Realignment in the NHL, MLB, the NFL, and the NBA

Sports leagues consist of conferences subdivided into divisions. Teams play a number of games within their divisions and fewer games against teams in different divisions and conferences. Usually, a league structure remains stable from one season to the next. However, structures change when growth or contraction occurs, and realignment of the four major professional sports leagues in North America has occurred more than twenty-five times since 1967. In this paper, we describe a method for realigning sports leagues that is flexible, adaptive, and that enables construction of schedules that minimize travel while satisfying other criteria. We do not build schedules; we develop league structures which support the subsequent construction of efficient schedules. Our initial focus is the NHL, which has an urgent need for realignment following the recent move of the Atlanta Thrashers to Winnipeg, but our methods can be adapted to virtually any situation. We examine a variety of scenarios for the NHL, and apply our methods to the NBA, MLB, and NFL. We find the biggest improvements for MLB and the NFL, where adopting the best solutions would reduce league travel by about 20%.Comment: 20 figures, 1 tabl

The Transformation of U.S. Livestock Agriculture: Scale, Efficiency, and Risks

U.S. livestock production has shifted to much larger and more specialized farms, and the various stages of input provision, farm production, and processing are now much more tightly coordinated through formal contracts and shared ownership of assets. Important financial advantages have driven these structural changes, which in turn have boosted productivity growth in the livestock sector. But structural changes can also generate environmental and health risks for society, as industrialization concentrates animals and animal wastes in localized areas. This report relies on farm-level data to detail the nature, causes, and effects of structural changes in livestock production.Livestock, dairy, broilers, hogs, fed cattle, farm structure, scale economies, contract agriculture, CAFOs, growth-promoting antibiotics, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries,

The Theology of the Book of Proverbs

Specifically, then, the purpose of this study is to discover and clarify the contribution of the שָׁלִיממְ to Old Testament theology. How does the theology herein reflected relate in general to the Law and Prophets? What are the distinctive emphases of the Book? What significance is to be derived from the palpable omissions? Does the theology inherent in the Book merely reflect that of the remainder of the Old Testament or does it contribute something new into the stream of truth

Epigenetic Mechanisms of Genomic Imprinting: Common Themes in the Regulation of Imprinted Regions in Mammals, Plants, and Insects

Genomic imprinting is a form of epigenetic inheritance whereby the regulation of a gene or chromosomal region is dependent on the sex of the transmitting parent. During gametogenesis, imprinted regions of DNA are differentially marked in accordance to the sex of the parent, resulting in parent-specific expression. While mice are the primary research model used to study genomic imprinting, imprinted regions have been described in a broad variety of organisms, including other mammals, plants, and insects. Each of these organisms employs multiple, interrelated, epigenetic mechanisms to maintain parent-specific expression. While imprinted genes and imprint control regions are often species and locus-specific, the same suites of epigenetic mechanisms are often used to achieve imprinted expression. This review examines some examples of the epigenetic mechanisms responsible for genomic imprinting in mammals, plants, and insects

MAINE\u27S NEW JUVENILE CODE: A CASE STUDY IN JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM

The history of juvenile justice in the United States is largely a history of failed reform efforts. The most significant of these efforts was the establishment of the juvenile court at the turn of the century and the idea of socialized juvenile justice on which it was based. Because the objective was rehabilitation rather than punishment, constitutional rights applicable in criminal justice proceedings were deemed unnecessary. In response to a wave of criticism of socialized justice, the post-Gault era of juvenile justice reform emerged in the early 1960\u27s. These reforms promised both justice and help to juveniles in trouble. The major question this dissertation seeks to answer is whether this most recent reform era fulfills its promises or shares the fate of earlier efforts. Using a case study approach, this dissertation examines post-Gault reform in Maine. The revision of the Maine Juvenile Code in 1977 exemplifies these reform efforts. An assessment of the juvenile justice system which emerged from the revision of the Code suggests strongly that post-Gault reform continues the pattern of failure. Various explanations of the failure of juvenile justice reform are examined. Explanations most consistent with the evidence suggest that the reformist approach is fundamentally flawed

A study of the dynamics of the plasma filled rod pinch

The Plasma Filled Rod Pinch (PFRP) is a radiographic source used in high power flash x-ray machines. The purpose of this study is to provide detailed measurements of the plasma pre-fill required in the PFRP; then use these as a basis for 3D MHD simulations of the dynamics of the plasma in the PFRP. Several interferometry systems were developed to analyse the density of the plasma pre-fill - a fibre optic based interferometer gave information at a single point over time and a CW laser-based system giving 12 temporally and spatially resolved interferograms. Thomson scattering and spectroscopic analysis were also undertaken, enabling estimates of the electron density of the plasma in the order of 1018 /cm2 at the source with a divergence of 25 - 30°. The velocity of the plasma expansion was found to vary with the charging voltage for the system, with velocities of 8,500 – 14,500 m/s. The 12 frame interferometry system was then used to study the plasma from 6 guns placed around a central rod, a similar orientation to that used in PFRP experiments. The plasma guns were subsequently modelled as simple plasma sources, and the parameters of the plasma were set so that its behaviour matches the experimental data. The model has been used to simulate possible scenarios that could affect the performance of the PFRP. This study has provided suggestions that the snowplough phase is very resilient to variations away from the standard configuration. Future work will hopefully include simulations featuring the Hall term.Open Acces

Personal values and visual thresholds in a complex recognition task.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityThe purpose of the present experiment was to study the relationship between motivation and perception, specifically between visual recognition thresholds of words related to specific areas of personal value. The context of this experiment is provided by those studies in perception which found the evidence for a relationship between positive motivational states of the perceiver such as reward states, needs, etc., and the speed with which the perceiver recognizes motivationally congruent stimuli. Of these studies, those utilizing personal value as the motivational factor have engendered much theoretical and methodological criticism. One such critique proposed to explain the obtained relationship between high personal value and low tachistoscopic visual recognition thresholds for relevant high value words on the basis of the perceiver's familiarity with the stimulus words used. In that experiment it was demonstrated that the value factor was insignificant when common words, as measured by word counts of samples of popular literature, were used. [TRUNCATED