The Ballerina

Little in the world can be as delicate and poised as the small ballerina you bought me. She dances motionless upon my bookshelf, as she did for many years before..

Soliton complexes in dissipative systems: vibrating, shaking and mixed soliton pairs

We show, numerically, that coupled soliton pairs in nonlinear dissipative systems modeled by the cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation can exist in various forms. They can be stationary, or they can pulsate periodically, quasiperiodically, or chaotically, as is the case for single solitons. In particular, we have found various types of vibrating and shaking soliton pairs. Each type is stable in the sense that a given bound state exists in the same form indefinitely. New solutions appear at special values of the equation parameters, thus bifurcating from stationary pairs. We also report the finding of mixed soliton pairs, formed by two different types of single solitons. We present regions of existence of the pair solutions and corresponding bifurcation diagrams

Wheels on the Bus: School Transportation as a Reflection of Sprawl

The second half of the twentieth century constituted a change in land use ideology and development practice brought about by the rise of the automobile, increasing economic upward mobility, and privatization of the family home. During this time, the districting and building of public schools similarly changed, turning schools from local community centers to regional and de-contextualized places of education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which these development practices have caused children to rely on car and bus transportation to get to and from school. Using the variable of distance within a GIS analysis of three case study locations in California, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, we tested the hypothesis that the increasing regionalization of schools in conjunction with the sprawl of developed parcels diminishes walkability to those schools for the children who attend them. Our results suggest that increased distance from schools and the districting mandates for determining school attendance decrease the ability of children to walk to school, reflecting the shift to automobile-centered land use. Our research also suggests that infrastructure-related walkability is further impeded by economic, cultural, and socio-psychological norms that are in many ways connected to or facilitated by the automobile

Perlindungan Hukum terhadap Pemenang Lelang Atas Barang yang Digugat oleh Pihak Ktiga, Studi Kasus : Putusan Ma Nomor 2839 K/pdt/2003

People are usually interested in selling goods through auction because an auction can give some benefits and goodness, compared with the other systems in giving legal certainty. The implementation of auction in Batam is generally done by KPKNL which usually performs auction which is bound with fiduciary collateral or hypothecation. Regulation on auction guarantees legal certainty but does not always give legal protection to the winner of foreclosure sale as it can be seen in the case of auction done by KPKNL in Batam: the auction of other people's goods. The problem of auction is general about the complaint from the third party so that the winner becomes a defendant. Therefore, bidders should be careful in buying other people's goods in foreclosure sale and legal protection should be available for winners which are claimed by the third party. Bidders' good faith in fulfilling their responsibility in the auction process is very vital in getting legal protection when they become the winners, and the implementation is realized by the issuance of auction letter as legal certainty for owning the goods. Auction letter is a kind of preventive legal protection for winners; therefore, when it is cancelled by court's verdict which causes harm and when there is a claim for winners, they actually have the right to get repressive legal protection and responsibility from stakeholders, either from the goods sale or from KPKNL

Shimmers of Truth in the Art of Theatre

Many Christians have noted Romans 1:20’s statement that God is reflected in His creation. As a theater student, I have found this to be true even in how theatrical artists actually execute their craft. Thus, for my senior honors thesis I have decided to further study this connection between the Lord and theater, for which I expect to find more of what I have already found in parallels between the Christian walk and theater arts. For the completion of this thesis, research for theatrical content will include acting and design, and research for biblical content will include the Bible and prominent theologians such as John Piper and John MacArthur. This information will then be organized, analyzed, and elaborated on in regards to the connection between theatre and theology. The result will be a collection of devotionals specifically related to the theatrical artist’s craft and work

