William Alexander Blount: Defender of the Old South and Advocate of a New South

William Alexander Blount, as a child, had experienced the frustrations of poverty and disorder resulting from the Civil War. While steeped in many of the values and traditions of the Old South, Blount was one of the new generation of southern leaders who, after the end of Reconstruction in 1877, strove to modernize the South through industrialization and closer cooperation with northern capitalists. His keen intellect and sharp legal mind served him well as a corporate lawyer for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Florida. Blount’s legal career in Pensacola spanned the Bourbon period, roughly from 1877 to 1900, when conservative Democrats controlled Florida’s politics into the early twentieth-century Progressive era. His actions, at times, reflected conservative Bourbon principles and, in other instances, liberal Populist-Progressive ideas and goals. In either role, Blount epitomized the leadership of the New South. Scholars of southern history have devoted considerable attention to describing the men of the New South, sometimes questioning even if the term New South is historically accurate. More studies of prominent, well-respected professionals like Blount possibly can shed additional light on the ongoing controversial subject of whether or not there was continuity or discontinuity in prewar and postwar leadership in the South. Were the leaders of the New South former planters and large landholders, as W. J. Cash and others contend, or were they southern urban merchants and professionals, as C. Vann Woodward and others suggest

Labor Law - NLRA - Roving Situs Picketing as Violation of Section 8(b)(4)(A)

Respondent union sought to organize the crane and dragline operators of a manufacturer of ready-mixed cement and posted pickets about the local manufacturing plant. During the working day each of the employer\u27s delivery trucks crossed the picket line at least twice. In addition, the union established a roving picket line which circulated about the manufacturer\u27s trucks while they were making deliveries to customers at local construction sites. The roving picketing lasted only so long as the workers of the primary employer remained on the customer\u27s premises. The pickets at all times stayed within six hundred feet of the trucks. The legend on their picket signs was explicit in stating that the dispute was only with the primary employer, and the picketers distributed handbills which set out with accuracy the nature of the strike. The regional director of the NLRB sought an injunction under section 10 (f), alleging a violation of section 8 (b) (4) (A), which proscribes secondary picketing. He adduced evidence to show that seven of the primary employer\u27s customers had ceased their purchases of cement from the manufacturer after the picketing had begun. Moreover, the union had made requests to customers to buy cement from other sources during the strike. Held, injunction granted. There were reasonable grounds for finding that one objective of the picketing was the encouragement of the neutral employees at the site to cease their work so long as the primary employer transacted business on the premises. Le Bus v. Locals 406, 406A, 406B and 406G, International Union of Operating Engineers, (E.D. La. 1956) 145 F. Supp. 316

The Case Against an International Cyber Warfare Convention

None available

Combatting Cyber-Attacks Through National Interest Diplomacy: A Trilateral Treaty with Teeth

In May 2014, the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicted five Chinese nationals for cybercrimes against American companies. That indictment was an impotent response. The United States has no extradition treaty with China, and the defendants will in all likelihood never be tried in the United States. The inefficacy of the indictments highlights a larger problem: State-controlled cyberunits can act with impunity under the present mix of international and domestic law. No laws govern conduct between nation-states, and, thus, neither victims nor nation-states have recourse against violators. This Article suggests that the United States should pursue national interest diplomacy to triangulate Russia and China by negotiating a trilateral cyberlaw treaty. The Article first demonstrates why the United States has failed in bilateral negotiations with these two nations in the past. It proposes that the United States should shift strategies by beginning to pursue national interest diplomacy rather than multilateral diplomacy. This strategy would encourage rapprochement with Russia first, thereby putting pressure on China to join the treaty or else be isolated. Finally, the Article lays out a workable framework on which policymakers can construct the diplomatic means to secure restitution for the victims of cyber-attacks

Gas tungsten arc welding in a microgravity environment: Work done on GAS payload G-169

GAS payload G-169 is discussed. G-169 contains a computer-controlled Gas Tungsten Arc Welder. The equipment design, problem analysis, and problem solutions are presented. Analysis of data gathered from other microgravity arc welding and terrestrial Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) experiments are discussed in relation to the predicted results for the GTAW to be performed in microgravity with payload G-169

