Exploiting the Symmetry of the Resonator Mode to Enhance PELDOR Sensitivity.

Pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy using microwaves at two frequencies can be employed to measure distances between pairs of paramagnets separated by up to 10 nm. The method, combined with site-directed mutagenesis, has become increasingly popular in structural biology for both its selectivity and capability of providing information not accessible through more standard methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance and X-ray crystallography. Despite these advantages, EPR distance measurements suffer from poor sensitivity. One contributing factor is technical: since 65 MHz typically separates the pump and detection frequencies, they cannot both be located at the center of the pseudo-Lorentzian microwave resonance of a single-mode resonator. To maximize the inversion efficiency, the pump pulse is usually placed at the center of the resonance, while the observer frequency is placed in the wing, with consequent reduction in sensitivity. Here, we consider an alternative configuration: by spacing pump and observer frequencies symmetrically with respect to the microwave resonance and by increasing the quality factor, valuable improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio can be obtained

Social Support of Sudanese Refugees in Anoka County, Minnesota

Using a qualitative research design, this study reports findings from interviews with five Sudanese refugees regarding sources of social support available to them in Anoka County, Minnesota. The potential sources of support explored were family and relatives; Sudanese and other African friends; American friends; and American Sponsors and social service agencies. Themes of culture shock and differences between support in Sudan and support in the United States emerged. Implications for social work practice and research are discussed

Beyond Savagery: The Limits of Australian ‘Aboriginalism’

Ideas and representations of the supposedly savage condition of the New World's indigenous peoples have informed a now familiar account of colonialism. These have been understood as the ‘constructions’ of a discourse concerned to justify its colonisation of indigenous lands, and to legitimate its dispossession of indigenous peoples. There is no doubt that racial stereotypes were invoked to support colonialism. But their instrumentalisation—as self-serving constructions of ‘otherness’—has not only tended to define the colonial ‘encounter’ as a unilateral exercise of power; in so doing, it has effaced its very character as an encounter. In this paper, we critically engage this account of colonial discourse in its application to the Australian colonial context. Drawing less upon Edward Said’s description of the power of discourse, and more upon Homi Bhabha’s attempt to elicit its limits, our aim here is to restore to the Australian colonial encounter something of its specificity as an encounter. For this encounter, we argue here, provides a salient—if not a crucial—instance of the failure of colonial discourse to ‘construct’ Aboriginal peoples as savages

Exclusionary Politics and the Question of National Belonging

This article builds on recent efforts to cast the understanding of ethnic and racialized tensions less in terms of a coarse logic of racism than within an analytical frame of struggles over national belonging. This theme is developed with respect to intercultural relations in Australia, in all the complexities of its white settler, migrant, and indigenous formations. The article develops a ‘multiscalar’ focus that takes in the global circuits of movement and relationship linked to British colonialism and international migration, through to contests over the meanings, management and stewardship of local places. In so doing, we also highlight some contextually specific versions of ‘whiteness’ whose various mobilizations help to undo a sense of their fixed status as core attributes of Australian nationhood. The article concludes with a case from Jervis Bay, New South Wales, where contested imaginings of, and investments in, appropriate land uses, have given rise to disputes that are productively conceived in terms of a multiscalar politics of national belonging. Although thus grounded in the circumstances of Australian culture, we believe the core argument can be extended (with all the normal caveats) to other ex-British colonial, immigration nations

Impacts of wildlife viewing: A case study of Dixville Notch wildlife viewing area

