PAUSED for thought? Using verbal protocol analysis to understand the situational and temporal cues in the decision-making of residential burglars

Using verbal protocol analysis (VPA) alongside semi-structured interviews, this research aimed to explicate the situational dynamics that inform the decision-making and target selection of residential burglars. Focusing on the VPA method, novel to criminological research, the paper considers the contribution of this empirical approach for studying the decision-making of offenders in situ. The findings reveal a series of cues, encapsulated in the ‘PAUSED’ model, that are drawn upon by residential burglars to assess the suitability of a target; determining whether it is profitable, accessible, uninterruptible, surveillable, escapable and/or dishonourable. The PAUSED model is unpacked to articulate a collection of visual stimuli that serve to disrupt and suspend the otherwise rapid flow of target appraisal. Discussion of the strengths and limitations of the VPA method, and how it can compliment other approaches to understanding the decision-making of residential burglars, is provided

CALCIUM RESPONSES IN FIBROBLASTS FROM ASYMPTOMATIC MEMBERS OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE FAMILIES

Abstract We have previously identified alterations of K + channel function, IP 3 -mediated calcium release, and Cp20 (a memory-associated GTP binding protein) in fibroblasts from Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients vs controls. Some of these alterations can be integrated into an index that distinguishes AD patients from controls with both high specificity and high sensitivity. We report here that alterations in IP 3 -mediated calcium responses are present in a large proportion of AD family members (i.e., individuals at high risk) before clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease are present. This was not the case if such members later "escaped" AD symptoms. This preclinical calcium signal correlate of later AD does not reflect, however, the presence of the PS1 familial AD gene

Surfaces roughness effects on the transmission of Gaussian beams by anisotropic parallel plates

Influence of the plate surfaces roughness in precise ellipsometry experiments is studied. The realistic case of a Gaussian laser beam crossing a uniaxial platelet is considered. Expression for the transmittance is determined using the first order perturbation theory. In this frame, it is shown that interference takes place between the specular transmitted beam and the scattered field. This effect is due to the angular distribution of the Gaussian beam and is of first order in the roughness over wavelength ratio. As an application, a numerical simulation of the effects of quartz roughness surfaces at normal incidence is provided. The interference term is found to be strongly connected to the random nature of the surface roughness.Comment: 18 pages, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, volume 36, issue 21, pages 2697 - 270

Correlation property of length sequences based on global structure of complete genome

This paper considers three kinds of length sequences of the complete genome. Detrended fluctuation analysis, spectral analysis, and the mean distance spanned within time $L$ are used to discuss the correlation property of these sequences. The values of the exponents from these methods of these three kinds of length sequences of bacteria indicate that the long-range correlations exist in most of these sequences. The correlation have a rich variety of behaviours including the presence of anti-correlations. Further more, using the exponent $\gamma$, it is found that these correlations are all linear ($\gamma=1.0\pm 0.03$). It is also found that these sequences exhibit $1/f$ noise in some interval of frequency ($f>1$). The length of this interval of frequency depends on the length of the sequence. The shape of the periodogram in $f>1$ exhibits some periodicity. The period seems to depend on the length and the complexity of the length sequence.Comment: RevTex, 9 pages with 5 figures and 3 tables. Phys. Rev. E Jan. 1,2001 (to appear

Andreev Reflection in Strong Magnetic Fields

We have studied the interplay of Andreev reflection and cyclotron motion of quasiparticles at a superconductor-normal-metal interface with a strong magnetic field applied parallel to the interface. Bound states are formed due to the confinement introduced both by the external magnetic field and the superconducting gap. These bound states are a coherent superposition of electron and hole edge excitations similar to those realized in finite quantum-Hall samples. We find the energy spectrum for these Andreev edge states and calculate transport properties.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, RevTex, revised to include more detailed discussion of currents and transpor

Privatization and State Capacity in Postcommunist Society

Economists have used cross-national regression analysis to argue that postcommunist economic failure is the result of inadequate adherence liberal economic policies. Sociologists have relied on case study data to show that postcommunist economic failure is the outcome of too close adherence to liberal policy recommendations, which has led to an erosion of state effectiveness, and thus produced poor economic performance. The present paper advances a version of this statist theory based on a quantitative analysis of mass privatization programs in the postcommunist world. We argue that rapid large-scale privatization creates severe supply and demand shocks for enterprises, thereby inducing firm failure. The resulting erosion of tax revenues leads to a fiscal crisis for the state, and severely weakens its capacity and bureaucratic character. This, in turn, reacts back on the enterprise sector, as the state can no longer support the institutions necessary for the effective functioning of a modern economy, thus resulting in deindustrialization. Using cross-national regression techniques we find that the implementation of mass privatization programs negatively impacts measures of economic growth, state capacity and the security of property rights.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/40192/3/wp806.pd

Optical Propagation and Communication

Contains an introduction and reports on three research projects.Maryland Procurement Office Contract MDA 903-94-C6071Maryland Procurement Office Contract MDA 904-93-C4169U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-93-1-0604U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-96-1-0028U.S. Army Research Office Grant DAAHO4-95-1-0494U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-96-1-0126U.S. Army Research Office Grant DAAHO4-93-G-018

The quality of different types of child care at 10 and 18 months. A comparison between types and factors related to quality.

The quality of care offered in four different types of non-parental child care to 307 infants at 10 months old and 331 infants at 18 months old was compared and factors associated with higher quality were identified. Observed quality was lowest in nurseries at each age point, except that at 18 months they offered more learning activities. There were few differences in the observed quality of care by child-minders, grandparents and nannies, although grandparents had somewhat lower safety and health scores and offered children fewer activities. Cost was largely unrelated to quality of care except in child-minding, where higher cost was associated with higher quality. Observed ratios of children to adults had a significant impact on quality of nursery care; the more infants or toddlers each adult had to care for, the lower the quality of the care she gave them. Mothers' overall satisfaction with their child's care was positively associated with its quality for home-based care but not for nursery settings

Optical Propagation and Communication

Contains an introduction and reports on three research projects.Maryland Procurement Office Contract MDA 903-94-C6071Maryland Procurement Office Contract MDA 904-93-C4169U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-93-1-0604U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-96-1-0028U.S. Army Research Office Grant DAAH04-95-1-0494U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-95-1-0505U.S. Air Force - Office of Scientific Research Grant F49620-96-1-0126U.S. Army Research Office Grant DAAH04-93-G-0399U.S. Army Research Office Grant DAAH04-93-G-018