School Naming Rights and the First Amendment’s Perfect Storm

In the past five years, public schools across the country have begun to explore a new avenue of fundraising: selling naming rights to school facilities. The popularity and monetary value of these sales, however, only highlight the importance of the First Amendment concerns they raise. This Article uses school naming rights as a lens through which to examine the conflicts between government speech, commercial speech, and forum analysis, three categories of First Amendment analysis that are simultaneously and problematically implicated by school naming rights sales. Courts and scholars have long noted the internal ambiguities within these three categories, but have not yet explored the sometimes irreconcilable conflicts among them. As the growth of school naming rights shows, government sponsorship arrangements collapse many of the artificial divisions between the First Amendment’s categories and demonstrate the need for a better understanding of the categories’ interactions. This Article identifies—and attempts to resolve—some of the border disputes between these poorly defined and increasingly important areas of First Amendment law

Local polynomial regression with truncated or censored response

Truncation or censoring of the response variable in a regression model is a problem in many applications, e.g. when the response is insurance claims or the durations of unemployment spells. We introduce a local polynomial re­gression estimator which can deal with such truncated or censored responses. For this purpose, we use local versions of the STLS and SCLS estimators of Powell (1986) and the QME estimator of Lee (1993) and Laitila (2001). The asymptotic properties of our estimators, and the conditions under which they are valid, are given. In addition, a simulation study is presented to investigate the finite sample properties of our proposals.Non-parametric regression; truncation; censoring; asymptotic properties

Gender, Productivity and the Nature of Work and Pay: Evidence from the Late Nineteenth-Century Tobacco Industry

Women have, on average, been less well-paid than men throughout history. Prior to 1900, most economic historians see the gender wage gap as a reflection of men's greater strength and correspondingly higher productivity. This paper investigates the gender wage gap in cigar making around 1900. Strength was rarely an issue, but the gender wage gap was large. Two findings suggest that employers were not sexist. First, differences in earnings by gender for workers paid piece rates can be fully explained by differences in experience and other productivity-related characteristics. Second, conditioning on those characteristics, women were just as likely to be promoted to the better paying piece rate section. Neither finding is compatible with a simple model of sex-based discrimination. Instead, the gender wage gap can be decomposed into two components. First, women were typically less experienced, in an industry in which experience mattered. Second there were some jobs that required strength, for which men were better suited. Because strength was so valuable in the other jobs at this time, men commanded a wage premium in the general labour market, raising their reservation wage. Hiring a man required the firm to pay a 'man's wage'. This implies that firms that were slow to feminise their time rate workforce ended up with a higher cost structure than those that made the transition more quickly. We show that firms with a higher proportion of women in their workforce in 1863 were indeed more likely to survive 35 years later.gender, productivity, discrimination, piece-rates, time-rates, labour markets, firm survival

To be or not to be? Risk attitudes and gender differences in union membership

Attracting membership while stifling freeriding and heterogeneous preferences among potential members is critical for trade union success. Women are generally seen as less inclined to join trade unions, particularly at the onset of the labor movement. We highlight a previously neglected explanation for this: the importance of risk and gender differences in assessment hereof. We study matched employer-employee data from two industries around the year 1900 where union membership was associated with different levels of risk: the Swedish cigar and printing industries. We find that the gender gap in membership was larger in the high-risk environment (cigar) and smaller in the low-risk environment (printing). Women were not hard to organize but avoided risks and uncertain returns

The Swedish Eating Assessment for Autism spectrum disorders (SWEAA)-Validation of a self-report questionnaire targeting eating disturbances within the autism spectrum

The aim was to design and validate a questionnaire pertaining to eating problems in individuals with normal intelligence, within the autism spectrum. The questionnaire was based on literature search and clinical experience. The validation focused on psychometric properties of reliability and validity using a clinical group of individuals with autism Spectrum disorders (ASD) (n = 57) and a matched, healthy comparison group (n = 31). The instrument showed high levels of reliability, convergent and discriminant validity and scaling properties. Logistic regression analyses discerned the single item Simultaneous capacity and the subscale Social situation at mealtime as the best predictors of ASD. In conclusion, the questionnaire is valid and reliable to detect disturbed eating behaviours in individuals with ASD and normal intelligence. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Det resilienta barnet : teorier, metoder och ett genusperspektiv

