[Review of] Terry G. Jordan and Matti Kaups. The American Backwoods Frontier: An Ethnic and Ecological Interpretation

Terry Jordan and Matti Kaups have produced a new study which is revealing, thorough, and extremely well documented with ample illustrations, charts, and maps. Their thesis is fascinating: Finnish immigrants played a highly significant role in the shaping of the American backwoods frontier. The authors trace the origin of the Finns from Finland\u27s interior where winters were (are) severe and where chinked log cabins and double-pen cabins became an art along with hunting, gathering, and marginal crop growing. Such a life style prepared them for immigration from Savo-Karelian Finland to the lower Delaware Valley settlements in New Jersey and Pennsylvania (during the 1740s) and from there westward through the Appalachians to the prairies, Rockies, and Pacific Northwest

Solar and Galactic Cosmic Rays observed by SOHO

Both the Cosmic Ray Flux (CRF) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) have left an imprint on SOHO technical systems. While the solar array efficiency degraded irreversibly down to ~77% of its original level over roughly 1 1/2 solar cycles, Single Event Upsets (SEUs) in the solid state recorder (SSR) have been reversed by the memory protection mechanism. We compare the daily CRF observed by the Oulu station with the daily SOHO SEU rate and with the Degradation curve of the solar arrays. The Oulu CRF and the SOHO SSR SEU rate are both modulated by the solar cycle and are highly correlated, except for sharp spikes in the SEU rate, caused by isolated SEP events, which also show up as discontinuities in the otherwise slowly decreasing solar ray efficiency. This allows to discriminate between effects with solar and non-solar origin and to compare the relative strength of both. We find that during solar cycle 23 (1996 Apr 1 -- 2008 Aug 31) only 6% of the total number of SSR SEUs were caused by SEPs; the remaining 94% were due to galactic cosmic rays. During the maximum period of cycle 23 (2000 Jan 1 -- 2003 Dec 31), the SEP contribution increased to 22%, and during 2001, the year with the highest SEP rate, to 30%. About 40% of the total solar array degradation during the 17 years from Jan 1996 through Feb 2013 can be attributed to proton events, i.e. the effect of a series of short-lived, violent SEP events is comparable to the cycle-integrated damage by cosmic rays.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures accepted for publication in Cent. Eur. Astrophys. Bul

World Bank Independence: A Model and Statistical Analysis of U.S. Influence

This paper develops a model to test whether World Bank lending caters to U.S. interests. We use country-level panel data to examine the geographic distribution of World Bank lending to 110 countries from 1968 to 2002. After controlling for country characteristics expected to influence the distribution of lending in a manner consistent with the World Bank’s charter and stated allocation mechanisms, we introduce variables reflecting U.S. interests. The empirical results are consistent with a significant U.S. influence, but one which varies across presidential administrations. These findings have important implications because donor influence may reduce the credibility, and hence the development effectiveness, of multilateral aid organizations.

Measurement of the Proton Structure Function F2F_2 and the Extraction of the Gluon Density at Small xx

In the following article we describe our measurement of the proton structure function $F_2$ and of the gluon momentum density $xg$ in $ep$ collisions with the ZEUS detector at HERA in 1993. The results for $F_2$ confirm our measurement from the previous year but with much higher statistics and show a strong rise towards small $x$. The gluon momentum density $xg$ is measured for the first time in a range from $4 \cdot 10^{-4} < x < 10^{-2}$ at a value of $Q^2 = 20$~GeV$^2$.Comment: 7 pages uuencode-gzipped postscript. LaTeX and individual figures can be found on http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/preprints/95/01/fleck.shtm

[Review of] Peter Iverson, ed. The Plains Indians of the Twentieth Century

Iverson\u27 s new volume of collected essays by authorities on reservation life serves as an invaluable aid to a further understanding of the sometimes agonizing social problems vis-a-vis the federal government. The book contains, in addition to Iverson\u27s short introduction, eleven essays (three by Native Americans) dealing with the complex cultural problems of twentieth-century Plains Indian reservations. Iverson\u27s essay stresses cultural independence despite overwhelming odds which face the modern Indian

Approaches and achievements of biodynamic vegetable breeding by Kultursaat e.V. (Germany) using the example of RODELIKA one of the first certified biodynamic varieties

Since 1998 RODELIKA is officially registered as a newly bred carrot variety. It had been developed by positive mass-selection over a 13 year period, based on an old-established variety within a farm based biodynamic system. The goal was a fine root with good health and a focus on taste and ability of maturation. Thus a selection-scheme in organoleptic characteristics sweetness and aroma was created. Numerous investigations demonstrate the very high inner quality of RODELIKA. Property rights of this open-pollinated variety are held by the charitable association Kultursaat eV as a common heritage

Mode I crack tip fields: strain gradient plasticity theory versus J2 flow theory

The mode I crack tip asymptotic response of a solid characterised by strain gradient plasticity is investigated. It is found that elastic strains dominate plastic strains near the crack tip, and thus the Cauchy stress and the strain state are given asymptotically by the elastic K-field. This crack tip elastic zone is embedded within an annular elasto-plastic zone. This feature is predicted by both a crack tip asymptotic analysis and a finite element computation. When small scale yielding applies, three distinct regimes exist: an outer elastic K field, an intermediate elasto-plastic field, and an inner elastic K field. The inner elastic core significantly influences the crack opening profile. Crack tip plasticity is suppressed when the material length scale $\ell$ of the gradient theory is on the order of the plastic zone size estimation, as dictated by the remote stress intensity factor. A generalized J-integral for strain gradient plasticity is stated and used to characterise the asymptotic response ahead of a short crack. Finite element analysis of a cracked three point bend specimen reveals that the crack tip elastic zone persists in the presence of bulk plasticity and an outer J-field

How Do Political Changes Influence U.S. Bilateral Aid Allocations? Evidence from Panel Data

This paper examines the role of U.S. domestic politics in the allocation of foreign aid using panel data on aid to 119 countries from 1960 to 1997. Employing proxies for four aid allocation criteria (development concerns, strategic importance, commercial importance, and the degree of democratization), we find evidence that each influences aid allocation, although the evidence is stronger for some criteria (development concerns, commercial importance) than for others (strategic importance, degree of democratization). Furthermore, the allocation pattern depends on the composition of the U.S. government. When the president and Congress are liberal, development concerns receive more weight in the allocation process than when the president and/or Congress are more conservative. When the Congress is more conservative, commercial concerns have more weight than when the Congress is liberal. These findings have practical importance in light of current attempts to overhaul the allocation of both bilateral and multilateral aid.