Making and Breaking Impasses in International Regimes. The WTO, Seattle and Doha

WTO; international agreements; international trade; governance

A program for reporting pupil progress to parents in the San Pablo elementary school district

The problem of this study is the development of a program for reporting pupil progress to parents in the San Pablo Elementary School District. In question form the problem may be stated: “What program of reporting pupil progress would more effectively meet the needs of pupils, parents, teachers, and administrators in the San Pablo Elementary School District?

A major milestone with one major limitation

Alexander George is one of political science’s most respected innovators and teachers of qualitative research design, and he and his former student Andrew Bennett have now teamed up to produce what is likely to become an influential text. It presents George’s influential methodological ideas together in one place for the first time and develops and defends them further with new contributions by Bennett added through close collaboration. I believe their book makes several valuable new contributions and also has a few limitations, one of them rather important

A Study of the Practices of American History Teachers in Selected Texas Secondary Schools

The problem of this study was the relationship between practices reported by American history teachers in selected Texas secondary schools and practices recommended by three groups of social studies authorities

Application of game theory models to decisions on farm practices and resource use

The use of alternative decision models for farmer decision-making under uncertainty is demonstrated in this study. Particular emphasis is given to game theoretic models. These models have previously had little empirical application to farmer decision problems. This study has shown, however, that the models suggest plans which farmers in various problem settings may wish to follow. Research and extension personnel may want to use the models to derive farmer recommendations. Farmers must make decisions in their given, uncertain environment. How are these decisions to be made so that the plans resulting will, as nearly as possible, have the outcomes desired by the farmer? This question expresses the problem this study was designed to investigate. Farmers can follow any of several models specifying how to plan under uncertainty. They may apply the models to their own problems directly or follow recommendations based on the models. Research and extension personnel influence choice of decision models through data and recommendations. Research workers must use some choice mechanism to derive recommendations. Published data may influence choice of decision models, by being suitable for use in only one or a few models. Farmers\u27 abilities to plan rationally may be increased by providing a variety of recommendations based on different decision models giving plans with outcomes desired by farmers. Abilities also may be increased by providing data applicable to several decision models

The x ray reflectivity of the AXAF VETA-I optics

The x-ray reflectivity of the VETA-I optic, the outermost shell of the AXAF x-ray telescope, with a bare Zerodur surface, is measured and compared with theoretical predictions. Measurements made at energies of 0.28, 0.9, 1.5, 2.1, and 2.3 keV are compared with predictions based on ray trace calculations. The data were obtained at the x-ray calibrations facility at Marshall Space Flight Center with an electron impact x-ray source located 528 m from the grazing incidence mirror. The source used photoelectric absorption filters to eliminate bremsstrahlung continuum. The mirror has a diameter of 1.2 m and a focal length of 10 m. The incident and reflected x-ray flux are detected using two proportional counters, one located in the incident beam of x-rays at the entrance aperture of the VETA-I, and the other in the focal plane behind an aperture of variable size. Results on the variation of the reflectivity with energy as well as the absolute value of the reflectivity are presented. We also present a synchrotron reflectivity measurement with high energy resolution over the range 0.26 to 1.8 keV on a flat Zerodur sample, done at NSLS. We present evidence for contamination of the flat by a thin layer of carbon on the surface, and the possibility of alteration of the surface composition of the VETA-I mirror perhaps by the polishing technique. The overall agreement between the measured and calculated effective area of VETA-I is between 2.6 percent and 10 percent, depending on which model for the surface composition is adopted. Measurements at individual energies deviate from the best-fitting calculation to 0.3 to 0.8 percent, averaging 0.6 percent at energies below the high energy cutoff of the mirror reflectivity, and are as high as 20.7 percent at the cutoff. We also discuss the approach to the final preflight calibration of the full AXAF flight mirror

“Digital James Dickey” Developing an App for the iPad based on a poem by James Dickey (grade level 11 & 12)

The purpose of our project was to create an app for the ipad based on a nature poem by James Dickey that could be used by a high school teacher in a classroom. The app includes a poem, video readings by the poet, perspectives (comment and literary criticisms) by a number of experts, biography, a gallery of photos, and a resources page. In fall of 2013 we will test the app in the high school classroo

Karyomegalic interstitial nephritis and DNA damage-induced polyploidy in fan1 nuclease-defective knock-in mice

The Fan1 endonuclease is required for repair of DNA interstrand cross-links (ICLs). Mutations in human Fan1 cause karyomegalic interstitial nephritis (KIN), but it is unclear whether defective ICL repair is responsible or whether Fan1 nuclease activity is relevant. We show that Fan1 nuclease-defective (Fan1nd/nd) mice develop a mild form of KIN. The karyomegalic nuclei from Fan1nd/nd kidneys are polyploid, and fibroblasts from Fan1nd/nd mice become polyploid upon ICL induction, suggesting that defective ICL repair causes karyomegaly. Thus, Fan1 nuclease activity promotes ICL repair in a manner that controls ploidy, a role that we show is not shared by the Fanconi anemia pathway or the Slx4–Slx1 nuclease also involved in ICL repair