IQ variations across time and race are explained by literacy differences

Intelligence quotient (IQ) scores are intended to assess the cognitive competences of individuals, groups and populations. A body of data collected during the last 50 years has revealed that IQ average population scores vary significantly over time, nationality, and race. The causes of these variations remain a mystery. Theories focusing on nutrition, brain size, dysgenic factors, social class and education have proved inexact or unsatisfactory. Here I describe a new explanation based on the fact that intelligence test performance requires a level of literacy not present in all people to the same degree. I show that literacy variations across time, place and race are highly associated with changes in IQ scores. These findings have widespread implications. Contemporary IQ test score differences between populations and racial groups are predicted to diminish with rises in universal literacy in the 21st century

Policing alcohol and illicit drug use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in metropolitan environments

Executive summary: This report presents the results of Australian Institute of Criminology research on issues and challenges of policing alcohol and illicit drug use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in metropolitan environments. This report is a companion to the 2006 National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund project The policing implications of cannabis, amphetamine and other illicit drug use in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The main purpose of both pieces of research was to contribute to police service knowledge of substance use by Indigenous people and to provide a framework for good practice policing of the issues associated with alcohol and drug misuse. Report structure The first section of this report provides a summary of available data on Indigenous alcohol and other drug (AOD) use in metropolitan areas. The second section reports on the challenges that police and other stakeholders identified through survey results and focus group/interview consultations that relate to policing Indigenous substance use in metropolitan areas. The final section of the report presents a suggested framework for adapting the good practice framework developed in Delahunty and Putt’s research for general use within metropolitan areas

An Analysis of netCDF-FastBit Integration and Primitive Spatial-Temporal Operations

A process allowing for the intuitive use of SQL queries on dense multidimensional data stored in Network Common Data Format (netCDF) files is developed using advanced bitmap indexing provided by the FastBit bitmap indexing tool. A method for netCDF data extraction and FastBit index creation is presented and a geospatial Range and pseudo-KNN search based on the haversine function is implemented via SQL. A two step filtering algorithm is shown to greatly enhance the speed of these geospatial queries, allowing for extremely efficient processing of the netCDF data in bitmap indexed form

The Evolving Role of Systems Analysis in Process and Methods in Large-Scale Public Socio-Technical Systems

The ESD definition of Large-Scale Socio-Technical Systems is large-scale and complex systems in which both human and non-human elements interact where the social and/or management dimensions tend to dominate. The word public has been added here to indicate that subset which are quasi public systems, i.e. the problems of public management of resources such as clean air and water or energy in which public policy is needed to drive and set the context for public investment and regulation which in turn influence private individual and corporate decisions. Systems analysis plays an important role in the formation of strategic policy for managing these resources. The paradigm of systems analysis as applied to large-scale open systems has not changed over the years. It is still the mantra of Problem Identification, Systems Modeling, Generation of Alternatives (Optimization), Evaluation and Implementation. However, both the process by which systems analysis is carried out, and the systems methods used in that process have evolved significantly and for the better. This paper deals with a description of these evolving methods and processes in the context of large-scale energy and environmental systems. In particular, pathways to the future in energy and environmental management are discussed as long-term system analysis problems. Systems Analysis process changes and methods changes, which have occurred and will need evolution in the future, are identified

The implementation of nanoimprint lithography for the fabrication of patterned magnetic media

Advances in technology are having profound effects throughout society. This is no truer than in the way information is being stored. The primary form of information storage for at least the past millennium has been paper. Today, an ever increasing amount of information is being stored electronically. An increased demand for high-performance, low-cost information storage has been a major catalyst in increasing the popularity of hard drives. In 2002, two exabytes of original information was stored on hard drives. This is ten times the amount of all printed material in the world if it were converted to electronic files. To keep up with this demand, the capacity of hard drives has increased by at least 60% annually since 1991. The capacity has mainly increased by scaling down the relevant dimensions much in the same way that has been done with microprocessors. Scaling cannot indefinitely be used to increase the capacity of hard drives that employ longitudinal magnetic recording. Before long, the superparamagnetic effect will limit the achievable information capacity of hard drives using conventional recording. Therefore, new technologies will be needed. Perpendicular recording, one of several new technologies, will make its entrance into the market later this year in a hard drive designed by Toshiba for Apple\u27s iPod music player. It is said that the hard drive will have an areal bit density of 133 Gbits/in2. This is an increase of 75% over what is currently available today. However, the hard drive will still employ a continuous magnetic medium. Even greater densities can be achieved if the magnetic medium is physically patterned into isolated bits. This technology, known as patterned magnetic media, has the potential of achieving areal bit densities greater than 1 Tbit/in2. The challenge is finding a way to fabricate it. A high-throughput, low-cost pattern generation technology is needed. Research completed with nanoimprint lithography demonstrates that it can be used to fabricate patterned magnetic media. Several patterns of magnetic media were fabricated with densely packed sub-20-nm features that would produce an areal bit density of at least 258 Gbits/in2

Mute Swans

Mute swans (Cygnus olor) are an invasive species originally brought to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for ornamental ponds and lakes, zoos and aviculture collections. Original populations were located in northeastern states along the Hudson Valley but have since expanded to several Midwestern states and portions of the western U.S. and Canada. Mute swan damage includes competing with native waterfowl, destroying native plants, spreading disease, and colliding with aircraft. They are also considered a nuisance in some areas due to their abundant fecal droppings and aggressiveness towards people. Mute swans can impact ecosystems by foraging on native plants and competing with native species for food and habitat. Mute swans forage primarily on submerged aquatic vegetation, and each swan consumes 4 to 8 pounds of vegetation per day. While feeding, mute swans use their feet to expose plant shoots and roots for foraging, and to help dislodge food for cygnets (i.e., young swans). This damages aquatic substrates and vegetation surrounding preferred foods. Mute swans typically consume less than 50 percent of what they remove. Results from one study showed their diet overlaps considerably with many native waterfowl species that overwinter in the lower Great Lakes or temporarily use the area during migration. Mute swans are known for their highly territorial behavior during their breeding season, and may compete with native wildlife for space and associated resources. Of particular concern are potential impacts on threatened and endangered species. During the breeding season, mute swans sometimes displace other native waterfowl from preferred nesting locations, and may kill adult and juvenile ducks and geese. During one incident in Maryland, a large molting flock of mute swans caused a colony of least terns (Sterna antillarum) and black skimmers (Rynchops niger) to abandon a nesting colony by trampling nests, eggs, and chicks. The mute swans also displaced nesting common terns (Sterna hirundo). In 2011 in Michigan, a mute swan nest was found in the middle of a black tern (Chlidonias niger) colony that had previously supported approximately 54 black terns in 2009. Only a few black tern nests remained, approximately 30 to 40 feet away from the swan nest