Detta examensarbete har gjorts inom projektet Det resilienta barnet. Avsikten med projektet är att utveckla modeller, metoder och material som kan ingå i ett socialpedagogiskt interventionsprogram ”Dagis Master”. Examensarbetet är en delrapport i projektet och koncentrerar sig på resiliensteorier och redan existerande resiliensförstärkande arbetsmetoder. Examensarbetets syfte är att beskriva hur ”Dagis Master”-programmet förankras teoretiskt och metodmässigt. Eftersom examensarbetet också beskriver resiliens ur ett genusperspektiv är syftet även att tillföra projektet ett nytt perspektiv så att de som arbetar med barn på daghem blir medvetna om de könsmönster som existerar. Frågeställningarna i examensarbetet har varit hur ”Dagis Master”-interventionsprogrammet förankras teoretiskt och metodmässigt, vilket delområde inom barnets resiliens arbetsmetoderna i arbetsmetodklassificeringen stöder, vad resiliens för en 5-åring innebär och hur den genusmedvetna pedagogiken stöder resiliensen hos barn. I de examensarbeten som tidigare gjorts inom projektet Det resilienta barnet har fokuseringen varit på social kompetens och nästa steg i projektutvecklingen är att behandla resiliens utifrån barnets personliga disposition. Inom projektet saknas ännu fördjupning i genusmedveten pedagogik samt material och produkter som stöder denna pedagogik, material tillämpade för utomhuspedagogik och en logo för projektet. Litteraturen om resiliens i de redan skrivna examensarbetena är ensidig och därmed skulle ett mångsidigare urval av resilienslitteratur i de kommande examensarbetena inom Det resilienta barnet även gynna projektets utveckling.This Bachelor's Thesis is a part of a project called ”Det resilienta barnet”. The purpose of the project is to develop models, methods and materials that can be included in a social pedagogical intervention program called ”Dagis Master”. This thesis has its focus on theories of resilience and existing methods that strengthen resilience in children. The purpose of this thesis is to describe how the ”Dagis Master”-program is connected to theories and methods of resilience. This thesis also describes resilience from a gender perspective and therefore the aim of this thesis is also to add a new perspective to the project, so that those, who work with children, will become aware of the existing gender role patterns in our society. This thesis aims to answer questions about how the intervention program is connected to theories and methods of resilience, which part of resilience the methods in our method scheme contribute to, what it means for a 5-year-old to be resilient, and how a gender sensitive pedagogy strengthens resilience in a child. The focus in the earlier theses in Det resilienta barnet has been on social competence and the next step in the development of the project is to focus on a child’s personal disposition in relation to resilience. The project is still missing a wider description of gender sensitive pedagogy, materials and products that support this form of pedagogy and that support outdoor pedagogy. The project is also still missing a logo. The literature that has been used to describe resilience in the earlier theses in this project is not very versatile and therefore it would promote the aim of this project if the theories about resilience in the theses that have not been written yet would consist of a wider range.Tämä opinnäytetyö on osa projektia Det resilienta barnet. Projektin tarkoituksena on kehittää malleja, menetelmiä ja materiaaleja, jotka voivat sisältyä sosiaalipedagogiseen interventio-ohjelmaan nimeltään ”Dagis Master”. Tämä opinnäytetyö on projektin väliraportti, joka keskittyy resilienssiteorioihin ja olemassa oleviin resilienssiä vahvistaviin menetelmiin. Opinnäytetyö pyrkii kuvailemaan, miten ”Dagis Master”-ohjelma pohjautuu teoriaan ja menetelmiin. Tässä opinnäytetyössä resilienssiä tarkastellaan myös sukupuolinäkökulmasta ja siten tämä opinnäytetyö pyrkii myös lisäämään projektiin uuden näkökulman resilienssistä ja lisäämään tietoa yhteiskunnassa vallitsevista sukupuolirooleista päiväkodeissa. Tässä opinnäytetyössä käytetään seuraavaa kysymyksenasettelua: Miten ”Dagis Master”-interventio-ohjelma pohjautuu teorioihin ja menetelmiin? Mitä osaa resilienssistä tässä opinnäytetyössä mainitut työmenetelmät tukevat? Mitä resilienssi merkitsee viisivuotiaan lapsen kohdalla? Miten sukupuolisensitiivinen kasvatus tukee lapsen resilienssiä? Projektin aiemmissa opinnäytetöissä on pyritty kuvailemaan sosiaalista kompetenssia ja täten seuraava askel projektin sisällä olisi lähestyä resilienssiä lapsen henkilökohtaisista ominaisuuksista. Projektista puuttuu vielä laajempi kuvaus sukupuolisensitiivisestä kasvatuksesta sekä siihen ja ulkoilmapedagogiikkaan sovellettuja materiaaleja. Projektilla ei myöskään vielä ole logoa. Resilienssiin liittyvä kirjallisuus on projektin aiemmissa opinnäytetöissä ollut yksipuolista ja siksi monipuolisempi resilienssi-kirjallisuuden käyttö tulevissa opinnäytetöissä hyödyttäisi projektin kehitystä

The power of light: Impact on the performance of biocontrol agents under minimal nutrient conditions

