A Mathematical Approach to the Study of the United States Code

The United States Code (Code) is a document containing over 22 million words that represents a large and important source of Federal statutory law. Scholars and policy advocates often discuss the direction and magnitude of changes in various aspects of the Code. However, few have mathematically formalized the notions behind these discussions or directly measured the resulting representations. This paper addresses the current state of the literature in two ways. First, we formalize a representation of the United States Code as the union of a hierarchical network and a citation network over vertices containing the language of the Code. This representation reflects the fact that the Code is a hierarchically organized document containing language and explicit citations between provisions. Second, we use this formalization to measure aspects of the Code as codified in October 2008, November 2009, and March 2010. These measurements allow for a characterization of the actual changes in the Code over time. Our findings indicate that in the recent past, the Code has grown in its amount of structure, interdependence, and language.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables

Canis etruscus (Canidae, Mammalia) and its role in the faunal assemblage from Pantalla (Perugia, central Italy): comparison with the Late Villafranchian large carnivore guild of Italy

A  very  rich  faunal  assemblage  referred  to  the  early  Late  Villafranchian  (Olivola/Tasso  Faunal  Unit)  has  been  found  at  the  Early  Pleistocene  site  of  Pantalla  (Perugia, central  Italy). The  assemblage  contains  a  number  of carnivores,  including  several  specimens  of   the  Etruscan  wolf  Canis  etruscus  Forsyth  Major,  1877. Canis  etruscus The  Late  Villafranchian  assemblage  from  Pantalla  provides  valuable  information  about  the  Early  Pleistocene  carnivore  guild  in  Italy.   Together  with  the  Etruscan  wolf  (probably  a  cooperative  species  hunting  in  packs)  and  Vulpes  sp.,  the  Pantalla  faunal  assemblage  also  records   the   occurrence   of   two   felids,   Lynx   issiodorensis   (Croizet   &   Jobert,   1828)   and   the   giant   cheetah   Acinonyx   pardinensis   (Croizet   &   Jobert,   1828)

Learning Theory Expertise in the Design of Learning Spaces: Who Needs a Seat at the Table?

This study highlights the impact of including stakeholders with expertise in learning theory in a learning space design process. We present the decision-making process during the design of the Krause Innovation Studio on the campus of the Pennsylvania State University to draw a distinction between the architect and faculty member’s decision-making process. Often, the architect relied on guiding principles such as flexibility, while the faculty member drew from learning theory such as the sociocultural theory of learning (Vygotsky, 1978). This study demonstrates the value of learning theory expertise and includes suggestions and possible implications for future designs of learning spaces

How Team Player Styles Impacts Followership Behavior

This empirical research study examines the effect of Parker’s (2008) team player styles on followership behavior. While most research focuses on the team leader, most of the work accomplishments are attributed to the team players on the team. Of the four team player styles, only one, contributor significantly increases followership behavior. However, it does not add enough to raise the followership behavior into the exemplary range. Discussion of the findings is provided coupled with a post hoc analysis and ideas for future research

Old African fossils provide new evidence for the origin of the American crocodiles

Molecular and morphological phylogenies concur in indicating that the African lineages formerly referred to Crocodylus niloticus are the sister taxon the four Neotropical crocodiles (Crocodylus intermedius, C. moreleti, C. acutus and C. rhombifer), implying a transoceanic dispersal from Africa to America. So far the fossil record did not contribute to identify a possible African forerunner of the Neotropical species but, curiously, the oldest remains referred to the African C. niloticus are Quaternary in age, whereas the oldest American fossils of Crocodylus are older, being dated to the early Pliocene, suggesting that another species could be involved. We re-described, also thanks to CT imaging, the only well-preserved topotipic skull of Crocodylus checchiai Maccagno, 1947 from the late Miocene (Messinian) African site of As Sahabi in Libya. As previously suggested on the basis of late Miocene material from Tanzania, C. checchiai is a valid, diagnosable species. According to our phylogenetic analyses, C. checchiai is related to the Neotropical taxa and could be even located at the base of their radiation, therefore representing the missing link between the African and the American lineages