The Limitations of Democratic Peace

The theory of Democratic Peace suggests that democracies are unlikely to wage war on one another, yet it spends little time actually defining what democracies are. Research on the theory of Democratic Peace suggests that the theory only applies to mature democracies, but how is maturity determined? The criteria used by multiple scholars is needed to defend the theory from particular challenges such as the Cenepa Valley War, but even with such defenses, the criteria omits how a state treats women and racial minorities. These omissions become clear when one examines how scholars treat the United States of America. This thesis will assert that the criteria for determining a democracy\u27s maturity is incomplete and requires revision

The Longitudinal Effects of Beta-Alanine Supplementation on Isometric Strength, Time to Exhaustion, and Lower-Body Isometric Torque in Female Masters Athlete Cyclists

Within the population of aging individuals exists a subset of competitive seniors or masters athletes (MA). As masters-level competition increases in popularity, MA must find methods to enhance individual athletic performance. Beta-alanine (BA) is an amino acid used to enhance physical capability based on ability increase intramuscular carnosine concentrations. Older adults and females have naturally lower carnosine levels compared to age- and gender-matched counterparts and may experience enhanced benefits from BA supplementation. Purpose: Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the longitudinal effects of BA supplementation on isometric handgrip strength (HG), time to exhaustion (TTE), total work completed (TWC), and lower-body isokinetic torque (ISO) in female MA. Methods: Twenty-two female MA (age = 53.3 ± 1.0) participated in this double-blind design. Subjects were randomly assigned to BA (n = 11; 800mg BA + 8 g dextrose) or placebo (PLA; n = 11; 8 g dextrose) groups and supplemented 4 times/day over 28 days. HG, TTE, TWC, and ISO were assessed at baseline and each week throughout the intervention. Blood lactate was measured at baseline, immediate post, and 20-minutes after recovery from TTE. Results: No initial significant differences existed between groups for any variable (p \u3e .05). By the 28th day, TTE (23% vs 1% change) and TWC (21% vs 2% change) significantly increased in BA compared to PLA (p \u3c .05). Lactate clearance rate also significantly increased with BA having 24% greater reductions from peak values after the 20-minute recovery. For ISO, work done during the final third (24.0% vs -16.8% change) and average peak torque (5.4% vs 2.9% change) significantly increased in BA compared to PLA (p \u3c .05). When comparing HG and body composition, no significant differences existed at any time point between the two groups (p \u3e .05). No differences existed for any variable during intermittent time points. CONCLUSION: Four-weeks of BA supplementation increased exercise performance and lactate clearance in female MA potentially due to increases in intramuscular carnosine concentrations. Future research should evaluate mechanistic properties influencing these factors as carnosine concentrations can only be evaluated via muscle biopsy analysis or proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Development of a Prediction Equation for Vertical Power in Masters Level Basketball Athletes

International Journal of Exercise Science 7(2) : 119-127, 2014. Performance factors such as power, agility, and speed are important in sport-based competition for older individuals. Prediction models that assess these factors in masters level competitors are limited. The purpose of this study was to examine physical field measures of agility and speed and their ability to predict vertical power (VP) among basketball masters athletes(MA). Thirty-eight competitive MA from a Midwest Senior Olympic basketball tournament performed vertical jump, 20-yard dash (20-D), 40-yard dash (40-D), and T-test (TT) assessments. Regression analysis revealed a significant relationship (p = .002) using TT and 20-D to predict VP (R2 = .37). Similar results were observed when replacing the 20-D with the 40-D (R2 = .34; p = .003). Males and females were analyzed independently. Agility and speed measures significantly predicted VP in males (R2 = .59; p = .005) and females (R2 = .43; p = .044). Speed and agility are important factors in the performance of vertical jump (VJ). Results indicate any of the speed distances tested may be used to predict VP among this population, but it is recommended that the 20-D be used due to less demand, space, and time requirements. Utilizing speed and agility may help to minimize physical stress and reduce impact related injury, while improving overall VP performance in masters basketball players. Results of this study suggest need for experimental research to verify the cause and effect relationship between speed, agility, and VP

Thermal Energy Storage for Load Shifting

The following document accounts for the progress made in the prototype development of our design solution since the Critical Design Review, and our group’s response to recent world events which greatly impacted planned activities. Our design challenge is to develop a thermal energy storage system which will sequester the energy from a photovoltaic (PV) array during the day and allow for its dispersal at night in the form of near boiling water. Looking at our user’s needs, we broke our design solution into four components: water heating, storage, distribution, and controls. Research of all components was conducted to ascertain which systems should be developed and which system components could be purchased. Engineering specifications were developed to directly address customer needs and to create performance goals which our final solution can be measured against. During this phase, our group was tasked with procuring all required materials, manufacturing our prototype, and conducting verification testing. The system configuration was selected in the previous phase, and lists of components were compiled, along with manufacturing steps. We have constructed our prototype, and we have completed some preliminary testing, however there is more work to be completed by our sponsor. The selected system composition is outlined, including supporting documentation for testing procedures. Our Final Design Review outlines all final development activities which have taken place and next steps required for further iteration of our prototype

The complex nature of the nuclear star cluster in FCC 277

Recent observations have shown that compact nuclear star clusters (NSCs) are present in up to 80% of galaxies. However, detailed studies of their dynamical and chemical properties are confined mainly to spiral galaxy hosts, where they are more easily observed. In this paper we present our study of the NSC in FCC 277, a nucleated elliptical galaxy in the Fornax cluster. We use a combination of adaptive optics assisted near-infrared integral field spectroscopy, Hubble Space Telescope imaging, and literature long slit data. We show that while the NSC does not appear to rotate within our detection limit of ~6 km/s, rotation is detected at larger radii, where the isophotes appear to be disky, suggesting the presence of a nuclear disk. We also observe a distinct central velocity dispersion drop that is indicative of a dynamically cold rotating sub-system. Following the results of orbit-based dynamical modelling, co-rotating as well as counter-rotating stellar orbits are simultaneously needed to reproduce the observed kinematics. We find evidence for varying stellar populations, with the NSC and nuclear disk hosting younger and more metal rich stars than the main body of the galaxy. We argue that gas dissipation and some level of merging have likely played an important role in the formation of the nucleus of this intermediate-mass galaxy. This is in contrast to NSCs in low-mass early- type galaxies, which may have been formed primarily through the infall of star clusters.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures, MNRAS in press, changes to this version: co-author adde

An Annotated Bibliography of Financial Therapy Research: 2010 to 2018

The purpose of this paper is to expand upon Mentzer, Britt, Samuelson, and Herrera’s (2010) annotated bibliography of research conducted in the field of financial therapy prior to 2010 and provide readers with a current overview of financial therapy research published since that time. Annotated bibliographies are categorized by topics and future research in each area is suggested. In addition, two tables were developed to provide readers a snapshot of the current landscape of financial therapy. The first table provides a list of journals of published articles featuring financial therapy or related topics. The second table provides an overview of types of research, population studies, key topics, as well as highlighting whether theory and financial therapy are overtly referred to within the article