun), NGC 404. For the first time, radio emission at frequencies above 1.4 GHz has been detected in this galaxy. We found a modestly resolved source in the NGC 404 nucleus with a total radio luminosity of 7.6 +/- 0.7 x 10^17 W/Hz at 5 GHz and a spectral index from 5 to 7.45 GHz of alpha = -0.88 +/- 0.30. NGC 404 is only the third central intermediate mass black hole candidate detected in the radio regime with subarcsecond resolution. The position of the radio source is consistent with the optical center of the galaxy and the location of a known, hard X-ray point source (Lx ~1.2 x 10^37 erg/s). The faint radio and X-ray emission could conceivably be produced by an X-ray binary, star formation, a supernova remnant or a low-luminosity AGN powered by an intermediate mass black hole. In light of our new EVLA observations, we find that the most likely scenario is an accreting intermediate mass black hole, with other explanations incompatible with the observed X-ray and/or radio luminosities or statistically unlikely.Comment: Accepted for publication to Ap