A Strong Voice in the Wilderness

A review essay considering American Law: The Case for Radical Reform, by John P. Frank (1969)

Promotion expenditure, categories, time lag structure and the demand for almonds

The Almond Board of California (ABC) finances four promotional programs to increase the demand for California almonds: public relations, advertising, food services and nutrition research. This analysis relates ABC's expenditures by category to U.S. almond demand. It assesses ABC's return on investment and guides managerial decisions across programs. ABC expenditures have a significant effect on domestic almond shipments, explaining 16.7% of the variation in shipments. However, only advertising is strongly significanteach dollar spent increases almonds shipped eight months later by 8.25 pounds. Food services approached significanceeach dollar spent increases almonds shipped 11 months later by 32.8 pounds.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Effects of Molecular Weight on Mechanical Properties of the Polyimide Larc-SI™

In order to better understand the effects of molecular weight on the performance and service life of polymeric matrix composites we designed a series of investigations on a polyimide system which was developed for possible use in the airframe industry. We wanted to determine if engineering properties depend on the molecular weight of the potential matrix material, assuming that the polymer is not cross-linked. For this study we prepared six batches of the polyimide LaRC-SI™, where each batch possessed a different molecular weight. Cross-linking was discouraged by the addition of “end caps” which attach to the ends of the molecules and renders them chemically inert

A Systems Thinking Approach to Redesigning the Patient Experience to Reduce 30 Day Hospital Readmission

INTRODUCTION The cost of medical care is spiraling out of control, and one of the many reasons is lack of preventative care, poor communication to the patient and primary caregiver(s) both in an inpatient and outpatient setting. There are potentially many reasons for this cost escalation, one of the drivers of this cost is 30 day readmission after a hospitalization and this is what was examined in this analysis. The purpose of this paper in particular is to share what has been learned using a systems thinking approach to hospital readmissions and the patient experience. It is critical to understand the problems that occurred in the past. In addition, we will explain the methodology utilized and bring awareness to the iterative process. We will also demonstrate a suggested redesigned model

Do Child Soldiers Influence UN Peacekeeping?

The use of child soldiers in conflicts has received increasing academic attention in recent years. This article examines post-conflict periods to see whether the use of child soldiers mobilizes United Nations peacekeeping operations (UN PKO) in the aftermath of a conflict. Taking into consideration how child soldiers affect conflict and how important their reintegration is to sustainable peace and post-conflict development, we analyse whether the presence of child soldiers in a civil war increases the likelihood of the presence of a PKO. We argue that the UN deems a conflict with child soldiers as a difficult case for conflict resolution, necessitating a response from the international community. This is in line with our empirical results confirming that the use of child soldiers significantly increases the likelihood of peacekeeping

Six-dimensional Supergravity and Projective Superfields

We propose a superspace formulation of N=(1,0) conformal supergravity in six dimensions. The corresponding superspace constraints are invariant under super-Weyl transformations generated by a real scalar parameter. The known variant Weyl super-multiplet is recovered by coupling the geometry to a super-3-form tensor multiplet. Isotwistor variables are introduced and used to define projective superfields. We formulate a locally supersymmetric and super-Weyl invariant action principle in projective superspace. Some families of dynamical supergravity-matter systems are presented.Comment: 39 pages; v3: some modifications in section 2; equations (2.3), (2.14b), (2.16) and (2.17) correcte

Through a Glass, Darkly:The CIA and Oral History

This article broaches the thorny issue of how we may study the history of the CIA by utilizing oral history interviews. This article argues that while oral history interviews impose particular demands upon the researcher, they are particularly pronounced in relation to studying the history of intelligence services. This article, nevertheless, also argues that while intelligence history and oral history each harbour their own epistemological perils and biases, pitfalls which may in fact be pronounced when they are conjoined, the relationship between them may nevertheless be a productive one. Indeed, each field may enrich the other provided we have thought carefully about the linkages between them: this article's point of departure. The first part of this article outlines some of the problems encountered in studying the CIA by relating them to the author's own work. This involved researching the CIA's role in US foreign policy towards Afghanistan since a landmark year in the history of the late Cold War, 1979 (i.e. the year the Soviet Union invaded that country). The second part of this article then considers some of the issues historians must confront when applying oral history to the study of the CIA. To bring this within the sphere of cognition of the reader the author recounts some of his own experiences interviewing CIA officers in and around Washington DC. The third part then looks at some of the contributions oral history in particular can make towards a better understanding of the history of intelligence services and the CIA

The Seventh Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

This paper describes the Seventh Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), marking the completion of the original goals of the SDSS and the end of the phase known as SDSS-II. It includes 11663 deg^2 of imaging data, with most of the roughly 2000 deg^2 increment over the previous data release lying in regions of low Galactic latitude. The catalog contains five-band photometry for 357 million distinct objects. The survey also includes repeat photometry over 250 deg^2 along the Celestial Equator in the Southern Galactic Cap. A coaddition of these data goes roughly two magnitudes fainter than the main survey. The spectroscopy is now complete over a contiguous area of 7500 deg^2 in the Northern Galactic Cap, closing the gap that was present in previous data releases. There are over 1.6 million spectra in total, including 930,000 galaxies, 120,000 quasars, and 460,000 stars. The data release includes improved stellar photometry at low Galactic latitude. The astrometry has all been recalibrated with the second version of the USNO CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC-2), reducing the rms statistical errors at the bright end to 45 milli-arcseconds per coordinate. A systematic error in bright galaxy photometr is less severe than previously reported for the majority of galaxies. Finally, we describe a series of improvements to the spectroscopic reductions, including better flat-fielding and improved wavelength calibration at the blue end, better processing of objects with extremely strong narrow emission lines, and an improved determination of stellar metallicities. (Abridged)Comment: 20 pages, 10 embedded figures. Accepted to ApJS after minor correction