Refugee Roulette: Disparities in Asylum Adjudication

This study analyzes databases of merits decisions from all four levels of the asylum adjudication process: 133,000 decisions by 884 asylum officers over a seven year period; 140,000 decisions of 225 immigration judges over a four-and-a-half year period; 126,000 decisions of the Board of Immigration Appeals over six years; and 4215 decisions of the U.S. Courts of Appeal during 2004 and 2005. The analysis reveals significant disparities in grant rates, even when different adjudicators in the same office each considered large numbers of applications from nationals of the same country. In many cases, the most important moment in an asylum case is the instant in which a clerk randomly assigns an application to a particular asylum officer or immigration judge. Using cross-tabulations based on public biographies, the paper also explores correlations between sociological characteristics of individual immigration judges and their grant rates. The cross tabulations show that the chance of winning asylum was strongly affected by whether or not the applicant had legal representation, by the gender of the immigration judge, and by the immigration judge\u27s work experience prior to appointment. In their conclusion, the authors do not recommend enforced quota systems for asylum adjudicators, but they do make recommendations for more comprehensive training, more effective and independent appellate review, and other reforms that would further professionalize the adjudication system

A Hybrid Computational and Analytical Model of Inline Drip Emitters

This paper details a hybrid computational and analytical model to predict the performance of inline pressure-compensating (PC) drip irrigation emitters. The term inline refers to flow control devices mounted within the irrigation tubing. Pressure-compensating emitters deliver a relatively constant flow rate over a range applied pressure to accurately meter water to crops. Flow rate is controlled within the emitter by directing the water through a tortuous path (which imposes a fixed resistance), and then through a variable resistor composed of a flexible membrane that deflects under changes in pressure, restricting the flow path. An experimentally validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was used to predict flow behavior through tortuous paths, and a pressure resistance parameter was derived to represent the pressure drop with a single variable. The bending and shearing mechanics of the membrane were modeled analytically and refined for accuracy by deriving a correction factor using finite element analysis. A least-squares matrix formulation that calculates the force applied by a line load of any shape, along which there is a prescribed deflection applied on a rectangular membrane, was derived and was found to be accurate to within one percent. The applicability of the assumption of locally fully developed flow through the pressure compensating chamber in a drip emitter was analyzed. The combined hybrid computational-analytical model reduces the computational time of modeling drip emitter performance from days to less than 30 minutes, dramatically lowering the time required to iterate and select optimal designs. The model was validated using three commercially available drip emitters, rated at 1.1, 2, and 3.8 L/hr. For each, the model predicted the flow rate with an error of twenty percent or less, as compared to the emitter performance published by the manufacturer.Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research FellowshipMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Tata Center for Technology and Desig

Determination of Resistance Factor for Tortuous Paths in Drip Emitters

Drip irrigation has the potential to decrease water consumption and increase crop yields and profit. Globally, drip irrigation has had low adoption rates. There are several major barriers to adoption, including the cost of the system and its energy consumption. Mathematical models describing the behavior of drip emitters can provide insights on the performance of drip systems. The models and procedures developed in this paper can be used as a tool for the design of improved drip irrigation systems. This paper presents a method of combining a CFD model that characterizes flow through the tortuous paths of emitters with an analytical model describing pressure-compensating behavior. The CFD model detailed in this paper was verified for three commercially available emitter designs. The model fell within acceptable variation bounds when compared to experimental data. The results of CFD analysis are represented in a resistance factor that can be used in a hybrid analyticalcomputational model. This method requires significantly less processing than using computational models alone. Future work on this topic will detail an analytical model that accurately predicts the behavior of inline PC drip emitters of varying geometries and an optimization of the geometry to lower activation pressure and material costs. Analytical models to predict the flow behavior of a range of tortuous path designs given a prescribed geometry will also be developed.Jain Irrigation System Ltd.National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowship Progra

SEJARAH ISLAM MODERN DI ASIA TENGGARA (MALAYSIA, PATANI DAN MINDANA)