Application of Lean Construction Principles to Highway Projects: Analysis of Barriers to Timely Delivery of Service

Highway project delivery of new and reconstructed facilities in the United States is viewed to consume too much time, thereby denying the traveling public of urgently needed infrastructure. The purpose of this thesis is to gain a better understanding of current highway project delivery and suggest interventions intended to enhance time performance. The major research focus is the Highway Project Performance (HPP) Study. The HPP study examined empirical data collected from 65 projects completed by 10 public highway agencies in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Research included determining frequency and magnitude of duration escalation and identifying the input variables of process, practices, conditions, and constraints under which typical highway projects are delivered. Non-parametric procedures were used to test for differences among participating highway agencies. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were employed to evaluate differences in mean TPI values for late and on time project subsets. Chi-square tests were conducted to analyze the difference in observations between the combined multi-dimensioned categories. Odds Ratio (OR) and relative risk or the risk ratio (RR) values were computed for the various categories including process and practices. Logistic regression was applied to the constraints as an additional test procedure. Semantic response differentials for each of the key performance indicators were also evaluated. The HPP Study findings showed that approximately 66% of highway projects finish beyond the original contract duration with a mean Time Performance Index (TPI) of 0.859. Projects exposed to phased maintenance of traffic (MOT), utilities, streams or waterways, and railroads exhibit the greatest relative risk for duration escalation. Primary arterials, projects that combine bridge and roadwork, and those located in urban environments also exhibit greater relative risk of duration escalation. The relative risk of duration escalation increases exponentially with increase of project cost. Late and On Time project subsets exhibit differences in mean semantic differentials (MSD values) in constructability, the degree to which contract documents address constraints, quality and effectiveness of the contractor's schedule, and trust between the contractor and owner. These findings provide focus and motivation for owners to reduce the risk of duration escalation.Ph.D., Civil Engineering -- Drexel University, 201

Nuclear spectroscopy of Ta181

The nuclear levels of Ta181 were investigated by a study of the β decay of Hf181 and the electron capture decay of W181. Evidence for weak M-shell conversion lines of an ∼6-kev transition in the Hf181 was found with a β spectrometer. An investigation of the W181 decay with this instrument revealed strong M-shell conversion lines corresponding to a 6.25±0.3-kev transition. With the aid of additional evidence, the conclusion is made that the 476-kev transition in the Hf181 decay occurs between the 482-kev level and a new level at 6 kev. On using an argon proportional counter, a 6-kev γ ray was also found in the W181 decay. The conversion coefficient of this transition was determined to be αT=44±7. This conversion coefficient and the M-subshell conversion ratios indicate that the 6-kev transition is of E1 multipolarity. The 6-kev level is assigned as the 9/2- [514] Nilsson intrinsic state. It is also concluded that the previously reported 152-kev transition in the W181 decay occurs between a new 11/2- (K=9/2-) rotational level at 158 kev and the 6-kev level. From a measurement of the tantalum L/K x-ray intensity ratio, the W181 decay energy is found to be 176-22+44 kev. The branchings of this decay to the various Ta181 levels are as follows: 158 kev (0.11%), 136 kev (0.067%), 6.25 kev (∼35%), and ground state (∼65%). All findings and proposals are consistent with predictions of the unified model of the nucleus

Fundamentals for Student Success in the Middle Grades

Determining how to provide the best education possible for young adolescents begins with the answers to three essential questions: Who are young adolescents? What do we know about them, their abilities, interests and strengths? Based on what we know about young adolescents, what should schools do to provide a quality education for each and every student? And finally, is there evidence that these recommended practices improve student achievement? How do we know programs and practices designed specifically with young adolescents in mind make a difference? To answer these questions, we will first outline some of the developmental characteristics of young adolescents and look at the implications for teaching and learning. We will then look at national recommendations for schools based on what we know about young adolescents. Finally, we will consider some of the research that supports these recommendations