Caught In The Transition: A Cautionary Tale For Same-sex Couples

After the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges, one would believe that the disparity in the treatment of same-sex versus opposite-sex couples under the law would cease. Yet a series of decisions by New York state courts examining the rights of same-sex couples after the end of their relationships have had unforeseen consequences. These decisions have impacted the areas of estate planning, equitable distribution of property, and parental rights relating to the custody and visitation of the couple’s children. The purpose of this article is to analyze these court rulings and provide guidance to avoid both unexpected and unintended outcomes

La valutazione tra pari come pratica valutativa nei dottorati di ricerca: una rassegna sistematica delle ricerche empiriche

Within the broad debate on the use of feedback in Higher Education, peer assessment represents a practice that facilitates student learning through interaction and the promotion of autonomy.Starting from the definition of assessment practice – which fits into the broader theoretical framework of the balanced assessment system – the use of peer feedback is analyzed in light of the model we have called AsOFAL (Assessment Of, For, As Learning) and within the context of the research doctorate.The contribution presents a qualitative synthesis of research related to the use of feedback as a practical assessment of students’ learning in the research doctorate, with particular reference tothe use of peer feedback. The identification and synthesis of the research was conducted through a systematic review. 11,829 contributions were extracted without time constraints from the query of several aggregators and databases (ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO). 15 contributions were included in the analysis by means of a text-mining work following a selection of inclusion / exclusion criteria and critical assessment. The analysis of the literature, selected on the basis of contextual and methodological criteria, allowed the elaboration of a first mapping. The impact of the use of this assessment practice and the possible areas of development are henceforth defined.Nell’ampio dibattito sull’uso del feedback nell’Istruzione Superiore, la valutazione tra pari rappresenta una pratica che facilita l’apprendimento degli studenti attraverso l’interazione e la promozione dell’autonomia. Partendo dalla definizione di pratica di valutazione – che si inserisce nel più ampio quadro teorico del sistema di valutazione bilanciato – l’uso del feedback tra pari viene analizzato alla luce del modello che abbiamo chiamato AsOFAL (Assessment Of, For, As Learning) e nel contesto del dottorato di ricerca.Il contributo presenta una sintesi qualitativa della ricerca relativa all’uso del feedback come valutazione pratica dell’apprendimento degli studenti nel dottorato di ricerca, con particolare riferimento all’uso del feedback tra pari. L’identificazione e la sintesi della ricerca è stata condotta attraverso una revisione sistematica.11.829 contributi sono stati estratti senza vincoli di tempo dalla query di diversi aggregatori e database (ProQuest, Scopus, Web of Science, EBSCO). 15 contributi sono stati inclusi nell’analisiper mezzo di un lavoro di estrazione di testi in seguito a una selezione di criteri di inclusione/esclusione e valutazione critica. L’analisi della letteratura, selezionata sulla base di criteri contestuali e metodologici, ha permesso l’elaborazione di una prima mappatura. L’impatto dell’uso di questa pratica di valutazione e le possibili aree di sviluppo sono quindi definiti e commentati

Environmental Monitoring of the Amazon Basin with a Low Cost Small Satellite Constellation in Equatorial LEO

A low cost satellite constellation is presented for environmental monitoring of the Amazon basin with unprecedented performance-to-cost ratio. The constellation design is based on the unique characteristics of the small Brazillian launcher VLM-1. Launched from the near-equatorial Alcantara base, the vehicle allows for direct injection of about 150 kg in equatorial LEO. Such orbital configuration, actually used very seldom because of its limited ground coverage (restricted to equatorial regions only), proves to be ideal for near-continuous monitoring of the Amazon region. We present a possible low cost microsatellite constellation that allows for high quality imaging of the Amazon basin with near-continuous coverage

Advance Directives Containing Pregnancy Exclusions: Are They Constitutional?

Every state has an advance directive statue that allows individuals to direct their health care in the event they become incompetent. Written into a majority of these statutes is a “pregnancy exclusion” that limits the effectiveness of the advance directive when the patient is a pregnant woman. The effect of the exclusion differs from state to state, and there is virtually no public awareness that pregnancy exclusions exist. This article analyzes the various pregnancy exclusions and explores whether a state\u27s interest in the fetus should take precedence over a woman\u27s right to refuse or terminate life support

Design Criteria of Remote Sensing Constellations of Small Satellites with Low Power Electric Propulsion and Distributed Payloads

The recent explosion in proposed microsatellite missions is based on the possibility to mass-produce cheap platforms capable to deliver acceptable performance over a limited lifetime. The assumption behind such scheme is that individual microsatellites are expected/allowed to fail in reasonable numbers, the resulting degradation of constellation performance being limited due to the large population of active spacecraft. We argue that cheap platforms do not necessarily need to be seen as disposable assets, so that low cost constellations featuring a low number of microsatellites may nevertheless be capable of remarkable performance. The key technology needed to enable such feat is low power electric propulsion, whereby microsatellites are allowed to acquire and maintain precisely tuned orbital locations, compensate atmospheric drag to fly longer, and de-orbit safely at end of life. A number of such microsatellites may be fitted with an instrument each from a suite of different sensors operating in various spectral bands. The constellation would operate as an actively controlled system, with the individual instruments providing well coordinated raw data that may be processed using data fusion techniques to yield the final product. Starting from the proven performance of a currently available low power Hall thruster, we present general design criteria for constellations based on a 50 kg-class microsatellite bus. The potential benefits of such technology are outlined with respect to applications such as precision farming, urban area monitoring, and dual use land surveillance