Presidential Address: The Aquatic Plant Management Society and Our Future Sphere of Influence

Presidential address of Alison M. Fo

Palynological investigations at hallowell moss near witton gilbert, Durham a history of man's impact on vegetation

Hallowe11 Moss, near Durham, contains a continuous pollen record from about 3,700 B.C. until, probably, the present day. Having studied the history of the area, an attempt is made, with the assistance of radiocarbon dating, to correlate the vegetational phases recorded in the bog with the various archaeological and historical periods. The area remained densely forested until Bronze Age times, when there is evidence for slight grazing pressure within the forest and a small temporary clearance. In the Romano-British period, an extensive clearance making the landscape about as open as that of today may be correlated with similar clearances in Weardale. This phase comes to a rather abrupt end, probably with the advent of Anglo-Saxon rule and throughout the Saxon and Mediaeval periods the area remains as managed woodland with some grass and arable land. Extensive, “permanent" clearance does not occur until probably the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Evidence for later afforestation is presented, and an explanation for recent changes in land use

Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues

[Excerpt] This report discusses The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. This report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA

Same-Sex Marriages: Legal Issues

[Excerpt] The recognition of same-sex marriages generates debate on both the federal and state levels. Either legislatively or judicially, same-sex marriage is legal in seven states. Other states allow civil unions or domestic partnerships, which grant all or part of state-level rights, benefits, and/or responsibilities of marriage. Some states have statutes or constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman. These variations raise questions about the validity of such unions outside the contracted jurisdiction and have bearing on the distribution of federal benefits. ... This report discusses [The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA,] and legal challenges to it. It reviews legal principles applied to determine the validity of a marriage contracted in another state and surveys the various approaches employed by states to enable or to prevent same-sex marriage. The report also examines House and Senate resolutions introduced in previous Congresses proposing a constitutional amendment and limiting federal courts’ jurisdiction to hear or determine any question pertaining to the interpretation of DOMA

The Role of Language in the Media in Influencing Public Perceptions of Refugees

The refugee crisis has become a worldwide epidemic in recent years. As refugee entrance into host countries is debated, media outlets are covering the issue regularly. These media outlets use various types of language when portraying refugees. Many publications have been found to convey hostile and divisive themes as well as use specific linguistic tools, which contribute to negative portrayals of refugees. Media outlets have the potential to influence public perceptions of refugees because the general public in a host country receives its information primarily from the media. Overt and subtle language used to describe refugees has been previously found to influence public opinions. This study of 101 students at a conservative Christian university in the mid-Atlantic United States was designed to examine whether manipulated language in news articles impacted perceptions of refugees. Participants were randomly assigned to the positive or negative language condition and then asked to complete a survey assessing four facets of perception. None of the results were significant, indicating the language in the article did not impact perceptions of refugees. This study was limited by lack of diversity in the sample, the use of self-report data, potential personal confounds, and a small sample size. The results implied a need for balance when calling for media ethics and a need for many more empirical studies in this area

Doing the Public a Disservice: Behavioral Economics and Maintaining the Status Quo

When deciding whether to grant a preliminary injunction or a stay pending appeal, courts consider, among other factors, whether granting the preliminary injunction or stay would disserve the public interest. In the context of individual-rights cases, courts often experience pressure to remedy the alleged constitutional harms immediately. However, behavioral-economic concepts demonstrate that such quick action can negatively affect society as a whole. Specifically, granting a right and then taking it away, as happens when a lower court grants a right and is reversed on appeal, results in a net loss to society. Using the recent same-sex marriage litigation, this analysis demonstrates that to avoid disserving the public interest, courts should consider the behavioral-economic effects of loss aversion and the endowment effect within the public-interest factor of the tests for preliminary relief and should attempt to maintain the status quo until the decisions are final

Unemployment Insurance Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

[Excerpt] The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5, also known as ARRA or the 2009 stimulus package), contains several provisions affecting unemployment benefits, described below. • ARRA increases unemployment benefits by $25 per week for all recipients of regular unemployment compensation (UC), extended benefits (EB), emergency unemployment compensation (EUC08), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) programs, and Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA). Supplemental compensation would be available from the time a state enters into an agreement with the Labor Secretary and ending before January 1, 2010 (with grandfathering). • The act extends the temporary EUC08 program through December 26, 2009 (with grandfathering), to be financed by federal general revenues. • It provides for 100• ARRA allows states the option of changing temporarily the eligibility requirements for the EB program in order to expand the number of persons eligible for EB benefits, to end before June 1, 2010. • It provides for an additional 13 weeks to the maximum amount of time railroad workers may receive extended unemployment benefits. • The legislation suspends income taxation on the first$2,400 of unemployment benefits received in 2009, for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2008. • It provides relief to states from the payment and accrual of interest on federal loans to states for the payment of unemployment benefits, from enactment of the stimulus package on February 17, 2009 through December 31, 2010. • ARRA provides for a special transfer of up to $7 billion in federal monies to state unemployment programs as “incentive payments” for changing certain state UC laws. All incentive payments must be made before October 1, 2011. States do not need to repay these sums to the federal government. Any changes that states make to state unemployment programs as a result of ARRA’s modernization provisions would be permanent. • Finally, the act transfers a total of$500 million to the states for administering their unemployment programs, within 30 days of enactment of the 2009 stimulus package. States do not need to repay these sums to the federal government. This report addresses some of the more common questions about unemployment insurance in the 2009 stimulus package. This report does not provide operational details of unemployment insurance programs such as UC, EB, or EUC08, nor does it address the TAA or DUA programs

The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths: A Test Summary and Critique

The Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) is a self-report assessment intended to measure an individual’s possession of 24 character strengths. Since the test’s development in 2004, one million people have taken the VIA-IS and it has been translated into ten languages. The test shows good reliability on measures of internal consistency and test-retest correlations and correlates substantially with self-nominations of strengths. Though the test shows few psychometric differences among the major U.S. census groups, culture-bound virtues that the VIA-IS does not assess for should also be taken into consideration. The VIA-IS allows counselors to gain a more comprehensive view of clients by providing a common language for discussing strengths

Ushering in the Fulfillment of Prophecy

During the 19th century, a phenomenon known as “Holy Land mania” was sweeping the United States. Americans were intrigued by the state of the Holy Land and whether or not this state matched the images described in biblical prophecy (Robey 62). Interest in Israel’s condition invaded many aspects of American life, including literature. Looking through the lens of historical criticism, it is easy to see how authors of this time period fed on the “Holy Land mania” to include references to prophecy and the Middle East in their writings. In particular, critic Molly K. Robey accurately points out in her article “Poe and Prophecy” that Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” alludes to biblical prophecy and represents the perceived degeneration of the Promised Land