The State of the Judiciary: A Corporate Perspective

The rule of law depends on highly talented, independent judges who conscientiously strive to ensure that the law is consistently applied in a principled and predictable manner. This Essay addresses two potential threats to judicial independence and the rule of law that we believe warrant special attention at this time. First, inadequate judicial salaries pose a threat to the quality and independence of the judiciary. Judges\u27 real pay has declined substantially over the past generation, even as the compensation of other callings within the legal profession has risen dramatically. This growing disparity in pay has prompted an increasing number of experienced judges to leave the bench and has discouraged many of our most talented and experienced lawyers from accepting judicial nomination. Furthermore, as judicial compensation has declined, judicial appointees have increasingly come to the bench from the public rather than the private sector. This trend likely does not bode well for a balanced judiciary. We believe that judicial compensation should be increased substantially at both the federal and state levels. Second, the central role the jury has come to play in American tort law undermines the consistency and predictability that are the hallmarks of the rule of law. When juries, rather than judges, determine basic issues of liability as opposed to resolving issues of fact, similarly situated litigants may receive widely varying results from different juries. In addition, empirical studies indicate that juries treat corporate defendants differently from similarly situated individual defendants, holding corporations to a higher standard of care and assessing significantly higher damages against corporations when they find liability. The direct and indirect costs of such inconsistent and discriminatory treatment harm not only corporations, but also employees, shareholders, and consumers. Judges can and should play a greater role in resolving liability questions in tort disputes in order to restore clarity, consistency, predictability, and accountability to this area of the law

Pastoral Leaders’ Perception of Obesity and Their Role Within Faith-Based Organizations

The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectives of pastoral leaders regarding obesity and health within faith-based organizations (FBOs). In this study, the authors focused on gaining additional insight regarding how pastoral leaders conceptualize and make sense of their roles in terms of health promotion within FBOs. Utilizing a qualitative research methodological approach, specifically Qualitative Description, authors administered a qualitative survey to 12 participants which yielded three emerging themes: (1) perceived scope, (2) understanding and use of resources, and (3) defining obesity through pastoral leaders’ perspectives. In the study, investigators discuss clinical implications and provide recommendations

Method for removal of nitrogen oxides from stationary combustion sources

A method for removing NO.sub.X from gas streams emanating from stationary combustion sources and manufacturing plants utilizes the injection of hydrogen peroxide into the gas stream for rapid gas-phase oxidation of NO to NO.sub.2 and water-soluble nitrogen acids HNO.sub.2 and HNO.sub.3. The nitrogen acids may be removed from the oxidized gas stream by wet scrubbing or by contact with a particulate alkaline material to form a nitrite/nitrate salt

A disciplinary commons for database teaching

This paper discusses the experience of taking part in a disciplinary commons devoted to the teaching of database systems. It will discuss the structure of a disciplinary commons and our experience of the database version

The Causal Structure of Emotions in Aristotle: Hylomorphism, Causal Interaction between Mind and Body, and Intentionality

Recently, a strong hylomorphic reading of Aristotelian emotions has been put forward, one that allegedly eliminates the problem of causal interaction between soul and body. Taking the presentation of emotions in de An. I 1 as a starting point and basic thread, but relying also on the discussion of Rh. II, I will argue that this reading only takes into account two of the four causes of emotions, and that, if all four of them are included into the picture, then a causal interaction of mind and body remains within Aristotelian emotions, independent of how strongly their hylomorphism is understood. Beyond the discussion with this recent reading, the analysis proposed of the fourfold causal structure of emotions is also intended as a hermeneutical starting point for a comprehensive analysis of particular emotions in Aristotle. Through the different causes Aristotle seems to account for many aspects of the complex phenomenon of emotion, including its physiological causes, its mental causes, and its intentional object

Maternal adverse Childhood Experiences, Child Mental Health, and the mediating effect of maternal depression: A cross-sectional, population-based study in rural, southwestern Uganda

