Constitutional Faith, or Constitutional Stealth? -- the Puzzling Resurgence of American Monarchism

Book review: The royalist revolution: monarchy and the American founding. By Eric Nelson. 2014. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press. 400 pages. -- The executive unbound: after the Madison republic. By Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule. 2011. New York: Oxford University Press. 256 pages. -- Secrets and leaks: the dilemma of state secrecy. By Rahul Sagar. 2013. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Pages xiii, 304. Reviewed by Daniel N. Hoffma

Publicity and the Judicial Power

The judicial branch was created in order to ensure that the rule of law and not the rule of man prevailed. Judges must use reasoning and analysis to fulfill this role. Making decisions based on mere coin tosses or without giving a reason for the decision detracts from the rule of law. Issuing decisions that cannot be published or cited also detracts the judicial role of ensuring that law rules the land

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

A Review of Undeclared War: Twilight Zone of Constitutional Power by Edward Keynes and The War-Making Powers of the President: Constitutional and International Law Aspects by Ann Van Wynen Thomas and A.J. Thomas, Jr

Can economic crises be good for your diet?

With fortuitously timed data - collected before, during and after a major macro-financial crisis in Bulgaria - we revisit several hypotheses in the economics and nutritional literature related to the tendency of households to smooth their nutritional status over time. We explore the dietary impact of both falling real incomes in the context of hyperinflation and crisis and changing relative prices and the changing responsiveness of different groups of people to these incomes and prices over six year of fundamental structural reforms of the economy. Our results highlight large and dramatically changing food and nutrient elasticities, which challenge the perception of household ability to smooth their nutrient stream during economic crises and transitions.Crisis, Diet, Fluctuation, Health, Nutrition

Can Economic Crises Be Good for Your Diet?

With fortuitously timed data – collected before, during and after a major macro-financial crisis in Bulgaria – we revisit several hypotheses in the economics and nutritional literature related to the tendency of households to smooth their nutritional status over time. We explore the dietary impact of both falling real incomes in the context of hyperinflation and crisis and changing relative prices and the changing responsiveness of different groups of people to these incomes and prices over six year of fundamental structural reforms of the economy. Our results highlight large and dramatically changing food and nutrient elasticities, which challenge the perception of household ability to smooth their nutrient stream during economic crises and transitions.crisis, diet, fluctuation, health, nutrition

Accessing elite nurses for research: reflections on the theoretical and practical issues of telephone interviewing

Elite groups are interesting as they frequently are powerful (in terms of position, knowledge and influence) and enjoy considerable authority. It is important, therefore, to involve them in research concerned with understanding social contexts and processes. This is particularly pertinent in healthcare, where considerable strategic development and change are features of everyday practice that may be guided or perceived as being guided, by elites. This paper evolved from a study investigating the availability and role of nurses whose remit involved leading nursing research and development within acute NHS Trusts in two health regions in Southern England. The study design included telephone interviews with Directors of Nursing Services during which time the researchers engaged in a reflective analysis of their experiences of conducting research with an `elite' group. Important issues identified were the role of gatekeepers, engagement with elites and the use of the telephone interview method in this context. The paper examines these issues and makes a case for involving executive nurses in further research. The paper also offers strategies to help researchers design and implement telephone interview studies successfully to maximise access to the views and experiences of `hard to reach groups', such as elites, while minimising the associated disruption

Characteristics of severe anemia and its association with malaria in young children of the Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana.

Severe anemia is thought to be the principal underlying cause of malaria death in areas of intense seasonal malaria transmission such as the Kassena-Nankana District of northern Ghana. Factors associated with severe anemia in young children, 6-24 months old, were elucidated by analyzing results of 2 malaria-associated anemia surveys (1996, 2000), separated by 4 years, but conducted in the same community and at the same seasonal time point. Age-adjusted comparison confirmed that the proportion of severely anemic children and overall mean hemoglobin (Hb) levels in the November 2000 sample were significantly improved over those of the 1996 sample (17.5 versus 26.4%, P = 0.03; Hb 7.5 versus 6.9 g/dL, P = 0.002). Weight-for-age Z-scores also indicated a significant improvement in the 2000 sample (-1.93 versus -2.20, P or = 6.0 g/dL, those with severe anemia (Hb < 6.0 g/dL) were older, more frequently parasitemic (odds ratio [OR], 1.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-2.35), more often febrile (OR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.71-3.48), and predominantly male (OR, 1.50; 95% CI, 1.05-2.13). An association was identified in both surveys between severe anemia and residence in the northern part of the district, but no clear link was observed in relation to irrigation. Blood transfusions, a likely surrogate index of severe anemia in young children, followed a distinct seasonal pattern. Evidence suggests that dramatic peaks and troughs of severe anemia are regular and possibly predictable events that may be used to gauge the health and survival of young children in this area

Testing general relativity with accretion onto compact objects

The X-ray emission of neutron stars and black holes presents a rich phenomenology that can lead us to a better understanding of their nature and to address more general physics questions: Does general relativity apply in the strong gravity regime? Is spacetime around black holes described by the Kerr metric? This white paper considers how we can investigate these questions by studying reverberation mapping and quasi-periodic oscillations in accreting systems with a combination of high-spectral and high-timing resolution. In the near future, we will be able to study compact objects in the X-rays in a new way: advancements in transition-edge sensors (TES) technology will allow for electron-volt-resolution spectroscopy combined with nanoseconds-precision timing.Comment: White paper submitted for Astro2020 Decadal Survey. 8 pages, 2 figure