Sejarah dan peradaban islam di Asia Tenggara dapat kita lihat pada beberapa negara seperti Malaysia, Filipina, dan Thailand. Lingkungan politik di Malaysia ini kelihatannya telah menandai kelangsungan kebangkitan Islam. Meskipun sangat diragukan bahwa kalangan radikal dan fundamentalis akan mampu mencapai tujuan mereka. Barangkali kita akan melihat kekerasan sporadis yang berlanjut karena aktivitas-aktivitas yang frustasi. Yang lebih penting, kebijakan-kebijakan di Malaysia telah membantu meningkatkan rasa identitas Islam dan ini akan menimbulkan pengaruh jangka panjang dalam sistem-sistem politik mereka. Sejarah masuknya Islam di Filipina dimulai pada abad ke-14 melalui kepulauan Sulu. Disebutkan bahwa orang yang sangat berjasa dalam penyebaran Islam pertama di kepulaan tersebut adalah Syarif Karim al-Makhdum, ia adalah orang Arab yang datang ke Malaka dan mengislamkan Sultan Muhammad Syah dan rakyat Malaka. Islam masuk di Thailand diperkirakan sekitar abad ke-10 atau ke-11 dibawa oleh pedagang Arab dan India. Islam pernah berkuasa di wilayah Pattani sejak berdirinya Kerajaan Islam Patani abad ke-14. Patani adalah komunitas minoritas Muslim Melayu di wilayah Thailand selatan yang berbatasan dengan Malaysia. Berdasarkan data pemerintah Thailand, jumlah muslim Patani sekitar 4 juta jiwa. Kata Kunci: Sejarah, Peradaban Islam di Asia Tenggara

Pengaruh Gaya Kepemimpinan terhadap Disiplin Kerja Pegawai di Dinas Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style and autocratic leadership style on employee discipline in the Department of Language Center Bali Province. The methods of collection data is questionnaires, with a total population of 58 people. Sampling method is a method of census, with a total sample of 58 respondents. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression analysis. The results showed transformational leadership style, transactional leadership style and autocratic leadership style and a significant positive effect on the discipline of work in the Department of Language Center Bali Province

Nonequilibrium tricriticality in one dimension

We show the existence of a nonequilibrium tricritical point induced by a repulsive interaction in one dimensional asymmetric exclusion process. The tricritical point is associated with the particle-hole symmetry breaking introduced by the repulsion. The phase diagram and the crossover in the neighbourhood of the tricritical point for the shock formation at one of the boundaries are determined.Comment: 6 pages; 4 figure

Integrasi Rancangan Sistem Observasi Kapal Permukaan Otomatis dengan Google Earth

Wahana permukaan tak berawak (unmanned surface vehicle (USV)) atau wahana permukaan otomatis (autonomous surface vehicle (ASV)) merupakan sebuah wahana (vehicle) berbentuk kapal di permukaan (surface) air yang dapat bergerak tanpa awak di dalamnya secara otomatis. USV dapat digunakan di perairan yang tidak dapat dilalui kapal dengan awak. Perkembangan USV di dunia sudah pesat, namun belum diimbangi dengan baik perkembangannya di Indonesia. Penelitian ini bertujuan membuat USV yang bersifat autonomous, yaitu bergerak secara otomatis berdasarkan waypoint. Tahapan penelitian meliputi perancangan USV, uji coba sistem observasi kapal permukaan otomatis. Uji coba dilakukan dengan mengukur durasi oleng wahana di atas air dan mengukur akurasi GPS, kemudian menjalankan wahana pada lintasan lurus, zigzag, parallel, dan berbentuk S. Waktu oleng wahana sebesar 3 detik, akurasi GPS CEP 50% sebesar 1,9 meter dan 2DRMS 95% sebesar 4,7 meter. Selisi jarak terbesar waypoint dengan lintasan aktual pada lintasan lurus sumbu x sebesar 2,05 m dan sumbu y sebesar 1,27 m, lintasan zigzag sumbu x sebesar 2,63 m dan sumbu y sebesar 3,73 m, lintasan parallel sumbu x sebesar 4,82 m dan sumbu y sebesar 3,98 m, lintasan S sumbu x sebesar 3,85 m dan sumbu y sebesar 4,49 m