Consumer Boycotts: The Impact of the Iraq War on French Wine Sales in the U.S.

The French Opposition to the war in Iraq in early 2003, prompted calls for a boycott of French wine in the US. We measure the magnitude of consumers%u2019 participation in the boycott, and look at basic evidence of who participates. Conservative estimates indicate that the boycott resulted in 26% lower weekly sales at its peak, and 13% lower sales over the six month period that we estimate the boycott lasted for. These findings suggest that business should be concerned that their actions may provoke a boycott which hurts their profits. We also find that neither political preferences or media attention are important determinants of boycott participation.

Enhanced Single Molecule Mass Spectrometry Via Charged Metallic Clusters

Water-soluble metallic clusters have been used for a number of important applications. One of the most stable clusters is Au25(SG)18, which are negatively charged in solution and highly monodisperse making them ideal for characterization and analysis applications. We present here a new application where these clusters are shown to increase the mean residence time of polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules within an alpha hemolysin (αHL) nanopore. The effect appears over a range of PEG sizes and ionic strengths. This increases the resolution of the peaks in the single molecule mass spectrometry (SMMS) current blockade distribution and suggests a means for reducing the ionic strength of the nanopore solute in the SMMS protocol.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1041/thumbnail.jp

The impact of the business environment on young firm financing

This paper uses a dataset of more than 70,000 firms in over 100 countries to systematically study the use of different financing sources for new and young firms, in comparison to mature firms. The authors find that in all countries younger firms rely less on bank financing and more on informal financing. However, they also find that younger firms use more bank finance in countries with stronger rule of law and better credit information, and that the reliance of young firms on informal finance decreases with the availability of credit information. Overall, the results suggest that improvements to the legal environment and availability of credit information are disproportionately beneficial for promoting access to formal finance by young firms.Access to Finance,Debt Markets,Bankruptcy and Resolution of Financial Distress,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation

Scope, Scale, and Sustainability: What It Takes to Create Lasting Community Change

· This article examines success factors that relate specifically to the ability of a comprehensive community initiative (CCI) to achieve the scope and scale required to generate community-level outcomes and to sustain those positive impacts over time. · The CCIs selected for study represent a wide range of goals, strategies, and organizational structures. · Six factors were found to cut across scope, scale, and sustainability. These factors include having a single broker or entity that holds the vision of the change effort; clearly defined roles; alignment among interventions, resources, and geography; meaningful community engagement; competent leadership and staff; and strategic, cross-level relationships. · Additional factors were found to relate to success in achieving scope, scale, or sustainability individually. · Lessons include to plan, operate, and evaluate based on a systems- and community-change framework; choose focused and affordable strategies; build the capacity to use data; and plan for change and conflict

Building Community Capacity: An Initial Inventory of Local Intermediary Organizations

This report was prepared by the Association for the Study and Development of Community (ASDC) on behalf of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) in order to examine the role of intermediaries as support systems for community development organizations. This report is intended to take an initial view of these organizations and provide a preliminary view of their pervasiveness, services, and challenges. The following is a review of the available literature examining the structure and operation of community development intermediaries

Effect of Impact Angle on Astrocyte Gene Expression

Over one million people each year experience some form of traumatic brain injury. Every individual’s injury is different as impacts can affect different parts of the brain in various ways. This study was conducted to test the impact angles effect on astrocytes by measuring gene expression of TNF- alpha, an inflammation marker, and GFAP, a gene released in response to reactive astrocytes, following impacts from 0, 45, and 90 degrees. Results were recorded from Polymerase Chain Reaction via the delta delta Ct method and compared to the control group for to show under-regulation or up- regulation of the genes of interest. TNF-alpha was up-regulated in the 0 degree test and under-regulated in 45, and 90. GFAP levels were increased for each angle. Two sample t-test were conducted for differences in expression levels and were found to show all significant in TNF-alpha, and significant in GFAP 45 degree impact

The First Day of Criminal Law: Forgetting Everything You Thought You Already Knew

Whether from the media or the seemingly endless rotation of Law and Order episodes, many students enter law school with a great deal of knowledge about important concepts that dominate Criminal Law, including murder, manslaughter, conspiracy, self-defense, or insanity. This familiarity with criminal law presents a dual challenge for students and professors alike. First, as future lawyers, they must force themselves to think critically about these familiar topics, and despite their basic knowledge of the criminal justice system, students quickly learn that there is much more to criminal law than meets the eye. Second, part of this critical analysis requires students to shed any preconceived notions about the criminal justice system they may have acquired. For my students, this means appreciating that criminality exists in all sectors of society and is not reserved for any particular race, gender, or socioeconomic class. Armed with knowledge of criminal law and its principles, my hope is that they will develop their own ideas about making our great justice system better. This abstract has been adapted from the author\u27s introduction

Intelligent Vision Systems Independent Research and Development (IR&D) 2006

This report summarizes results in conduct of research sponsored by the 2006 Independent Research and Development (IR&D) program at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. The focus of this IR&D is neural network (NN) technology provided by Imagination Engines, Incorporated (IEI) of St. Louis, Missouri. The technology already has many commercial, military, and governmental applications, and a rapidly growing list of other potential spin-offs. The goal for this IR&D is implementation and demonstration of the technology for autonomous robotic operations, first in software and ultimately in one or more hardware realizations. Testing is targeted specifically to the MSFC Flat Floor, but may also include other robotic platforms at MSFC, as time and funds permit. For the purpose of this report, the NN technology will be referred to by IEI's designation for a subset configuration of its patented technology suite: Self-Training Autonomous Neural Network Object (STANNO)

Crafting a Systematic Literature Review on Open-Source Platforms

This working paper unveils the crafting of a systematic literature review on open-source platforms. The high-competitive mobile devices market, where several players such as Apple, Google, Nokia and Microsoft run a platforms- war with constant shifts in their technological strategies, is gaining increasing attention from scholars. It matters, then, to review previous literature on past platforms-wars, such as the ones from the PC and game-console industries, and assess its implications to the current mobile devices platforms-war. The paper starts by justifying the purpose and rationale behind this literature review on open-source platforms. The concepts of open-source software and computer-based platforms were then discussed both individually and in unison, in order to clarify the core-concept of 'open-source platform' that guides this literature review. The detailed design of the employed methodological strategy is then presented as the central part of this paper. The paper concludes with preliminary findings organizing previous literature on open-source platforms for the purpose of guiding future research in this area.Comment: As presented in 10th IFIP WG 2.13 International Conference on Open Source Systems, OSS 2014, San Jos\'e, Costa Rica, May 6-9, 201

Psychiatric morbidity and social capital in rural communities of the Greek North Aegean islands

Which facets of social capital affect mental health in rural settings? This study explores the association between different aspects of social capital and psychiatric morbidity in rural communities of the Greek North Aegean islands. A large number of individual and community characteristics which may influence psychiatric morbidity are concurrently examined in multilevel models to account for the clustering of individuals within rural settings. The current findings indicate that psychiatric morbidity is to a large extent clustered within rural communities. Individuals’ perceived divisions in the community, i.e., political party preference, landholdings etc., low social support networks and lack of perceived solidarity are associated with psychiatric morbidity according to theoretical expectation. At the community level this risk is lower in villages with over 250 residents, where there are youth clubs or a common threat, for instance, property crime