Objectives This study aimed to examine the intergenerational effects of maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and child mental health outcomes in rural Uganda, as well as the potentially mediating role of maternal depression in this pathway. Additionally, we sought to test the extent to which maternal social group membership attenuated the mediating effect of maternal depression on child mental health. Methods Data come from a population-based cohort of families living in the Nyakabare Parish, a rural district in southwestern Uganda. Between 2016 and 2018, mothers completed surveys about childhood adversity, depressive symptoms, social group membership, and their children\u27s mental health. Survey data were analyzed using causal mediation and moderated-mediation analysis. Results Among 218 mother–child pairs, 61 mothers (28%) and 47 children (22%) showed symptoms meeting cutoffs for clinically significant psychological distress. In multivariable linear regression models, maternal ACEs had a statistically significant association with severity of child conduct problems, peer problems, and total child difficulty scores. Maternal depression mediated the relationship between maternal ACEs and conduct problems, peer problems, and total difficulty, but this mediating effect was not moderated by maternal group membership. Conclusions Maternal depression may act as a potential mechanism linking maternal childhood adversity with poor child mental health in the next generation. Within a context of elevated rates of psychiatric morbidity, high prevalence of childhood adversity, and limited healthcare and economic infrastructures across Uganda, these results emphasize the prioritization of social services and mental health resources for rural Ugandan families

Influence of environmental factors on the abundance of Anopheles farauti larvae in large brackish water streams in Northern Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands

Background: The main vector of malaria in Solomon Islands is Anopheles farauti, which has a mainly coastal distribution. In Northern Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, high densities of An. farauti are supported by large brackish streams, which in the dry season are dammed by localized sand migration. The factors controlling the high larval productivity of these breeding sites have not been identified. Accordingly the influence of environmental factors on the presence and density of An. farauti larvae was assessed in three large naturally dammed streams. Methods. Larval sites were mapped and anopheline larvae were collected monthly for 12 months (July 2007 to June 2008) from three streams using standard dippers. Larval collections were made from 10 locations spaced at 50 m intervals along the edge of each stream starting from the coast. At each collection point, floating filamentous algae, aquatic emergent plants, sun exposure, and salinity were measured. These environmental parameters along with rainfall were correlated with larval presence and density. Results: The presence and abundance of An. farauti larvae varied between streams and was influenced by the month of collection, and distance from the ocean (p < 0.001). Larvae were more frequently present and more abundant within 50 m of the ocean during the dry season when the streams were dammed. The presence and density of larvae were positively associated with aquatic emergent plants (presence: p = 0.049; density: p = 0.001). Although filamentous algae did not influence the presence of larvae, this factor did significantly influence the density of larvae (p < 0.001). Rainfall for the month prior to sampling was negatively associated with both larval presence and abundance (p < 0.001), as high rainfall flushed larvae from the streams. Salinity significantly influenced both the presence (p = 0.002) and density (p = 0.014) of larvae, with larvae being most present and abundant in brackish water at < 10 seawater. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated that the presence and abundance An. farauti larvae are influenced by environmental factors within the large streams. Understanding these parameters will allow for targeted cost effective implementation of source reduction and larviciding to support the frontline malaria control measures i.e. indoor residual spraying (IRS) and distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs)

Random walk on sparse random digraphs

International audienceA finite ergodic Markov chain exhibits cutoff if its distance to equilibrium remains close to its initial value over a certain number of iterations and then abruptly drops to near 0 on a much shorter time scale. Originally discovered in the context of card shuffling (Aldous-Diaconis, 1986), this remarkable phenomenon is now rigorously established for many reversible chains. Here we consider the non-reversible case of random walks on sparse directed graphs, for which even the equilibrium measure is far from being understood. We work under the configuration model, allowing both the in-degrees and the out-degrees to be freely specified. We establish the cutoff phenomenon, determine its precise window and prove that the cutoff profile approaches a universal shape. We also provide a detailed description of the equilibrium measure

Magnetic properties of pure and Gd doped EuO probed by NMR

An Eu NMR study in the ferromagnetic phase of pure and Gd doped EuO was performed. A complete description of the NMR lineshape of pure EuO allowed for the influence of doping EuO with Gd impurities to be highlighted. The presence of a temperature dependent static magnetic inhomogeneity in Gd doped EuO was demonstrated by studying the temperature dependence of the lineshapes. The results suggest that the inhomogeneity in 0.6% Gd doped EuO is linked to colossal magnetoresistance. The measurement of the spin-lattice relaxation times as a function of temperature led to the determination of the value of the exchange integral J as a function of Gd doping. It was found that J is temperature independent and spatially homogeneous for all the samples and that its value increases abruptly with increasing Gd doping.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, to be published in Physical Review