Security Legislation in Namibia: Memorandum of the South West Africa (Namibian) Bar Council

In January, 1983, the Namibian Bar Council1 wrote a letter to the Namibian Administrator-General, the head of South Africa\u27s occupation regime in Namibia, urging him to create a judicial commission of inquiry. The purpose of such a commission was to investigate the security legislation in effect in the Territory and the alleged abuses in the application of that legislation.2 Given the political situation in Namibia, the request was daring and unprecedented. In South Africa, a call for a commission of inquiry is not ordinarily a party-political gesture. Rather, such a call indicates serious dissatisfaction with some aspect of the state\u27s financial, administrative, or judicial affairs. By its request, the Namibian Bar Council was questioning not just the territorial administration, but the South African regime that ruled Namibia against the will of its inhabitants and in defiance of international law.3 It was seeking, furthermore, a probe of the elements by which the South African government maintained its control

Comments: Drug Testing of Private Employees

Many private employers have begun testing job applicants and employees for illegal drug use. This comment considers the reliability of the tests used, as well as the issues of privacy raised by their use. The author suggests that public policy disfavors the use of drug testing in the private public sector because of these reliability and privacy concerns. The author concludes with a discussion of common law causes of action that may be available to a private employee subjected to drug testing, including tortious invasion of privacy, defamation, and wrongful discharge

Collegiate Employers Preferred Characteristics in Potential Job Candidates

The purpose of this study was to identify specific characteristics collegiate employers prefer in potential athletic training job candidates. A secondary purpose was to determine any relationships or differences in employer preferences based on characteristics of the employer or demographics of the institution. A survey instrument was developed to gather background information about the employer and hiring institution, rate the preferences of employers and collect information about the candidate who was actually hired. The instrument was piloted among survey experts and employers who had recently hired an athletic trainer at the college setting and the survey was considered reliable. Email addresses of employers seeking athletic trainers at the college setting were collected from the position vacancy notice (PVN) career center on the National Athletic Trainer\u27s (NATA) Website from October 2004 to July 2005. Subjects were emailed a scripted letter and a link to the on-line survey. Their responses were coded and sent anonymously to an excel database. Two hundred fifty surveys were emailed to employers and 109 surveys were returned for a 44% response rate. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the most preferred characteristics. Pearson correlations, repeated measures ANOVAs and Tukey Post hoc tests were used to analyze relationships and differences among employers based upon characteristics of the employers and demographics of the institution. The results showed employers have the highest preference for a candidates performance on the interview, collegiate athletic training experience and recommendations from references. An accredited post certification graduate athletic training education program was the highest preferred type of master\u27s degree among employers. Significant differences existed among employers preference of master\u27s education existed among males and females. Males had a significantly higher preference for a candidate with a master\u27s degree from an accredited graduate athletic training education program. There was no significant difference between female employer\u27s preference for a candidate from a specific master\u27s education program. A significant relationship was also discovered among employers\u27 age and their preference for candidates with a master\u27s degree from an accredited program (r = .248; p = .009). This information is valuable as athletic trainers determine what type of master\u27s degree to pursue. This research also suggests educators should continue to emphasize interview practice, clinical experience, and developing an extensive network of references among athletic training students. Future research should study the relationship and differences among employers preference for other characteristics in job candidates based upon information about the employer and demographics of the institution

Comments: Drug Testing of Private Employees

Many private employers have begun testing job applicants and employees for illegal drug use. This comment considers the reliability of the tests used, as well as the issues of privacy raised by their use. The author suggests that public policy disfavors the use of drug testing in the private public sector because of these reliability and privacy concerns. The author concludes with a discussion of common law causes of action that may be available to a private employee subjected to drug testing, including tortious invasion of privacy, defamation, and wrongful discharge

Texturing of InP surfaces for device applications

A unique process for texturing InP (100) wafers by anisotropic etching was developed. The process produces irregular V-grooves on the surface, which reduce the surface reflectivity. The process does not require photolithography or masking. The etching characteristics depend on doping, with etching tending to proceed more rapidly on the more heavily doped samples. Reduced reflectivity surfaces formed using this process can be applied to solar cells, photodetectors, and other optoelectronic devices

Enhancing optical absorption in InP and GaAs utilizing profile etching

The current state of profile etching in GaAs and InP is summarized, including data on novel geometries attainable as a function of etchant temperature, composition, and rate; substrate orientation; carrier concentration; and oxide thickness between substrate and photoresist. V-grooved solar cells were manufactured with both GaAs and InP, and the improved optical absorption was demonstrated. Preferred parameters for various applications are listed and discussed

Ecological Observations on Predatory Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) in Southwestern Michigan

Ecological observations on habitat utilization by thirteen species of predatory Coccinellidae were made at a southern Michigan site during 1989 and 1990. Most of species were common during both years and used both agricul- tural and uncultivated habitats. Coccinella septempunctata and Coleomegilla maculata, were the most abundant in agricultural crops (alfalfa, maize, soy- bean and triticale), whereas Adalia bipunctata and Cycloneda munda, were the most abundant in deciduous and bushy habitats

Modification of silicon carbide fibers for use in SiC/Ti composites

The degradation of silicon carbide fibers during exposure to conditions typical of composite fabrication was investigated. The tensile strength of pristine fibers and fibers sputtered with thin metal coatings were determined before and after treatment at 870 C for one hour in vacuum. Each fiber strength distribution was related by an analytical procedure to a projected composite ultimate tensile strength (PC UTS). The results indicate that a thin aluminum diffusion barrier can yield a 150 percent increase in PC UTS over the baseline SiC/Ti system