A New Hope: The Idea of a Strategic Defense

Since August 1953, when the Soviet Union detonated its own "Super Bomb" (multimegaton thermonuclear device), the best national defense against nuclear attack was to have so many nuclear weapons that no enemy would dare risk a retaliatory strike. This idea soon became policy. Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) was the heart of all policies of Deterrence; and (at least initially)1 all the players in the Cold War seemed to agree with Robert Oppenheimer that starting World War III would soon lead to a world where the only way super powers could resolve their conflicts would be "with sticks and stones."2 By 1983, the possibility of a sudden - no, instantaneous - nuclear holocaust had become the whole planet's worst nightmare. President Reagan stumbled onto a way to give humanity an alternative

Tiberius Down the Line

Throughout history, men have fought over the question of who would be the next one to rule over ancestral territory. History is filled with stories of people who wanted so badly to be "king" or "emperor" that they tried every ploy that they could think of to attain those positions of supreme power. Usually, the rewards associated with being the sole person in charge of an immense mass of people and land are considered to be so great that few who had either been born into it, or been thrust into by the whims of chance, ever refused it or tried to find some way to avoid the responsibility. However, this does not mean that there were not exceptions to this rule. But refusing to serve as the sole ruler of a given state is not always a practical option. Clearly, Tiberius (42 B.C.E.-37 C.E.), Rome's second emperor (r.14-37 C.E.), fought his appointment as his step-father Augustus' replacement as ruler of the Roman possessions as much as anyone in history has ever fought any forced assumption of responsibilities that entirely conflict with their basic natures and desires in life. But, due to the realities of the Roman political state immediately following the death of Augustus in 14 C.E., namely the fact that had Tiberius refused to serve as emperor, civil war would have broken out almost immediately, refusing the position was hardly an option.So, after only a short time dragging his heels and trying to will away the inevitable, Tiberius gave up protesting his selection for the position and allowed himself to be called emperor of Rome. But, if he had only known the way that the scholars and writers were going to continuously appraise and reappraise their assessments of every little detail of his day-to-day existence, often completely re-slanting a previous author's interpretation of a given event that occurred during his reign to justify their own personal ambitions and objectives, he might have been so disgusted by the whole mess that he would have been inspired to find some way to make the old Republic work again

Sustainability Issues for Australian Research Data: The report of the Australian eResearch Sustainability Survey Project

The Australian e-Research Sustainability Survey (AERES) project was undertaken by the Australian Partnership for Sustainable Repositories (APSR) and the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC) to survey the sustainability issues for data-intensive research projects, including the capabilities and demands of research groups and institutions for the storage, access, and long-term management of research data

Chances of Employment in a Population of Women and Men after Surgery of Congenital Heart Disease: Gender-Specific Comparisons between Patients and the General Population

It was examined whether women and men (17-45 years) with operated congenital heart disease (CHD) differ with respect to chances of employment. Patients were compared with the general population. Patients (N=314) were classified by type of surgery (curative, reparative, palliative) as indicator of initial severity of disease. The second classification was performed according to a system proposed by the New York Heart Association in order to take subjectively reported impairments into account. Controls (N=1165) consisted of a 10% random sample drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Chances of full- time employment decreased as disease severity increased. Chances of part- time and minor employment were higher in patients than among controls. These general effects were due to male patients, while the employment patterns of women did not differ from the control group. Independently of patient status women were more likely to have lower rates of full- time employment, and the rates of part- time and minor employment were higher. Long- term adaptation to impairments due to congenital heart disease differs between women and men with respect to employment status. While female patients do not differ from the general population, males may lower their engagement in paid work.

Leading the Transition to Active Learning Strategies and the High-Engagement Teaching Model

This interactive workshop will showcase several strategies used in the new active learning model of teaching as chairs from English and Reading at Butler Community College (KS) share insights developed during the multi-year implementation of a partnership with AVID for Higher Education

Constructing and Organizing Biogas Markets Amid Fragility and Controversy

This research project examines markets for biogas plants in Denmark, referred to simply as biogas markets, as a fragile and controversial process of framing and organizing by analyzing how unexpected events, called ‘overflows’, and controversies influence how markets frame biogas plants as a valuable economic good and ensure biogas plants are implemented through market transactions. Without well-constructed and well-organized markets these fundamental economic functions cannot take place. The overarching argument of the project is that to realize changing technical, political, and socio-economic intentions of biogas the market must be framed and organized to reframe and solve overflows and controversies that characterize biogas markets in Denmark. Otherwise, what we end up with are ‘markets of good intentions’. Although they are rarely predicted and constitute the robustness as well as the source of the inevitable fragility and controversy of the market, it is essential to the framing of biogas plants as a valuable commodity and the completion of transactions, that overflows and controversies are addressed and internalized into the market assemblage. This involves identifying and rendering them debatable based on the calculations and other elements that underpin the alleged value of biogas and the actions of market actors..

Rainwater Harvesting in Champaign-Urbana: A Study on the Summer 2017 Rain Barrel Sale

The City of Urbana and the City of Champaign partnered with Faith in Place to organize a Rain Barrel & Compost Bin Truckload Sale in 2017. The sale was open to all, and residents of Urbana and Champaign could purchase at a discounted rate with proof of residency in accordance with each city's stormwater utility fee rebate scheme. An online survey was created to gather information on where and how the rain barrels were used, were they installed and used, what motivated people to purchase them, etc. This report details the results of the survey, and brings in additional data sets as needed to provide further context and insight.Faith in PlaceOpe

Siendo transformado por la enfermedad: la vivencia del adolescente con diabetes

Esta pesquisa objetivou compreender a experiência do adolescente em ter uma doença crônica como o diabetes tipo 1. Utilizou-se o Interacionismo Simbólico e a Teoria Fundamentada nos Dados como referenciais teórico e metodológico respectivamente. Os resultados permitiram conhecer a percepção do adolescente sobre a sua experiência e vivência com o diabetes a partir de três temas: recebendo o diagnóstico de diabetes, sendo transformado pela doença e sendo uma vida pontiaguda. Os adolescentes deste estudo são pessoas resilientes por conseguirem não só conviver com o diabetes, mas tornarem-se mais fortalecidas: sendo transformadas. Desse modo, o adolescente resiliente é capaz de curar-se de suas próprias feridas, dirigir sua vida e viver plenamente.El objetivo de esta investigación es comprender la experiencia del adolescente que sufre una enfermedad crónica como la diabetes. Utilizamos el Interaccionismo Simbólico y la Teoría Fundamentada en los Datos como referenciales teórico y metodológico respectivamente. Los resultados nos han permitido conocer la percepción del adolescente sobre su experiencia y vivencia con la diabetes a partir de tres temas: Recibiendo el Diagnóstico de Diabetes, Siendo transformado por la Enfermedad y Llevando una vida puntiaguda. Los adolescentes de este estudio son personas resilientes porque han logrado no solamente convivir con la diabetes sino convertirse en más fuertes: siendo transformadas. Así, el adolescente resiliente es capaz de curarse de sus propias heridas, dirigir su vida y vivir plenamente.This research aimed to understand the experience of adolescents to live with a chronic illness like diabetes mellitus type 1. Symbolic Interactionism and Grounded Theory were both used as theoretical and methodological frameworks respectively. The results allowed us to know the adolescents' perceptions about their experience in living with diabetes through three themes: Knowing the diabetes diagnosis; Being transformed by illness and Being a sharp life. The adolescents in this study were resilient people because they became stronger in spite of the illness, being transformed. In this way, the resilient adolescent is capable of healing his/her wounds, being in charge of his/her own life and having a full life