BackgroundThe spectral distribution of light (different wavelength) has recently been identified as an important factor in the dynamics and function of leaf-associated microbes. This study investigated the impact of different wavelength on three commercial biocontrol agents (BCA): Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (BA), Pseudomonas chlororaphis (PC), and Streptomyces griseoviridis (SG). MethodsThe impact of light exposure on sole carbon source utilization, biofilm formation, and biosurfactant production by the selected BCA was studied using phenotypic microarray (PM) including 190 sole carbon sources (OmniLog (R), PM panels 1 and 2). The BCA were exposed to five monochromatic light conditions (420, 460, 530, 630, and 660 nm) and darkness during incubation, at an intensity of 50 mu mol m(-2) s(-1). ResultsLight exposure together with specific carbon source increased respiration in all three BCA. Different wavelengths of light influenced sole carbon utilization for the different BCA, with BA and PC showing increased respiration when exposed to wavelengths within the blue spectrum (420 and 460 nm) while respiration of selected carbon sources by SG increased in the presence of red light (630 and 660 nm). Only one carbon source (capric acid) generated biosurfactant production in all three BCA. A combination of specific wavelength of light and sole carbon source increased biofilm formation in all three BCA. BA showed significantly higher biofilm formation when exposed to blue (460 nm) and green (530 nm) light and propagated in D-sucrose, D-fructose, and dulcitol. PC showed higher biofilm formation when exposed to blue light. Biofilm formation by SG increased when exposed to red light (630 nm) and propagated in citraconic acid. ConclusionTo increase attachment and success in BCA introduced into the phyllosphere, a suitable combination of light quality and nutrient conditions could be used

Whole-lactation feed intake, milk yield, and energy balance of Holstein and Swedish Red dairy cows fed grass-clover silage and 2 levels of byproduct-based concentrate

Ruminants can produce meat and milk from fibrous feed and byproducts not suitable for human consumption. However, high-yielding dairy cows are generally fed a high proportion of cereal grain and pulses, which could be consumed directly by humans. If high production of dairy cows could be maintained with ingredients of low human interest, the sustainability of dairy production would improve. In the present study, 37 multiparous [Holstein (n = 13) and Swedish Red (n = 24)] dairy cows were followed over a whole lactation. A low-concentrate diet of up to 6 kg concentrate per day (6kgConc) was fed to 27 cows, whereas 10 cows were fed a high-concentrate diet of up to 12 kg concentrate per day (12kgConc). The concentrate was mainly based on byproducts (sugar beet pulp, wheat bran, rapeseed meal, distiller's grain). Grass-clover silage of high digestibility was offered ad libitum. Over the whole lactation, cows on the 6kgConc diet had lower dry matter intake and higher forage intake than cows on the 12kgConc diet. Milk yield and energy balance were not influenced by dietary treatment. However, the cows on the 6kgConc diet numerically produced 2.4 kg less energy-corrected milk than cows on 12kgConc diet. The study lacked the statistical power to identify treatment effects on daily yield below 2.8 kg of milk due to low number of animals per treatment. Feed efficiency (as energy-corrected milk yield/dry matter intake or residual feed intake), body weight change, body condition change, milk fatty acid concentration in total milk fatty acids, plasma nonesterified fatty acids, glucose, beta-hydroxybutyrate, and fertility measurements were not affected by diet, supporting the energy balance results. However, higher plasma concentrations o f insulin-like growth factor-1 and insulin were observed in cows fed he 12kgConc diet. These findings show that cows can adapt to a high-forage diet virtually without humangrade ingredients, without compromising feed efficiency or energy balance, thereby contributing to sustainable food production

Evaluation of in vitro bioassays as a screening tool to monitor chemical hazards in cow’s milk

Studies on cow’s milk have mainly focused on analyzing specific chemical groups and natural components. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated if effect-based in vitro methods could be used as a screening tool to monitor chemical hazards in milk. In total, 32 milk samples were collected from a Swedish dairy company throughout one year. These samples included conventional and organic semi-skimmed as well as raw milk. The milk samples were tested in five in vitro methods covering eight endpoints. These endpoints included cytotoxicity, endocrine disruption (estrogen/androgen induction/inhibition), aryl hydrocarbon receptor activity, oxidative stress and DNA damage. Estrogen and androgen receptor inhibition, in addition to aryl hydrocarbon receptor activity, were the most responsive endpoints, where 10 to 13 out of the 32 milk samples were bioactive. Organic and conventional milk showed no major differences. Overall, no or only low activities were observed in milk samples in the remaining in vitro assays, which is a promising result with regard to applying effect-based methods as a screening tool. Concerning the most responsive assays, more research is needed to understand the normal background variations before they can be used as a screening tool for chemical hazards in milk