Statistics and the Law: Proving Lost Profits

The existence and amount of a firm\u27s lost profits are key elements in most commercial damage cases. Practitioners must be able to demonstrate to the trier of fact the appropriateness and effectiveness of the methodology employed to calculate lost profits.\u27 While practitioners generally employ experts to perform a lost profits analysis, it is essential that practitioners understand the conceptual relationship between the legal standard and the methodology employed. In Texas, the legal standard requires the use of a methodology that goes beyond the mere assertion that the plaintiff has sustained a loss. Given that standard of proof, the purpose of this article is to demonstrate that there is one superior methodology for determining lost profits: multivariate regression analysis

Attitudes toward Death Anxiety and Dying Among Respiratory Therapy Students: A Pilot Study

Objective: To evaluate relative and absolute reliability and repeatability in assessing median nerve mobility at the level of the wrist and distal upper arm of the right upper extremity during wrist extension. Methods: Six healthy participants participated in the study. Median nerve mobility was captured three times at both sites using Sonocyte Turbo by two sonologists for a total of 72 video clips (36 for each site and 18 by each sonologist). Longitudinal movement was measured using Motion Tracking Analysis Program (MTAP) by the two assessors who were rehabilitation medicine residents. After one month, the assessors remeasured the longitudinal excursion of the median nerve of the previous video clips. Results: There was moderate agreement between the two sonologists of the median nerve mobility at the level of the distal upper arm and the wrist respectively. There was a moderate to almost perfect agreement between the two assessors’ readings in the mobility of the nerve at level of the distal upper arm and wrist for the first and second readings. Repeatability testing showed that there was variable agreement at the level of the distal upper arm and at the wrist. Conclusion: MTAP using fast template tracking with an adaptive template is a reliable tool that can be employed in the accurate assessment of median nerve mobility at the distal upper arm and wrist

Neutrino-electron elastic scattering for flux determination at the DUNE oscillation experiment

We study the feasibility of using neutrino-electron elastic scattering to measure the neutrino flux in the DUNE neutrino oscillation experiment. The neutrino-electron scattering cross section is precisely known, and the kinematics of the reaction allow determination of the incoming neutrino energy by precise measurement of the energy and angle of the recoiling electron. For several possible near detectors, we perform an analysis of their ability to measure neutrino flux in the presence of backgrounds and uncertainties. With realistic assumptions about detector masses, we find that a liquid argon detector, even with limitations due to angular resolution, is able to perform better than less dense detectors with more precise event-by-event neutrino energy measurements. We find that the absolute flux normalization uncertainty can be reduced from ~8% to ~2%, and the uncertainty on the flux shape can be reduced by ~20-30%

Free Enterprise and the Rule of Law: The Political Economy of Executive Discretion (Efficiency Implications of Regulatory Enforcement Strategies)

Economic theory teaches that if all of the operational conditions of the perfectly competitive model hold, then certain efficiencies may be achieved to the favor of a wealth-seeking society, ceteris paribus (assuming all other things remain equal and/or the absence of all other disturbing influences). This Article observes the asymmetrical enforcement of relevant governing laws, regulations and rules eliminates any possibility that all other influences with respect to the performance values of the perfectly competitive model have been neutralized. Under such regulatory enforcement conditions, there can be no wealth-creation expectations

Constructing a Complex Learning Community Index – Operationalizing the Concept of a Learning Community into a Measurable Construct

The fundamental challenge of higher education lies in its ability to intentionally design thriving, innovative, educational spaces that nurture and inspire transcendent and transformational outcomes at the individual, group, and institutional levels. One of the most studied high impact practices, a well-crafted learning community that fosters student-centered learning driven by collaboration, interdisciplinary study, and experiential learning is hypothesized to be one such educational space. This research advances the academic conversation regarding learning communities beyond nominal conceptualization and proposes an operational definition grounded on three dominant dimensions: (1) differentiation/diversity, (2) integration/association, and (3) feed-back/assessment loops. By constructing a “complex learning community” index, we translate the nominal conceptualization of the learning community into a measurable construct. By implementing a pre- and post-test of all incoming first-year students participating throughout our University’s first-year learning communities over the course of two years, we offer insight as to learning community design and practices that influence transformational outputs, including flourishing and persistence

Correlated X-ray and Optical Variability in Mkn 509

We present results of a 3 year monitoring campaign of the Seyfert 1 galaxy Markarian 509, using X-ray data from the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and optical data taken by the SMARTS consortium. Both light curves show significant variations, and are strongly correlated with the optical flux leading the X-ray flux by 15 days. The X-ray power spectrum shows a steep high-frequency slope of -2.0, breaking to a slope of -1.0 at at timescale of 34 days. The lag from optical to X-ray emission is most likely caused by variations in the accretion disk propagating inward.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa