The New York Truth in Travel Act

A New York couple arrange a vacation abroad through their travel agent. They expect a direct flight, deluxe, centrally located accommodations, and guided tours of local attractions. Once they have set out, they discover to their dismay that their flight makes several lengthy stops, their reservations are at a drab and uncomfortable hotel in an inconvenient location, and there are no reservations for the tours. This hypothetical situation is representative of instances of travel fraud, a frequent consumer grievance in what is acknowledged as the considerable volume of travel business being conducted in the United States. New York has attempted to protect travelers from specific fraudulent practices by enacting legislation effective September 1, 1974. This note will describe the new Truth in Travel Act, its potential for curbing travel fraud, its place in the framework of existing common law actions providing remedies for such fraud, and state and federal legislation regulating the travel business. Having examined the framework encompassing the Act, the note will conclude by comparing the Act to other federal and state regulatory efforts, in order to analyze its effectiveness and to suggest improvements

Synthesizing Middle Grades Research on Cultural Responsiveness: The Importance of a Shared Conceptual Framework

In conducting a literature review of 133 articles on cultural responsiveness in middle level education, we identified a lack of shared definitions, theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, and foci, which made it impossible to synthesize across articles. Using a conceptual framework that required: 1) clear definitions of terms; 2) a critically conscious stance; and 3) inclusion of the middle school concept, we identified 14 articles that met these criteria. We then mapped differences and convergences across these studies, which allowed us to identify the conceptual gaps that the field must address in order to have common definitions and understandings that enable synthesis across studies

Fire and forest in the highlands of the Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic : modern dynamics and long-term history

This dissertation investigates past and present environments of the highlands of the Dominican Republic using paleoecological and modem ecological techniques. The relatively unstudied highlands (\u3e2000 m) of the Cordillera Central are blanketed by a mosaic of pine forests, open pine woodlands, and grasslands, with broadleaf trees joining the canopy in sheltered locations. My research on modem vegetation and fire ecology, and on long-t� fire and vegetation history, helps fill gaps in the knowledge of Caribbean environments, and may assist land managers in conservation efforts in the Dominican highlands. A study of the relationship between modem pollen rain and vegetation cover in the highlands provided a basis for interpreting pollen assemblages in sediment profiles. As expected, pine pollen dominated most samples. Detrended Correspondence Analysis indicated that the modem pollen spectra of forested uplands and open wetland sites are clearly distinct, while a variety of other site types that are intermediate in terms of vegetation are also intermediate in terms of modem pollen spectra. Forested sites were widely dispersed, while intermediate sites and wetlands were more tightly clustered, indicating greater similarity in pollen spectra of those sites. Lack of pine stomata was an excellent indicator of treelessness. The distinction between forested and non-forested sites may be useful in interpreting highland fossil records that may reach back into the last glacial period. Analysis of a 126.5 cm sediment core from a bog in Valle de Bao on the windward slope of the Cordillera Central indicated that disturbances by fire, tropical storms, and climatic fluctuations have been part of the highland ecosystem for millennia. The bog formed during a relatively moist period around 4000 yr BP. The record includes strong signals of dry periods during the late Holocene, and matches some trends in a sediment record from Lake Miragoane, Haiti, near sea level. A study of postfire regeneration of pines and shrubs at five recently burned sites provided evidence that the woody vegetation of the pine-forested highlands is well adapted to fire. Most shrubs at all sites resprouted from their bases, and in one site, shrubs regained prefire stem heights within seven years. Recovery of shrub stein .diameters lagged behind. Large pines can survive fire, but in this study, no trees \u3c13 cm in diameter survived. Repeated fires may create and maintain a shrub-dominated · landscape

Genetic analysis of novel regulators of neuronal migration in Caenorhabditis elegans: the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway, a chromatin-binding factor ZFP-1 (AF10) and endogenous RNAi

The generation of functional neural circuitries requires neuronal migration, a central component of proper nervous system development. When defective, it can lead to devastating conditions including epilepsy and mental retardation. In the nematode C. elegans, neurons undergo both short- and long-range migrations that are regulated by conserved pathways. In my thesis study, I explore novel roles for both the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway and RNAi factors in neuronal migration by using the embryonic anterior migrations of the hermaphrodite-specific neurons (HSNs) of C. elegans as a model. I demonstrate that the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway modulates the activity of the conserved DAF-16/FOXO transcription factor non-autonomously in the hypodermis to regulate HSN migration. Furthermore, I identify PAK-1, a p21-activated kinase, as a downstream target of DAF-16 in the hypodermis. This study is the first to demonstrate a non-autonomous role for both FOXO and Pak1 in neuronal migration. I also implicate a conserved PHD zinc finger protein ZFP-1/AF10 and endogenous RNAi in the regulation of HSN migration. I determine that ZFP-1 affects HSN migration in part through its negative effect on the transcription of the conserved insulin/IGF-1 signaling kinase gene pdk-1 and the modulation of downstream DAF-16 activity. This study expands the limited understanding of the normal developmental roles of both ZFP-1/AF10 and RNAi. Combined, this thesis highlights a requirement for the coordinated activities of DAF-16/FOXO, ZFP-1/AF10 and endogenous RNAi in the establishment of proper neuronal positioning during development

Dynamics of fat and lean mass in refuelling migrant passerines measured using quantitative magnetic resonance

Although fat deposition during stopover in migrating passerine birds has been extensively studied, changes in lean mass during refuelling are not well understood. I used quantitative magnetic resonance (QMR) analysis to measure the deposition of fat and lean mass for both recaptured and single capture migrant passerines in spring and fall at Long Point, Ontario. Both the recapture analysis and single capture regression analysis indicated a substantial contribution of lean mass to overall increases in total body mass. Some of the variation in the relative deposition of fat and lean mass was explained by sex, age and season. I then used radio-telemetry and mark-recapture analysis to investigate whether QMR affects a bird’s magnetic compass or stopover duration. QMR had no effect on stopover duration and departure orientation of migrating Black-throated Blue Warblers. QMR slightly increased stopover duration in adult White-throated Sparrows in fall, but not in spring. My study demonstrates that lean mass deposition is substantial and dynamic, and that QMR is a safe and effective technology to study fuel deposition of migrant birds in the field

Instrumental and expressive violence: Motive for women\u27s use of violence and their perception of their partner\u27s use of violence

In this study, we characterized the motivation for violence as instrumental, expressive, and self-defense. We learned that women perceive their own motivation for violence differently than they perceive their partner\u27s motivation for violence, a form of self-defense, fighting back, and protecting themselves from harm. In contrast, women reported that their partner\u27s motivation for violence was instrumental to get one\u27s way, assert dominance, gain power, or to intimidate one\u27s partner

The Health of Looked after Children and Young People : a Summary of the Literature

This paper gives an overview of some of the main research findings regarding the physical health, mental health and health behaviours of looked after children. The paper begins with a child-level discussion of the health needs of looked after children, before considering some factors at the family-level, community-level and societal level which impact on the health of looked after children. The approach taken emphasises the importance of context and illustrates the need to attend to and understand the environment in which children, young people and adults are situated. The emerging implications for policy and practice have a common component in that they require an attendance to the diversity and individuality of looked after children. This is reflected in the call for more targeted data collection, robustness of research, reviews of the effectiveness of current interventions and consistent evaluation

"Art in Times of Conflict"

Editorial for Issue 10, Number 2 (2012)

Patient–provider communication data: linking process and outcomes in oncology care

Lisa Kennedy Sheldon1,2, Fangxin Hong3,4, Donna Berry4,51University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA; 2St Joseph Hospital, Nashua, NH, USA; 3Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, Boston, MA, USA; 4Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Phyllis F Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services, Boston, MA, USA; 5Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USAOverview: Patient–provider communication is vital to quality patient care in oncology settings and impacts health outcomes. Newer communication datasets contain patient symptom reports, real-time audiofiles of visits, coded communication data, and visit outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to: (1) review the complex communication processes during patient–provider interaction during oncology care; (2) describe methods of gathering and coding communication data; (3) suggest logical approaches to analyses; and (4) describe one new dataset that allows linking of patient symptoms and communication processes with visit outcomes.Challenges: Patient–provider communication research is complex due to numerous issues, including human subjects’ concerns, methods of data collection, numerous coding schemes, and varying analytic techniques.Data collection and coding: Coding of communication data is determined by the research question(s) and variables of interest. Subsequent coding and timestamping the behaviors provides categorical data and determines the interval between and patterns of behaviors.Analytic approaches: Sequential analyses move from descriptive statistics to explanatory analyses to direct analyses and conditional probabilities. In the final stage, explanatory modeling is used to predict outcomes from communication elements. Examples of patient and provider communication in the ambulatory oncology setting are provided from the new Electronic Self Report Assessment-Cancer II dataset.Summary: More complex communication data sets provide opportunities to link elements of patient–provider communication with visit outcomes. Given more complex datasets, a step-wise approach is necessary to analyze and identify predictive variables. Sequential analyses move from descriptive results to predictive models with communication data, creating links between patient symptoms and concerns, real-time audiotaped communication, and visit outcomes. The results of these analyses will be useful in developing evidence-based interventions to enhance communication and improve psychosocial outcomes in oncology settings.Keywords: communication, analysis, distress, cancer, outcome

Evaluation of Technology Concepts for Traffic Data Management and Relevant Audio for Datalink in Commercial Airline Flight Decks

Datalink is currently operational for departure clearances and in oceanic environments and is currently being tested in high altitude domestic enroute airspace. Interaction with even simple datalink clearances may create more workload for flight crews than the voice system they replace if not carefully designed. Datalink may also introduce additional complexity for flight crews with hundreds of uplink messages now defined for use. Finally, flight crews may lose airspace awareness and operationally relevant information that they normally pickup from Air Traffic Control (ATC) voice communications with other aircraft (i.e., party-line transmissions). Once again, automation may be poised to increase workload on the flight deck for incremental benefit. Datalink implementation to support future air traffic management concepts needs to be carefully considered, understanding human communication norms and especially, the change from voice- to text-based communications modality and its effect on pilot workload and situation awareness. Increasingly autonomous systems, where autonomy is designed to support human-autonomy teaming, may be suited to solve these issues. NASA is conducting research and development of increasingly autonomous systems, utilizing machine-learning algorithms seamlessly integrated with humans whereby task performance of the combined system is significantly greater than the individual components. Increasingly autonomous systems offer the potential for significantly improved levels of performance and safety that are superior to either human or automation alone. Two increasingly autonomous systems concepts - a traffic data manager and a conversational co-pilot - were developed to intelligently address the datalink issues in a complex, future state environment with significant levels of traffic. The system was tested for suitability of datalink usage for terminal airspace. The traffic data manager allowed for automated declutter of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) display. The system determined relevant traffic for display based on machine learning algorithms trained by experienced human pilot behaviors. The conversational co-pilot provided relevant audio air traffic control messages based on context and proximity to ownship. Both systems made use of the connected aircraft concepts to provide intelligent context to determine relevancy above and beyond proximity to ownship. A human-in-the-loop test was conducted in NASA Langley Research Centers Integration Flight Deck B-737-800 simulator to evaluate the traffic data manager and the conversational co-pilot. Twelve airline crews flew various normal and non-normal procedures and their actions and performance were recorded in response to the procedural events. This paper details the flight crew performance and evaluation during the events