THE CENSUS AS A CALL TO ACTION

This article argues that we misinterpret the Census figures showing the continued growth of the suburbs and increase in populations of some cities and not others. While many, including a Harvard economist, contend that this is a purely a result of consumer preference, this article concludes that this pattern is more likely a result of legal rules promoting sprawl which have been unchanged for 50 years. The article states that this new census data should be a wake-up call for state law reform which will no longer constrain and define local government

Boston Bound: A Comparison of Boston's Legal Powers with Those of Six Other Major American Cities

Examines how Boston's limited legal authority under state law -- and, in particular, its restricted ability to raise revenue -- places the city at a competitive disadvantage and is hindering the city's growth potential

Introduction of laser initiation for the 48-inch Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) test motors at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC)

The Advanced Solid Rocket Motor is a new design for the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster. The new design will provide more thrust and more payload capability, as well as incorporating many design improvements in all facets of the design and manufacturing process. A 48-inch (diameter) test motor program is part of the ASRM development program. This program has multiple purposes for testing of propellent, insulation, nozzle characteristics, etc. An overview of the evolution of the 48-inch ASRM test motor ignition system which culminated with the implementation of a laser ignition system is presented. The laser system requirements, development, and operation configuration are reviewed in detail

The Inclusive-Exclusive Connection and the Neutron Negative Central Charge Density

We find an interpretation of the recent finding that the central charge density of the neutron is negative by using models of generalized parton distributions at zero skewness to relate the behavior of deep inelastic scattering quark distributions, evaluated at large values of Bjorken x, to the transverse charge density evaluated at small distances. The key physical input of these models is the Drell-Yan-West relation We find that the d quarks dominate the neutron structure function for large values of Bjorken x, where the large longitudinal momentum of the struck quark has a significant impact on determining the center-of-momentum of the system, and thus the "center" of the nucleon in the transverse position plane.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures. Text of an invited talk presented by G. A. Miller at the 2008 Division of Nuclear Physics Meeting in Oakland. Prepared for Int. Journ. Mod. Phys.

HOW SUCCESSFUL ARE GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS IN FOOD MARKETS? INSIGHTS FROM THE PHILIPPINE RICE MARKET

We investigate the Philippine government's price stabilization policy for rice. Seemingly Unrelated Regressions are used to examine the effectiveness of the program at regional and national levels over a 21-year period (January 1983 to December 2003). Results of the regional analysis indicate some NFA-induced spatial and temporal differences in terms of producer prices. The NFA successfully increased producer prices in 5 of 13 regions through stock accumulation and paddy rice purchase at floor prices. NFA stock releases do not correlate strongly with retail prices at the national level, although results from the regional model indicate that NFA stock releases reduced retail prices in five regions, leading to perceptible spatial and temporal differences between regions. Although the NFA support price appears to have been moderately successful in increasing producer prices at a national level, on average, the support price led to an increase in consumer prices in ten regions and contributed little to price stabilization. Overall, therefore, our results indicate very limited success on the part of the NFA to achieve its major objectives at either regional or national level. We suggest the NFA should concentrate its resources in the poorest areas of the country, where it might exert greater and more useful influence in smaller and locally thin rice markets.Marketing,

Changing Consumer Food Prices: A User's Guide to ERS Analyses

USDA's Economic Research Service (ERS) uses different economic models to estimate the impact of higher input prices on consumer food prices. The present study compares three ERS models. In the first two models, neither consumers nor food producers respond to market prices. We refer to these two models as short-run models. In the third model, both consumers and food producers respond to changing prices, and we refer to this model as a long-run model. Given published parameter estimates, we simulate the impact of a higher energy price on consumer food prices, and our empirical findings are consistent with our understanding of market responses. In the short run, we find that the full effect of an increase in the price of energy is fully (or nearly fully) passed on to consumers, because neither food producers nor consumers can immediately respond to changing prices. In the long run, however, the price response of food producers and consumers serves to mitigate the increase in consumer food prices.price-spread model, input-output model, variable-proportions model, food prices, energy prices, input prices, Demand and Price Analysis,

Induction of PEP Carboxylase and Crassulacean Acid Metabolism by Gibberellic Acid in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

The induction of Crassulacean acid metabolism in Mesembryanthemum crystallinum was investigated in response to foliar application of gibberellic acid (GA). After 5 weeks of treatment, GA-treated plants showed 1.7- to almost a 4-fold increase of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPcase) activity with a concomitant increase in acid metabolism when compared to control plants. Immunoblot analysis indicated an increase in the PEPcase protein similar to that of salt treatment while Rubisco did not show a similar rise. The results indicate that exogenously applied GA accelerates plant developmental expression of PEPcase and Crassulacean acid metabolism in M. crystallinum

Anthony Leonid Turkevich - Obituary

Anthony Leonid Turkevich, a nuclear radiochemist and physicist and a professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago, died in his sleep on 7 September 2002 at his home in Lexington, Virginia. He was widely esteemed for his great intellectual powers, deep physical insight, and personal integrity. Tony was born in New York City on 23 July 1916, the son of a Russian Orthodox clergyman who became a head of the Russian Orthodox Church in both North America and Japan. In 1937, Tony earned a BA from Dartmouth College and, in 1940, a PhD in physical chemistry from Princeton University. His doctoral work was on diffusion determination of molecular structures and dielectric investigations of the motion of organic molecules in the solid state. Shortly after his graduation, he was invited to the University of Chicago as a research physicist in the department of physics; he worked on UV spectroscopy and the radiochemical studies of the fission products

Factors in evaluation of student performance in a graduate school of social work

This study refined the criteria for the measurement of graduate student performance in a school of social work. By using present criteria from other studies and general student performance criteria from school brochures a questionnaire was constructed. This questionnaire was administered to a. sample of students, faculty and field instructors from Portland State University School of Social Work. The data from the completed questionnaires were then processed by computer to determine the means, standard deviations of the items, and the correlations between items and between raters. Through the computed correlations, means, and standard deviations the acceptability and reliability of the questionnaire were established. Through the use of cluster analysis, clusters were formed which pointed to specific criteria by which social work students could be evaluated. Statistical data indicated that the questionnaire was moderately acceptable and reliable. A greater acceptability and reliability would be desired. The cluster analysis gave varying numbers of clusters for each group of raters. For the student raters there were seven clusters, for the first group of academic raters there were three clusters, for the second group of academic raters there were three clusters, and for the field raters there were two clusters. The ratings of both the field instructors and the second group of academic raters were dominated by a general impression cluster, raising questions about the acceptability and the reliability of the questionnaire for those raters. This general-impression cluster showed that these raters did not discriminate between characteristics of students but rated them on the basis of a general impression of the student