Implementation of a low-cost Interim 21CFR11 compliance solution for laboratory environments

In the recent past, compliance with 21CFR11 has become a major buzzword within the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. While commercial solutions exist, implementation and validation are expensive and cumbersome. Frequent implementation of new features via point releases further complicates purchasing decisions by making it difficult to weigh the risk of non-compliance against the costs of too frequent upgrades. This presentation discusses a low-cost interim solution to the problem. While this solution does not address 100% of the issues raised by 21CFR11, it does implement and validate: (1) computer system security; (2) backup and restore ability on the electronic records store; and (3) an automated audit trail mechanism that captures the date, time and user identification whenever electronic records are created, modified or deleted. When coupled with enhanced procedural controls, this solution provides an acceptable level of compliance at extremely low cost

Probing the limits of the Talbot-Plateau law

The Talbot-Plateau law specifies what combinations of flash frequency, duration, and intensity will yield a flicker-fused stimulus that matches the brightness of a steady stimulus. It has proven to be remarkably robust in its predictions, and here we provide addition support though the use of a contrast discrimination task. However, we also find that the visual system can register contrast when the combination of frequency and duration is relatively low. Flicker-fused letters are recognized even though they have the same physical luminance as background. We propose that this anomalous result is produced by large disparities in the duration of bright and dark components of the flash cycle, which brings about unexpected differential activation of ON and OFF retinal channels.Comment: 30 pages, 8 figure

Evaluating the Talbot-Plateau Law

The Talbot-Plateau law asserts that when the flux (light energy) of a flicker-fused stimulus equals the flux of a steady stimulus, they will appear equal in brightness. To be perceived as flicker-fused, the frequency of the flash sequence must be high enough that no flicker is perceived, i.e., it appears to be a steady stimulus. Generally, this law has been accepted as being true across all brightness levels, and across all combinations of flash duration and frequency that generate the matching flux level. Two experiments that were conducted to test the law found significant departures from its predictions, but these were small relative to the large range of flash intensities that were tested.Comment: 34 pages, five figure

A Tale of Three Cities: Crime and Displacement after Hurricane Katrina

When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, it greatly disrupted both the physical and social structures of that community. One consequence of the hurricane was the displacement of large numbers of New Orleans residents to other cities, including Houston, San Antonio, and Phoenix. There has been media speculation that such a grand-scale population displacement led to increased crime in communities that were recipient of large numbers of displaced New Orleans residents. This study was a case study of three cities with somewhat different experiences with Katrina\u27s diaspora. Time series analysis was used to examine the pre- and post-Katrina trends in six Part I offenses (murder, robbery, aggravated assault, rape, burglary, and auto theft) to assess any impact of such large-scale population shifts on crime in host communities. Contrary to much popular speculation, only modest effects were found on crime. Social disorganization theory was used to frame both the analysis and the interpretation of these result

Reformulando a identidade inglesa na América britânica colonial: adaptação cultural e experiência provincial na construção de identidades corporativas

Using the experience of the British colonies in the Americas as an example, this essay explores the process by which portions of indigenous America were transformed into European Americas during the early modern era. It emphasizes the agency of settlers and the centrality of law and institutions in this process. Tracing the ways in which "Englishness" was reformulated in the Americas, whereby settlers created many distinct provinces that were, despite their differences from the parent state, manifestly English, the essay argues that this phenomenon can best be studied through the analysis of emerging corporate identity. It draws upon the author's extensive work on the construction of identity in Virginia, Barbados, Jamaica, and South Carolina, Britain's economically most valuable colonies.A partir do exemplo da experiência das colônias britânicas na América, o presente texto explora o processo, ocorrido no início da era moderna, de transformação de partes do território indígena americano em uma América européia. Enfatiza a atuação dos povoadores e a centralidade da lei e instituições nesse processo. Refazendo os caminhos que levaram a "identidade inglesa" a ser reformulada nas Américas, permitindo aos povoadores criar várias e distintas províncias que, a despeito de suas diferenças em relação à metrópole, eram claramente inglesas, o autor discute que tal fenômeno pode ser melhor estudado a partir da análise da emergência de identidades corporativas. O texto se baseia na extensa experiência do autor na construção da identidade na Virginia, Barbados, Jamaica e Carolina do Sul, as colônias britânicas mais valiosas

Graying of the Professoriate Reconsidered: The Impact of Demographics on Criminal Justice Education

The demographic composition, especially the age structure of criminal justice faculty, is of interest to students in criminal justice education for a number of reasons. First, an overall assessment provides some gauge of the relative age of the faculty in the field. Second, observations of changes in the composition of the age structure over time provide insight into the aging process and attendant developmental process of the field itself. Third, age composition has a major impact on the job market for criminal justice faculty. This of course, in turn, partially determines career possibilities for neophytes in the field. It also serves as a major factor in setting the limits of both vertical and horizontal faculty career mobility. Fourth, age composition has a direct bearing on potential for improving the quality of criminal justice education