Alaska's Local Option Law and its Impacts on Underage Drinking Outcomes

Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Anchorage In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTERS OF PUBLIC HEALTHThe purposes of this project were to explore the relationship between alcohol bans and 1) age of first use, 2) 30-day use and perceptions of harm among high school students, and 3) intentional and unintentional injury among adolescents. Methods involved secondary data analyses of two samples from the Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), the Alaska Trauma Registry (ATR), and the Alaska Violent Death Reporting System (AKVDRS) – including 49 communities without a ban on possession, and including 11 villages with a ban on sales, importation and possession. Lower rates of self-reported alcohol consumption in underage persons in communities with a ban on possession were not found. Moreover, data from the YRBS indicates youth in communities with a ban on alcohol possession had increased odds of lifetime use of alcohol (OR 1.621) as well as use before age of 13 (OR 1.903) and increased odds of lower reported peer approval related to drinking (OR .531). No significant differences were identified between the two communities on 30-day use of alcohol; 30-day binge drinking; drinking on school property; perceptions of risk related to daily use of alcohol; and parental approval for regular alcohol use. Communities with a ban on possession had lower number of suspected or proven alcohol use related injuries and deaths. Study findings suggest that it is insufficient to address alcohol-related problems among youth based on a single environmental level policy. Communities need to look beyond a single factor to solve a public health problem and consider the complex interactions between the individual, interpersonal, and other environmental-level.Signature Page / Cover Page / Abstract / Table of Contents / List of Tables / List of Figures / List of Appendices / Introduction / Background / Methods / Results / Discussion / Strengths and Limitations / Public Health Implications / Conclusions / Reference

Technological development of Speedway: a review and analysis

From the available literature it is clear that very little experimental testing has been conducted on Speedway frames to date, yet investigations into the physical parameters are fundamental if the sport is to continue to progress technically. The literature suggests that additional investigations into Speedway could provide a beneficial outcome to the sport and produce an increase in the performance of the bike whilst keeping costs low. A technology road map of Speedway was created to assess the technical development of the sport since its establishment and determined the trend in the mainstream popularity of the sport. Torsional and virtual testing was carried out on the Speedway frame, determining key performance parameters and behaviour characteristics of the frame and resulted in a validated FEA model of the Speedway frame being developed. The work reported here facilitates the potential for further development to be undertaken on areas relating to Speedway and in particular the frame. Whilst a validated FEA model was created, the design of the frame could be further optimised to provide a beneficial performance outcome for Speedway

Emergency Department Staff Perception of the Role of Social Work and the Social Worker in the Emergency Department

Changes to the healthcare system such as a decrease in resources, combined roles of emergency department personnel, and delivery of mental health treatment in emergency departments has necessitated further investigation of the role of social workers in the emergency department. Using a qualitative research design, eight participants from rural emergency departments were surveyed regarding how they perceived mental health emergencies and mental health crises within the emergency department, and their perceptions of the social work role. Findings of this study suggest that a social worker is a valuable addition to the interdisciplinary team in the emergency department. Additionally it indicated that mental health interventions and services remain stigmatized, caring for mental health patients impacts the care of other patients, the emergency department has become a point of entry for many resources, there is a lack of training in mental health services, and a lack of understanding in the specific skill set and role of social work. These findings support the importance for social work presence in the emergency department as well as the need for future research in various areas related to social work and mental health within hospital emergency departments

Fathers\u27 self-perceptions of their parenting role identity and its impact on levels of father-child involvement: A comparison of married and contact fathers

It has been extensively documented that contact fathers decrease involvement with their children after divorce (Amato & Booth, 1996). Role theory purports that this pattern of father involvement after divorce is a result or contact fathers experiencing parental role ambiguity. The constraints of visitation make it difficult to maintain parental roles previously performed in the marriage (Ihinger-Tallman, Pasley & Buchler, 1993). American research has provided support for role theory: however no known equivalent research has been conducted on Australian contact fathers. This study replicated Minton and Pasley\u27s (1996) research with 46 contact and 64 married fathers. Participants completed the Self-Perceptions of the Parental Role Scale (McPhee, Benson & Bullock, 1986) and The Parental Involvement Scale (Ahrons, 1983). The results did not support the hypothesis that contact fathers would identify less with the parental role, compared to married fathers. There was evidence that contact and married fathers perceived themselves to be equally satisfied, competent, integrated and invested in the parental role. As expected, contact fathers were found to be less involved in child-related activities than married fathers. There was modest support for the basic proposition of role theory that the more a father identified with the parental role the more involved he would be with his children. Results also indicated weak, significant correlation between investment, satisfaction and competence in the parental role and involvement. Satisfaction and competence in the parental role were significant predictors of father involvement, however they accounted for little variance in father involvement. Marital status did not moderate the relationship between father parenting role identity and father involvement. Future research endeavours are suggested that explore how contact fathers maintain high identification with the parental role after divorce