Human Rights, Economic Justice and U.S. Exceptionalism

On April 5, 2019, PILR held their triennial symposium titled: Revisiting Human Rights: The Universal Declaration at 70. As a reflection of the event, a few panelists composed contribution pieces reflecting on the topic

A Reassessment of Athenian Tribute

The marble stones which serve as the primary evidence of the Athenian Tribute Quota Lists are difficult to work with because they are so fragmentary, and because their contents are multidimensional. A newly conceived digital edition addresses issues inherent in the print medium, which has long served as the basis for scholarship on the lists. This paper is meant as a guide to understanding the Athenian Tribute Quota Lists, the principles I have defined for work on this edition, and a guide to the future study of Athenian imperial tribute. I have created a diplomatic edition which incorporates original photography of the inscriptions (taken at the Epigraphic Museum in Athens); an archive of TEI-conformant XML editions; code for viewing and working with the archival material in a web interface; and a virtual machine that runs the servlet interface using Virtual Box Virtual Box and Vagran

Master of Science

thesisDrug shortage is a situation that affects the supply of medications, and in turn, affects hospitals, providers, and patients. When drugs are in short supply, patients may face treatment delays, may be unable to find essential drugs, or may face side effects from alternative agents, if alternatives are available. The problem of drug shortage is getting worse because the United States Food and Drug Administration, hospitals, and providers cannot anticipate future shortages. Left with no advanced strategies to face the problem of drug shortages, patient care can be negatively affected. This thesis was intended to answer three questions: 1) do the fluctuations in the number of suppliers prior to drug shortages has any effect on shortages of oncology drugs, 2) are there identifiable trends in number of suppliers and reasons for shortages that can be used to predict future shortages of oncology drugs, and 3) can variation in drug prices relative to shortages based on the number of suppliers in the market at any given time be used as a predictor of shortages? The 41 injectable oncology drugs listed on The American Society of Health- System Pharmacists, the University of Utah Drug Information Service, and Novation web site as in shortage between 2002 and 2010 served as the drugs of interest for this study. After excluding drugs that were available only as brand names as of 2011 (n=12 drugs), and drugs that have been in short supply after 2010 (n=5), information on the remaining iv generic oncology drugs (n=24 drugs) was collected based on characteristics such as drug name, dosage form, route of administration, strength, quantity, price, manufacturer code, supplier name, and number of suppliers. Only 17 products (18 dosage forms) were available for full analysis due to on-going shortages that extended beyond the data collection period. Study findings suggested that the volatility of some drug shortages is not in the number of suppliers prior to shortages; rather it is in the absence of the key manufacturer that is associated with the discontinuation of the brand name. The discontinuation of the brand names of the drugs was associated with a longer shortages period compared to shortages due manufacturing problems or delays. In reality, however five generic injectable manufacturers held the majority of the oncology packages and vials sold in the US market. Efforts should be directed at approving generic products from manufacturers committed to providing stability in the marketplace. Suppliers should have facilities and resources availfor continued production

Development of a Compact Piezoworm Actuator For Mr Guided Medical Procedures

In this research, a novel piezoelectric actuator was developed to operate safely inside the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. The actuator based on novel design that generates linear and rotary motion simultaneously for higher needle insertion accuracy. One of the research main objectives is to aid in the selection of suitable materials for actuators used in this challenging environment. Usually only nonmagnetic materials are used in this extremely high magnetic environment. These materials are classified as MRI compatible materials and are selected to avoid hazardous conditions and image quality degradation. But unfortunately many inert materials to the magnetic field do not possess desirable mechanical properties in terms of hardness, stiffness and strength and much of the available data for MRI compatible materials are scattered throughout the literature and often too device specific . Furthermore, the fact that significant heating is experienced by some of these devices due to the scanner’s variable magnetic fields makes it difficult to draw general conclusions to support the choice of suitable material and typically these choices are based on a trial-and-error with extensive time required for prototype development and MRI testing of such devices. This research provides a quantitative comparison of several engineering materials in the MRI environment and comparison to theoretical behavior which should aid designers/engineers to estimate the MRI compatible material performance before the expensive step of construction and testing. This work focuses specifically on the effects in the MRI due to the material susceptibility, namely forces, torques, image artifacts and induced heating

CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR MUSIC TEACHERS THROUGH INTERNATIONAL DISTANCE DISTANCE-LEARNING MEDIA

New technologies have developed quickly during the last two decades, creating new opportunities and challenges for educational providers and their students. The means by which these have been met fall into two categories, exemplified here by case studies from two institutions. In the University of Reading, an existing distance-learning programme developed on traditional lines, was able to broaden its impact and the geographical constituency from which it recruits by incorporating e-Learning techniques into its means of delivery. By contrast, a new project at the University of São Paulo was initiated specifically to research and develop innovative distance-learning media in music education. The processes by which these two complementary developments arrived at their current position are presented in this article, along with a collective response to some of the new opportunities they jointly identify as a consequence of collaborating with one another in the future.Novas tecnologias têm sido desenvolvidas velozmente durante as duas últimas décadas, criando novas oportunidades e desafios para educadores musicais e seus alunos. Há duas formas pelas quais essas questões são tratadas, exemplificadas aqui por estudos de casos de duas instituições. Na Universidade de Reading, um programa de educação a distância já existente e baseado em linhas tradicionais pode ampliar seu impacto e a constituição geográfica de seus alunos através da incorporação de técnicas de e-learning. Em contraste, um novo projeto na Escola do Futuro da Universidade de São Paulo foi iniciado para pesquisar e desenvolver novos meios de aprendizagem a distância para a educação musical. Os processos pelos quais estes dois acontecimentos complementares chegaram ao seus estágios atuais são apresentados, assim como uma análise conjunta das novas oportunidades que são identificadas como conseqüência de colaborações entre eles no futuro

Co-op Marketplace Solutions

The technology described in this paper relates to a cooperative marketplace (“co-op marketplace”) that leverages online and real-world consumer purchasing and shopping data to connect brands with retailers. The co-op marketplace may be an online marketplace where brands can advertise products available at retailers of the co-op marketplace. Brands may be provided with purchase-based audience segments that they may use to target advertisements for their products. The advertisements may be rotating advertisements that direct consumers that interact with the advertisements to different retailers. Each advertisement may be monitored for interactions and conversions, including in-store conversions, and this data may be provided to the brands. Retailers may also provide conversion data to the co-op marketplace so that the co-op marketplace can optimize the consumers sent to retailers’ websites through the co-op marketplace

Reconceptualizing design research in the age of mobile learning

© 2015 Taylor & Francis. The purpose of this paper is to begin to examine how the intersection of mobile learning and design research prompts the reconceptualization of research and design individually as well as their integration appropriate for current, complex learning environments. To fully conceptualize and reconceptualize design research in mobile learning, the authors address and unpack the unique affordances of mobile learning and implications for design research as well as the design process that has impact on both. Asserting a socio-cultural view of learning, investigating mobile devices as cultural transformational tools is proposed to potentially expand perceptions and access to resources not only in how we view teaching and learning (as a form of social capital), but also in how we design for it and conduct research in complex settings

Ab INITIO CALCULATION OF ELECTRONIC AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF BERYLLIUM CHALCOGENIDES (BeS, BeSe, AND BeTe) UNDER THE EFFECT OF PRESSURE

There are several methods for materials simulation. Ab initio or first principles methods are used to solve the quantum mechanical equation which govern the behavior of a system. Ab initio calculation of the optical and electronic properties of solids is fundamental in solid state physics. APW+lo is used to examine different properties of BeS, BeSe and BeTe. Beryllium compounds show different features in structure under different pressures, and they also show a phase transition from Zinc blende to Hexagonal transitions in II-VI semiconductors. Little is known about the ground state properties of Beryllium Chalcogenides. The aim of this work is to examine the electronical and optical properties of these materials, with the emphasis on their dependence on hydrostatic pressure. First, we calculated the electronic properties such as band structure, charge density, density of state, and the contours of these materials, second we examined their optical properties such as refractive index, the dielectric function (both real and imaginary), and the coefficient of absorption under normal and transient pressure. Two packages: the Wien97 and the Wien2k, are used in our simulation