Linear State Space Modeling of Gamma-Ray Burst Lightcurves

Linear State Space Modeling determines the hidden autoregressive (AR) process in a noisy time series; for an AR process the time series' current value is the sum of current stochastic ``noise'' and a linear combination of previous values. We present preliminary results from modeling a sample of 4 channel BATSE LAD lightcurves. We determine the order of the AR process necessary to model the bursts. The comparison of decay constants for different energy bands shows that structure decays more rapidly at high energy. The resulting models can be interpreted physically; for example, they may reveal the response of the burst emission region to the injection of energy.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, AIPPROC LaTeX, to appear in "Gamma-Ray Bursts, 4th Huntsville Symposium," eds. C. Meegan, R. Preece and T. Koshu

Cacophony or Concerto?: Analyzing the Applicability of the Wiretap Act’s Party Exception for Duplicate GET Requests

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (“Wiretap Act”) prohibits the intentional interception of an electronic communication. However, “parties to a communication” can intercept a communication without Wiretap Act liability. Parties include the intended recipients of a communication. When internet users navigate the internet, they communicate with websites using GET requests. The users’ GET requests call out to websites and websites respond by providing the websites’ content to the users. During this process, websites receive user data. This data can include information about the website visited, the search terms used to locate the website, and referral data identifying the last web page the users visited. Digital advertisers may populate websites users visit with advertisements or plug-ins that allow users to “like” content. In doing so, advertisers generate secondary GET requests between users and advertisers. Secondary GET requests are duplicates of the GET requests between users and websites insofar as they share user data. Advertisers retain and identify this data. In the Third and Ninth Circuits, internet users argued that digital advertisers used the duplicate GET requests to intercept user data contained in the GET requests between users and websites—arguably a violation of federal law under the Wiretap Act. Digital advertisers invoked the party exception, arguing that advertisers were parties to the duplicate GET request between internet users and advertisers. If so, the advertisers would be parties to the user data received in the duplicate GET requests and exempt from Wiretap Act liability. The Third Circuit held that the party exception applied to the advertisers’ duplicate GET requests. The Ninth Circuit rejected this approach and held that the party exception did not apply. This Note argues that digital advertisers are unintended recipients that are ineligible for the party exception. First, transmitting duplicate user data via a second communication is an effective—and sometimes necessary—method of interception for electronic communications on the internet. In that case, duplicate GET requests may indicate interception. This requires courts to analyze shared data, not individual GET requests. Second, equating a direct recipient of a duplicate GET request with an intended recipient lacks judicial support and cannot properly decide party status. Third, users enter URLs or click hyperlinks to navigate the internet. This identifies the websites that users visit as the intended recipients of user data, not digital advertisers. As such, advertisers are best categorized as unintended recipients and therefore ineligible for the Wiretap Act’s party exception

The New Testament Attitude Toward Government

One such form of life in the secular world is that of government. Practically every Christian, like other individuals, is a citizen--or at least an inhabitant--of some particular nation. And every nation has some form of government by which the inhabitants are controlled. These forms may vary widely, from a total dictatorship or monarchy to a thorough-going democracy; from a highly-organized state which concerns itself with even the minute matters of individual life to a loose organization whose only concern is the preservation of outward order. No matter what the form, some relationship must be assumed by individual Christians toward their government. It is this relationship which is the subject of study for this report

Low-temperature Thermochronology of the Beartooth Conglomerate

During the Laramide Orogeny, the crystalline core of the Beartooth Plateau in northwest Wyoming and south-central Montana was thrust over Mesozoic and Paleozoic rock in the adjacent Big Horn Basin. Omar et al. (1994) reported apatite fission-track data of 30 samples from ~4 km of vertical section through the Red Lodge corner of the Beartooth overthrust. These authors presented two hypotheses to explain these data, both of which describe rapid uplift in the Paleocene with a second uplift event during the late Miocene or early Pliocene. The period between these two uplift events was characterized by Oligocene and Miocene sedimentation (Hypothesis A), or by tectonic quiescence (Hypothesis B). In an attempt to test the hypotheses of Omar et al. (1994), apatites and zircons from Precambrian crystalline clasts within the synorogenic Beartooth Conglomerate were analyzed by (U-Th)/He methods. In all, 25 apatite and 15 zircon aliquots from 5 basement clasts were measured. Two clasts presented average zircon ages older than average apatite ages, which I interpret to be the result of natural radiation damage (raising the closure temperature of apatite and lowering the closure temperature of zircon), the possible presence of zircons with uranium-rich rims, or zircon inclusions within apatite grains. Two apatite aliquots gave ages younger than the depositional age of the conglomerate (~55 Ma), suggesting low helium closure temperatures or an incorrect assessment of the age of deposition. All remaining apatite apparent ages (~60 Ma to ~190 Ma) and zircon apparent ages (~100 Ma to ~800 Ma) suggest a period throughout the Phanerozoic characterized by slow burial since Cambrian exposure, which continued until rapid uplift initiation of the Beartooth Range (~60 Ma).Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Department o

Training Church Council Members for Their Work

It was the purpose of this study to examine and consider the training of church council members for their work. The study was concerned first with the organization of the church council and the duties of its members. Then it consided the need for training this group of men, followed by the methods, areas; and objectives of such training. Finally, the study looked at the pastor as the trainer or leader of his church council

High performance forward swept wing aircraft

A high performance aircraft capable of subsonic, transonic and supersonic speeds employs a forward swept wing planform and at least one first and second solution ejector located on the inboard section of the wing. A high degree of flow control on the inboard sections of the wing is achieved along with improved maneuverability and control of pitch, roll and yaw. Lift loss is delayed to higher angles of attack than in conventional aircraft. In one embodiment the ejectors may be advantageously positioned spanwise on the wing while the ductwork is kept to a minimum

Impulse Purchases, Gun Ownership and Homicides:Evidence from a Firearm Demand Shock

Do firearm purchase delay laws reduce aggregate homicide levels? Using quasi-experimental evidence from a 6-month countrywide gun demand shock starting in late 2012, we show that U.S. states with legislation preventing immediate handgun purchases experienced smaller increases in handgun sales. Our findings are hard to reconcile with entirely rational consumers, but suggest that gun buyers behave time-inconsistently. In a second step, we demonstrate that states with purchase delays also witnessed 3% lower homicide rates during the same period compared to states allowing instant handgun access. We report suggestive evidence that lower handgun sales primarily reduced impulsive assaults and domestic violence