Creating an independent record label

The primary purpose of this thesis was to illustrate the creation of a successful independent record label. The research analyzed current music business trends in addition to general business literature. The guidelines of general business were adapted and transformed to meet the needs of a record label. Interviews with individuals that have expertise in music business were also conducted to accurately assist in the development of a record label. It was determined that several important elements must be addressed when starting a record label, they are: Your Business Description; Marketing Strategies; Analyzing the Competition, and Financial Planning concerns. Although these were the most important topics when creating your label, other sections were added to assist with record label development. With proper research and planning, your record label will have a higher rate of success

A Comparison of Markers of Iron Status between Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian Female High School Cross Country Runners. Is Routine, Pre-Season Screening Warranted?

The purpose of the present study is to determine whether the circulating markers of iron status differ between vegetarian or non-vegetarian adolescent female high school cross-country runners. Fifteen non-vegetarian and six vegetarian female cross-country runners completed questionnaires used to obtain anthropometric data, health history, menstrual status, diet history and training history. Dietary intake was determined by self-report, using a food frequency questionnaire and a 3-day diet record. Blood samples were analyzed for serum iron, total iron binding capacity, serum ferritin, and transferrin saturation. No significant difference was found between vegetarians and non-vegetarians for serum iron or transferrin saturation. However, TIBC was significantly higher in vegetarians (p \u3c 0.05). Ferritin was lower in vegetarians, trending toward significance (p \u3c 0.10). Study results suggest the need for routine pre-season iron screenings as well as nutrition education, aimed at improving iron status for vegetarian and non-vegetarian adolescent female endurance athletes

To rule the roof of the world: power and patronage in Afghan Kyrgyz society

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThis anthropological study of two Kyrgyz communities in Afghanistan's Pamir Mountains examines the changing nature of political leadership in Afghan Kyrgyz society over the past forty years. The research was conducted during nineteen months spent in Afghanistan, between 2006 and 2010, including twelve months of ethnographic fieldwork and participant observation among the Kyrgyz in both the Great and Little Pamirs. Data were collected on Kyrgyz history, demography, pastoral production strategies and market access-as well as, most importantly, the political strategies of various Kyrgyz leaders. Given the predominately rural nature of Afghanistan and the limited reach and influence of formal government structures, informal leadership constitutes the primary form of governance experienced by most Afghans. Far from being a timeless or static process, access to positions to leadership has been and remains opportunistic and dynamic, demonstrating considerable adaptability to changing social, economic, and political conditions. This study considers informal leadership in Afghan Kyrgyz society over four periods: pre-April 1978; the Saur Revolution and the Soviet-Afghan war (1978-1989); the mujahideen conquest, the civil war, and the war against the Taliban (1989-2001); and the post-Taliban period (2001-2012). Kyrgyz population transfers, the Soviet occupation of the Pamirs, mujahideen rule, and post-Taliban state-building efforts in Afghanistan have had far-reaching effects upon Kyrgyz politics, primarily by reconstituting access to political capital. In contrast to the pre-1978 period, when it was derived mostly from pastoral wealth, political capital has been increasingly accumulated through the process of extracting and redistributing exogenous resources, via patron-client networks, by Kyrgyz leaders seeking to establish, maintain, legitimize or contest political authority. Situating both the Great and Little Pamir, as well as the Afghan state, in recent historical context, this dissertation explains the various social and economic factors that account for the development of three different types of political leadership-the khan, the wakil, and the CDCs-all of which, though, retain the same goal: extracting patronage to accumulate political capital and legitimacy. It concludes by noting recent significant events which have occurred in both Pamirs, changes which are illustrative of Kyrgyz politics and which will greatly affect the future ofthis community

Distribution of Amino Acids in Lunar Regolith

One of the most eagerly studied questions upon initial return of lunar samples was whether significant amounts of organic compounds, including amino acids, were present. Analyses during the 1970s produced only tentative and inconclusive identifications of indigenous amino acids. Those analyses were hampered by analytical difficulties including relative insensitivity to certain compounds, the inability to separate chiral enantiomers, and the lack of compound-specific isotopic measurements, which made it impossible to determine whether the detected amino acids were indigenous to the lunar samples or the results of contamination. Numerous advances have been made in instrumentation and methodology for amino acid characterization in extraterrestrial samples in the intervening years, yet the origin of amino acids in lunar regolith samples has been revisited only once for a single lunar sample, (3) and remains unclear. Here, we present initial data from the analyses of amino acid abundances in 12 lunar regolith samples. We discuss these abundances in the context of four potential amino acid sources: (1) terrestrial biological contamination; (2) contamination from lunar module (LM) exhaust; (3) derivation from solar windimplanted precursors; and (4) exogenous delivery from meteorites

Two-step Laser Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry to Elucidate Organic Diversity in Planetary Surface Materials.

Laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LD-TOF-MS) holds promise to be a low-mass, compact in situ analytical capability for future landed missions to planetary surfaces. The ability to analyze a solid sample for both mineralogical and preserved organic content with laser ionization could be compelling as part of a scientific mission pay-load that must be prepared for unanticipated discoveries. Targeted missions for this instrument capability include Mars, Europa, Enceladus, and small icy bodies, such as asteroids and comets