The Influence of Religion and Ethnonationalism on Public Attitudes towards Amnesty : Northern Ireland as a Case Study

The 2011 Northern Ireland Social and Political Attitudes Survey was collected by John D. Brewer and Bernadette C. Hayes and was funded by the Leverhulme Trust under the Compromise After Conflict Programme (Grant no. F/00/152/AK).Peer reviewedPostprin

Renovation of Nitrogenous Wastewater Via Land Application

Removal of inorganic and organic nitrogen from wastewater prior to recharge of ground and surface waters can be accomplished by judicious land application. This study focused attention upon the feasibility of using sprinkler irrigation as the wastewater delivery system with coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon L.,var. coastal) pasture as the wastewater sink. One site was located on a Sawyer soil near El Dorado, while the other was located on a Savannah soil near Malvern. This report is limited to the renovation of surface waters. Results revealed that nitrogen concentration in runoff water from rainfall was substantially less than nitrogen concentration of the wastewater applied to the soil and similar to background levels. Such results support the consideration of land application as a viable wastewater disposal method

Students' epistemological framing in quantum mechanics problem solving

Students' difficulties in quantum mechanics may be the result of unproductive framing and not a fundamental inability to solve the problems or misconceptions about physics content. We observed groups of students solving quantum mechanics problems in an upper-division physics course. Using the lens of epistemological framing, we investigated four frames in our observational data: algorithmic math, conceptual math, algorithmic physics, and conceptual physics. We discuss the characteristics of each frame as well as causes for transitions between different frames, arguing that productive problem solving may occur in any frame as long as students' transition appropriately between frames. Our work extends epistemological framing theory on how students frame discussions in upper-division physics courses.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review -- Physics Education Researc

Revealing the Secrets of the Temple: The Value of Publishing Central Bank Interest Rate Projections

The modern view of monetary policy stresses its role in shaping the entire yield curve of interest rates in order to achieve various macroeconomic objectives. A crucial element of this process involves guiding financial market expectations of future central bank actions. Recently, a few central banks have started to explicitly signal their future policy intentions to the public, and two of these banks have even begun publishing their internal interest rate projections. We examine the macroeconomic effects of direct revelation of a central bank's expectations about the future path of the policy rate. We show that, in an economy where private agents have imperfect information about the determination of monetary policy, central bank communication of interest rate projections can help shape financial market expectations and may improve macroeconomic performance.

Revealing the secrets of the temple: the value of publishing central bank interest rate projections

The modern view of monetary policy stresses its role in shaping the entire yield curve of interest rates in order to achieve various macroeconomic objectives. A crucial element of this process involves guiding financial market expectations of future central bank actions. Recently, a few central banks have started to explicitly signal their future policy intentions to the public, and two of these banks have even begun publishing their internal interest rate projections. We examine the macroeconomic effects of direct revelation of a central bank's expectations about the future path of the policy rate. We show that, in an economy where private agents have imperfect information about the determination of monetary policy, central bank communication of interest rate projections can help shape financial market expectations and may improve macroeconomic performance.Monetary policy

Comparing Willingness to Pay for Organic, Natural, Locally Grown, and State Marketing Program Promoted Foods in the Mid-Atlantic Region

A choice experiment of Mid-Atlantic consumers was conducted to determine marginal willingness to pay for the attributes organic, natural, locally grown, and state marketing program promoted for strawberry preserves. The influence of purchasing venue on willingness to pay was also examined. Results indicated a price premium when purchased at a farmers market across all five states and versions. Organic was preferred to natural in only one state. Preference ordering between local and state program promoted varied. Consumers in Maryland and Pennsylvania clearly preferred local, while those in New Jersey seemed most likely to prefer the state program version.organic, natural, locally grown, state marketing program, choice experiment, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing,