Overview of Non-Liquid Noble Direct Detection Dark Matter Experiments

In the last few years many advances have been made in the field of dark matter direct detection. In this article I will review the progress and status of experiments that employ detection techniques that do not use noble liquids. First, I will give an introduction to the field of dark matter and discuss the background challenges that confront all dark matter experiments. I will also discuss various detection techniques employed by the current generation and the next generation of dark matter experiments. Finally, I will discuss recent results and the status of current and future direct detection experiments.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figure. In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Topics in Astroparticle and Underground Physics, TAUP 201

The EU and Bosnia and Herzegovina: Democracy promotion within the limits of the "ethnic conflict" paradigm

Seeking to contribute to the emerging debate about the substance of EU democracy promotion policies, this paper takes as its focus Bosnia and Herzegovina, where the EU‟s current democracy promotion efforts are primarily focused on reform of the country‟s constitution. Bosnia‟s current constitution, established by the 1995 Dayton Agreement, provides for consociational power-sharing and extensive territorial decentralisation. While EU officials have stressed the inadequacies of the present constitutional arrangements, over time the reforms demanded have become more limited in scope. As such, I suggest that the outcome of any successful constitutional reform negotiations will be technical fixes to the present constitution, allowing the country to meet the obligations of future EU membership, rather than its wholesale redesign. Rather than promoting liberal democracy as it has elsewhere, then, in Bosnia the EU supports the perpetuation of consociational structures, which EU officials regard as the most realistic option given the country‟s post-conflict political context. Faced with the lack of a constitutional norm within the Union, let alone a consociational one, EU policy-makers have instead chosen to refer to a particular reading of the history of the European integration project itself in order to lend support to their approach in Bosnia, which continues to privilege group over individual rights. I highlight how notions of a „union of diversity‟ or a „union of minorities‟ are used to legitimise an approach to democracy promotion that is predicated on a view of Bosnia as composed of a patchwork of ethnic groups with discrete and discernable interests and identities

Water Use Trends in the United States

Since 1950, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has collected and released data on national water use every five years for each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In November 2014, the USGS released water-use estimates for 2010. These data are collected from a variety of sources, including from national data sets, state agencies, questionnaires, and local contacts (Maupin et al. 2014). They include estimates of withdrawals of freshwater and saline water from groundwater and surface-water sources and water use by sector. Using these data and historic data from several other sources, this paper reviews national water-use trends, going as far back as 1900 in some cases. For this analysis, we use the term "water use" to refer to the amount of water withdrawn from the ground or diverted from a surface-water source for use. Our analysis finds that we have made considerable progress in managing the nation's water, with total water use less than it was in 1970, despite continued population and economic growth. Indeed, every sector, from agriculture to thermoelectric power generation, shows reductions in water use. National water use, however, remains high, and many freshwater systems are under stress from overuse. Moreover, climate change will exacerbate existing water resource challenges, affecting the supply, demand, and quality of the nation's water resources. In order to address these challenges, we must continue and even expand efforts to improve water-use efficiency in our homes, businesses, industries, and on our nation's farms

Future techniques for tracking of synchronous satellites

A tracking system error analysis computer program is reported to study the feasibility of using range sum and range-rate sum measurements through a synchronous satellite to a user satellite, and range sum and range-rate sum measurements through a synchronous satellite to a ground based transponder for tracking of synchronous satellites. Error analysis transformed noise, bias, ground station location and orbit uncertainties into expected uncertainties in each of the orbits after tracking. Results show that both of the proposed measurement methods are feasible for determining and refining the orbits of future synchronous satellites

The Efficacy of Telepractice in the Assessment and Treatment of Speech Disorders: A Systematic Review

Purpose: Children and adults with speech disorders face numerous barriers in accessing traditional face-to-face services with a speech-language pathologist. Telepractice may be a feasible solution. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the efficacy of telepractice in the assessment and treatment of speech disorders in children and adults. Methods: Research articles were ascertained from Ovid MEDLINE, PsychInfo, and CINAHL using an established and consistent search strategy that utilized both medical subject headings and subject terms related to telepractice. The predetermined inclusion criteria included diagnosis of a speech disorder, participants across the lifespan, direct comparison of both delivery methods (i.e., telepractice to face-to-face), and objective outcome measures. Articles were excluded due to lack of speech disorder diagnosis, use of purely subjective outcome measures, and lack of direct comparison of delivery methods. Quality assessment was established by the authors using the criteria in the Assessing the Quality and Applicability of Systematic Reviews and a rating scale (i.e., \u27poor,\u27 \u27fair,\u27 \u27good,\u27 \u27strong\u27). Results: Electronic searches of the databases resulted in the acquisition of 16 full-text research studies, which were used in this systematic review. The quality of the studies ranged from \u27poor\u27 to \u27strong\u27 with a majority of the articles rated as \u27good.\u27 The studies explored telepractice efficacy in speech sound disorders, fluency disorders, dysarthria, apraxia, and voice disorders. Conclusions: Generally, the quality of intervention delivered via telepractice is comparable to traditional face-to-face therapy. Additional research involving diverse populations with varied levels of severity in natural environments is required to confirm the efficacy of the delivery method. It is imperative the use of telepractice is considered by each clinician on a per case basis.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/csdms/1007/thumbnail.jp

Construction of AC Motor Controllers for NOvA Experiment Upgrades

I have been constructing Alternating Current (AC) motor controllers for manipulation of particle beam detectors. The capability and reliability of these motor controllers are essential to the Laboratory's mission of accurate analysis of the particle beam's position. The device is moved in and out of the beam's path by the motor controller followed by the Neutrinos at the Main Injector Off-Axis {\nu}e Appearance (NOvA) Experiment further down the beam pipe. In total, I built and tested ten ac motor controllers for new beam operations in the NOvA experiment. These units will prove to be durable and provide extremely accurate beam placement for NO{\nu}A Experiment far into the future.Comment: 11 p

Executive Compensation: Facts

In this paper we describe the important features of executive compensation in the US from 1993 to 2006. Some confirm what has been found for earlier periods and some are novel. Notable facts are that: the compensation distribution is highly skewed; each year, a sizeable fraction of chief executives lose money; the use of security grants has increased over time; the income accruing to CEOs from the sale of stock increased; regardless of the measure we adopt, compensation responds strongly to innovations in shareholder wealth; measured as dollar changes in compensation, incentives have strengthened over time, measured as percentage changes in wealth, they have not changed in any appreciable way.CEO, Pay–Performance Sensitivity, Stock, Options

Urban Water Conservation and Efficiency Potential in California

Improving urban water-use efficiency is a key solution to California's short-term and longterm water challenges: from drought to unsustainable groundwater use to growing tensions over limited supplies. Reducing unnecessary water withdrawals leaves more water in reservoirs and aquifers for future use and has tangible benefits to fish and other wildlife in our rivers and estuaries. In addition, improving water-use efficiency and reducing waste can save energy, lower water and wastewater treatment costs, and eliminate the need for costly new infrastructure