Major objectives of this study were to examine the motivations, knowledge level and attitudes of wildlife viewers as well as the response of moose to observation and other human caused stimuli at a designated wildlife viewing site. Moose and other wildlife are attracted to areas where road salt runoffs and pools in low areas around culverts and ditches creating wildlife viewing opportunities. This study examined whether moose behaviors such as visitation time and rate of use of the salt lick changed from preconstruction (1996) of a wildlife blind to wildlife viewing establishment (1999). Trailmaster monitors strategically located on trails entering the licks were used to determine that no changes in moose visitation and use patterns occurred. In addition moose responses to a variety of human stimuli including visitors in the viewing blind, visitors walking along the trail, visitors talking, cars stopping on the roadway, trucks passing and humans out of cars approaching moose were recorded during 42 observation periods conducted summers of 1997--1999. Moose showed no response to wildlife viewers using the viewing blind or walking along the trail, however, their behavior patterns changed when cars stopped along the road and trucks passed. A segment of the study involved interviewing 439 viewers at the site during 1997--1998 and then follow by a mail survey. Mail surveys were used to determine motivations, level of wildlife knowledge, satisfaction and attitudes toward wildlife management. The 209 completed surveys indicated viewers had a variety of motivations for watching wildlife and most were satisfied with their experiences in Dixville Notch. There were changes in knowledge level from the interview to the mail survey. In addition attitudes about managing wildlife viewing sites were provided including the willingness for more regulations, not wanting to have artificially created experiences and a willingness to forgo options which would increase the number of animals at the site. Results of this research provide recommendations for designing and planning wildlife viewing areas to maximize viewing and learning opportunities. A traditional multi-disciplinary and an interdisciplinary planning approach to using sociological and biological research results are discussed

Measurement of Hospital Performance: Environmental and Organizational Factors Associated with Cost

As U.S. health care expenditures top the $1 trillion mark, there is increased interest in measuring the performance of health care providers. For bottom line oriented payors such as government and business, the focus is on measuring cost. As hospitals account for over one-third of health care expenses, hospital cost per admission is a common measure of performance. Many environmental and organizational factors come into play in determining hospital cost per admission. This research examines several of these factors, using Raymond Zammuto\u27s model of organizational effectiveness assessment. Using Zammuto\u27s framework, this research looks at the relationship of social, physical, and biological factors to cost per admission. Social factors include: hospital teaching status; ownership; patient socioeconomic status; and community poverty level. Physical factors include: hospital location; bed size; staff size; number of services offered; presence of specialty and tertiary services; and presence of obstetrical services. Biological factors are patient age and community elderly. Although it is generally accepted that hospital cost per admission should be adjusted to account for differences among hospitals in patient complexity (i.e., case mix) and outpatient volume, not all adjustment methodologies take cost of living differences into account. To test the impact of adjusting for cost of living differences in addition to case mix and outpatient volume differences, this research uses three versions of the dependent variable: (1) cost per admission adjusted for case mix, outpatient volume, and cost of living; (2) cost per admission adjusted for case mix and outpatient volume only; and (3) unadjusted cost. The study population consists of 85 general acute care hospitals in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 1994 Annual Historical Filing data submitted to the former Virginia Health Services Cost Review Council (now Virginia Health Information) were used. Multivariate linear regression analysis of the cost per admission adjusted for case mix, outpatient volume, and cost of living indicates that patient age (percent of hospital patients age 65+), the presence of obstetrical services, and hospital bed size are significant variables. Larger hospital bed size is related to higher cost per admission. Larger percent of hospital patients age 65+ and the presence of obstetrics are related to lower cost per admission. Bivariate and multivariate analyses demonstrate that variables such as hospital location and community poverty level have a great impact on cost per admission when adjusted for case mix and outpatient volume only. If a cost of living adjustment is also made to the cost per admission calculation, the location related variables are not signifiant due to the relationship between those variables and cost of living. It is concluded that a cost of living adjustment should be made in addition to case mix and outpatient volume adjustments when studying hospital cost per admission. The multivariate linear regression model for cost per admission adjusted for case mix, outpatient volume, and cost of living accounts for 30.9% of the cost per admission variance. Other factors such as physician practice patterns and hospital management policies play an important role in hospital performance. These factors have been beyond the scope of this study but merit additional research

An Examination of the Speech Evaluation Process: Does the Evaluation Instrument and/or Evaluator\u27s Experience Matter?

Speech evaluation forms are a useful and necessary tool of any communication course with a public speaking component. The continued investigation of how such forms are created and used is beneficial to students and teachers. In this study, raters from various experience levels graded two speeches using a combination of four evaluation forms, half of which included directions. Raters then responded to questions regarding the forms they just used. Results indicate that experience level and form type influence the speech grade given. Additionally, raters\u27 responses regarding the forms reveal how they view the use of forms in the speech evaluation process

SCOTS: Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech

This chapter examines the approaches to collection, handling and analysis of data in the Scottish Corpus of Texts and Speech