bcp: An R Package for Performing a Bayesian Analysis of Change Point Problems

Barry and Hartigan (1993) propose a Bayesian analysis for change point problems. We provide a brief summary of selected work on change point problems, both preceding and following Barry and Hartigan. We outline Barry and Hartigan's approach and offer a new R package, pkgbcp (Erdman and Emerson 2007), implementing their analysis. We discuss two frequentist alternatives to the Bayesian analysis, the recursive circular binary segmentation algorithm (Olshen and Venkatraman 2004) and the dynamic programming algorithm of (Bai and Perron 2003). We illustrate the application of bcp with economic and microarray data from the literature.

Congressional Control of the Courts: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of Expansion of the Federal Judiciary

Congress has many available tools to influence the federal judiciary. In this article, we consider Congress\u27 ability to balance, or stack, the courts through the creation of federal judgeships. While caseload pressure often produces the need for more judgeships, we demonstrate that political party alignment between Congress and the president often determines the timing of the judicial expansion. The net effect of expanding during political alignment is to speed up changes in the political balance of the judiciary in favor of the current Congress. We also examine the determinants of expansion size and show that both political alignment and caseload pressure influence Congress\u27 decision regarding how many judgeships to add

The Structure and Conduct of Corporate Lobbying: How Firms Lobby the Federal Communications Commission

lobbying (internal organization vs. trade association) by firms in administrative agencies. It explores the power and limitations of the collective action theories and transaction cost theories in explaining lobbying. It introduces a dataset of over 900 lobbying contacts cover 101 issues at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in early 1998. We find that the structure and conduct of large firm lobbying at the FCC is consistent with the predictions of theories of transaction costs and the main results of theories of collective action. However, large firms do not change their behavior drastically as structures arise to remedy the free rider problem. Small firms show no sensitivity to collective action issues or transaction cost issues in the organization or amount of their lobbying, but they do lobby less when having to reveal proprietary information. In sum, large firms behave largely consistent with theoretical predictions, while small firms do not.

The Development of a High Performance Concrete to Store Thermal Energy for Concentrating Solar Power Plants

In recent years, due to rising energy costs as well as an increased awareness of the environmental effects of greenhouse gas emissions produced through traditional forms of energy production, there is great interest in developing alternative sources of energy. One of the most viable alternative energy sources is solar energy. In particular, concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies have been identified as an option for meeting utility needs in the U.S. Southwest. These systems are required to produce electricity not only during periods of high solar radiation but also during times of reduced radiation due to cloud cover, and even extend production to periods during the night. In order to achieve this goal, CSP plants must incorporate a thermal energy storage (TES) system from which energy can be sourced when needed. Besides the integration of a TES sub-system, another area where CSP technologies can be improved is in the development and use of heat transfer fluids (HTF) that can remain stable at temperatures up to and in excess of 1112oF (600oC). This research explores the use of concrete as a TES storage medium for CSP technologies, specifically, parabolic trough power plants. Concrete is relatively inexpensive and the costs/ kWhthermal of energy based on the concretes used in this research could be less than $1. Researchers using concrete as a TES storage medium have achieved maximum operating temperatures of 752oF (400oC) with a 6-hour storage capacity. The operating temperature limit of 752oF (400oC) is dictated by the limitations of the concrete when exposed to elevated temperatures and by the stability of the heat transfer fluid at these temperatures. By exposing various concrete types to different heating regimens and subsequently measuring their thermo-mechanical properties, this research has identified concrete that can withstand temperatures up to 1112oF (600oC) for deployment as a TES medium. The benefits derived from using concretes that are resistant to higher temperatures are an increase in the operating efficiency of the CSP plant, an increase in the number of storage hours and a significant reduction in both the storage cost and the unit cost of solar generated electricity

Public School Funding and School Systems Meeting Adequate Yearly Progress in Tennessee.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a relationship between level of funding and achievement of school systems in Tennessee based on the standards of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. This study focused on Tennessee school systems and their adequate yearly progress (AYP) status of targeted or good standing from 2007 through 2009. Federal, state, and local funding, as well as per-pupil expenditure, average teacher salary, and number of students, were used as variables. All data were gathered from the Tennessee Department of Education website. The researcher performed 6 independent samples t-tests and one chi square analysis. The study showed significant differences in the means of federal, state, and local funding levels between targeted systems and systems in good standing. Targeted systems received more federal, state, and local funding than systems in good standing from 2007 through 2009. The study showed no significant difference in mean per-pupil expenditures between targeted systems and systems in good standing. The study showed a significant difference in the mean teacher salaries. Targeted systems had higher teacher salaries than systems in good standing from 2007 through 2009. The study also showed a significant difference in the mean number of students between targeted systems and systems in good standing. Targeted systems had more students than systems in good standing. The findings indicate that targeted systems are receiving as much funding as systems in good standing. To help control for the number of students in each system, the two groups (targeted and in good standing) were compared using per-pupil federal, state and local dollars. The analysis indicated no significant difference between targeted systems and systems in good standing for federal money. The analysis did indicate a significant difference between the two groups for state and local money. However, for state money systems in good standing had the higher mean and for local money, targeted systems had the higher mean. Mean per-pupil expenditures were relatively equal between targeted systems and systems in good standing. System size, based on the number of students, showed a significant relationship with the NCLB status of a system. The mean number of students in targeted systems was more than 3 times as large as systems in good standing (17,656 to 5,284). Also, a group of systems with over 4,445 students had over 5 times the number of targeted systems than a group of systems with fewer than 2,094 students

Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.

Grant\u27s Life In the West and His Mississippi Valley Campaigns: A History, Book II

Book two of this series on General Grant\u27s life in the West and the Mississippi Valley Campaigns is twenty-three chapters originally published in The Midland Monthly from September to December, 1897. This book covers Grant\u27s retirement from the army after the Mexican War, his life as a farmer and business man in Missouri, the origins of the stories of Grant\u27s alcoholism and his life as a citizen, and the beginnings of his career in the Army during the Civil War after Abraham Lincoln\u27s election. Illustrations of Grant, the people and places Grant encountered throughout this period of his life and career, and documents pertaining to his career are included throughout. Other pages of stories from the Midland Monthly appear throughout as this Grant history progresses over multiple issues.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/usg-john-emerson/1001/thumbnail.jp

Grant\u27s Life In the West and His Mississippi Valley Campaigns: A History, Book I

Book one of this series on General Grant\u27s life in the West and the Mississippi Valley Campaigns is twenty-one chapters originally published in The Midland Monthly from October 1896 through August 1897. Prefatory remarks begin the history on this portion of General Grant\u27s life and the first chapter begins by describing the conditions of life in the new west in 1843. The book takes us through the Jefferson Barracks, Grant\u27s courtship of his wife, Julia Dent, Fort Jessup, the advance through Texas, his marriage, and the progression of Grant\u27s career across the west and into Mexico and California during the Mexican War. The book includes illustrations of Grant, his wife, and the people and places Grant encountered throughout this period of his life and career. Other pages of stories from the Midland Monthly appear throughout as this Grant history progresses over multiple issues.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/usg-john-emerson/1000/thumbnail.jp