Agricultural Carbon and Greenhouse Gases: Moving to Markets

Environmental Economics and Policy,

Cyber Threat on the High Seas. A Growing Threat to Infrastructure.

In a growing digital and cloud-connected world, all aspects of our lives are becoming interconnected. All these interconnections breed a possibility for ever-increasing cybersecurity threats. The oceans are not impervious to these attacks. In this research paper, we address the following questions. What threats do commercial ships face today? What actions are necessary to mitigate these threats

Saving Moral Realism: Against Blackburn\u27s Projectivism

In the argumentative dialectic between moral realists and non-cognitivist moral antirealists each side in the debate is typically thought to enjoy a different prima facie advantage over its rival. Moral realism gains plausibility from its truth-conditional semantics because it can explain the meaning of moral judgments on the same basis as ordinary propositions. However, many moral philosophers doubt moral realism because the theory is committed to the existence of moral properties, which are, in J. L. Mackie\u27s term, queer. Moral antirealism denies that these moral properties exist, and this is a principal reason why many moral philosophers endorse the theory. However, if moral terms like good , immoral , or right do not refer to anything, then the meanings of the moral judgments in which they appear cannot be explained with truth-conditional semantics; moral antirealists who wish to preserve moral practice need to develop a semantics that can accommodate it. The general perception of the dialectic is that moral realists have the upper hand in semantics, but a disadvantage in metaphysics, and vice versa for moral antirealists. This essay challenges this assumption. Simon Blackburn\u27s quasi-realism is one of the principal examples of non-cognitivism, a form of moral antirealism that tries to develop an alternative account of moral semantics in which the function of a moral proposition is not to express belief but attitude. Quasi-realism is Blackburn\u27s research program of developing a semantics for moral discourse that is consistent with projectivism, the metaphysics of his metaethical theory. After situating Blackburn\u27s project within the history of twentieth century metaethics, this essay reviews Blackburn\u27s quasi-realist semantics and criticizes it. This essay then aims to extend the metaethical dialectic by developing and critiquing an account of Blackburn\u27s projectivism. This essay interprets projectivism as an explanation of moral awareness that aims to explain the realist phenomenology of that experience when realist explanations of it fail. After developing an account of the mechanism of projectivism, this essay argues that a metaethical theory feature projectivism as its metaphysical element contrasts negatively with moral realism in several ways: e.g., if it postulates new mental states and more events to account for moral awareness, then its ontological economy is less certain; it does not solve a metaphysical problem, supervenience, that moral realism cannot; it is incompatible with desirable features of moral practice; it undermines Blackburn\u27s rejection of error theory. This essay then concludes that when assessing the dialectic between moral realism and non-cognitivist moral antirealism, it is inappropriate to presume a metaphysical advantage for the latter on the basis of the mere denial of the existence of moral properties. This suggests that non-cognitivist moral antirealists need to supplement their theories with more robust metaphysical research programs

An Adaptation To Life In Acid Through A Novel Mevalonate Pathway.

Extreme acidophiles are capable of growth at pH values near zero. Sustaining life in acidic environments requires extensive adaptations of membranes, proton pumps, and DNA repair mechanisms. Here we describe an adaptation of a core biochemical pathway, the mevalonate pathway, in extreme acidophiles. Two previously known mevalonate pathways involve ATP dependent decarboxylation of either mevalonate 5-phosphate or mevalonate 5-pyrophosphate, in which a single enzyme carries out two essential steps: (1) phosphorylation of the mevalonate moiety at the 3-OH position and (2) subsequent decarboxylation. We now demonstrate that in extreme acidophiles, decarboxylation is carried out by two separate steps: previously identified enzymes generate mevalonate 3,5-bisphosphate and a new decarboxylase we describe here, mevalonate 3,5-bisphosphate decarboxylase, produces isopentenyl phosphate. Why use two enzymes in acidophiles when one enzyme provides both functionalities in all other organisms examined to date? We find that at low pH, the dual function enzyme, mevalonate 5-phosphate decarboxylase is unable to carry out the first phosphorylation step, yet retains its ability to perform decarboxylation. We therefore propose that extreme acidophiles had to replace the dual-purpose enzyme with two specialized enzymes to efficiently produce isoprenoids in extremely acidic environments

Interrupted time series regression for the evaluation of public health interventions: a tutorial.

Interrupted time series (ITS) analysis is a valuable study design for evaluating the effectiveness of population-level health interventions that have been implemented at a clearly defined point in time. It is increasingly being used to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions ranging from clinical therapy to national public health legislation. Whereas the design shares many properties of regression-based approaches in other epidemiological studies, there are a range of unique features of time series data that require additional methodological considerations. In this tutorial we use a worked example to demonstrate a robust approach to ITS analysis using segmented regression. We begin by describing the design and considering when ITS is an appropriate design choice. We then discuss the essential, yet often omitted, step of proposing the impact model a priori. Subsequently, we demonstrate the approach to statistical analysis including the main segmented regression model. Finally we describe the main methodological issues associated with ITS analysis: over-dispersion of time series data, autocorrelation, adjusting for seasonal trends and controlling for time-varying confounders, and we also outline some of the more complex design adaptations that can be used to strengthen the basic ITS design

Corrigendum to: Interrupted time series regression for the evaluation of public health interventions: a tutorial.

The originally published version of this article contained an algebraic definition of the regression model for interrupted time series (ITS) that could lead to erroneous interpretations of the estimated parameters. This model was presented in the equation at page 351, right column, and the following text. We provide here a more accurate definition

Using Sales Competition Videos in a Principles of Marketing Class to Improve Interest in a Sales Career

Purpose of the Study: This study describes an easily conducted teaching innovation to enhance introductory marketing students’ perception of sales and selling. Sales jobs are plentiful; yet, many marketing students do not pursue sales courses or sales careers. Our purpose is to describe a classroom intervention that improves students’ intent to pursue a sales career. Method/Design and Sample: This study tests the classroom inclusion of an actual student sales competition video from the National Collegiate Sales Competition (NCSC) to provide visual as well as verbal learning stimuli. Following a 45 minute lecture on sales, students were exposed to the 20-minute final round winning NCSC video. During the video, the instructor stopped the video 12 times to relate specific aspects of the video role-play to the lecture. Students completed a pre- and post-intervention survey of the Intent to Pursue Sales Career Scale (ITPSC). Results: Results show that the educational intervention positively impacted students’ perceptions of a sales career, salespeople, salesperson ethics, sales knowledge, and intent to pursue a sales career. The largest student perception increases were within the sales knowledge dimension. Value to Marketing Educators: Graduates with degrees in marketing, business, and other areas often begin their careers in entry level sales positions. Sales skills are transferable and have utility in marketing and other careers. Instructional innovations designed to enhance student interest in a selling career, and that also advance sales training, have tremendous value. The use of an exemplar video from a sales competition is an easy way to accomplish these goals