Inflation and String Theory

We review cosmological inflation and its realization in quantum field theory and in string theory. This material is a portion of a book, also entitled "Inflation and String Theory", to be published by Cambridge University Press.Comment: 349 pages, 48 figures. Draft of a book to be published by Cambridge University Press. Comments welcome

Compactification Effects in D-brane Inflation

We determine the scalar potential for a D3-brane in a warped conifold background subject to general ultraviolet perturbations. Incorporating the effects of imaginary anti-self-dual (IASD) fluxes and four-dimensional curvature at the nonlinear level, we compute the leading terms in the D3-brane potential. We then provide strong cross-checks of our results by reproducing them in the dual gauge theory. Finally, we observe that the D3-brane potential induced by nonperturbative effects on D7-branes can be represented by a ten-dimensional supergravity solution containing suitable IASD fluxes. Our method allows for the systematic inclusion of compactification effects and serves to constrain the D3-brane effective action in a large class of stabilized compactifications.Comment: 4 pages; v2: minor correction

History of North American Trapping: How Fur-Trading Developed Our Continent

History of North American Trapping: How Fur-Trading Developed Our Continent by Daniel E. McAllister, Jr. & Shirley A. Merrill Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Augusta, Maine, 1990.https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/me_collection/1122/thumbnail.jp

Rights and Duties of Employers and Applicants

The task of hiring new employees presents multiple challenges. Underlying many of these challenges is the need to balance applicant's' legal and ethical rights and duties with those of the organization. An array of federal laws faces the U.S. employer, prohibiting discrimination on a variety of bases. Additionally, ethical issues, which extend beyond legal requirements, must be considered in the hiring process. Privacy, personal dignity, and integriy are critical concerns which hiring companies and applicants must balance. This article discusses the rights and duties of employers and applicants, and demonstrates how these rights and duties can lead to better hiring decisions

We Get By With a Little Help from Our Friends: Exploring the Effects of Perceived Coworker Support on Employee Burnout and Job Attitudes

Perceived Organizational Support is but one source of employee support; perceived coworker support is importantas well. This study examined the effects of perceived coworker support on employees’ job satisfaction, burnout,deviance, and turnover. Results indicate that perceived coworker support and perceived organizational supportaffect job satisfaction burnout and deviant behavior both directly and indirectly by moderating the effects of workpressure on these outcomes. Additionally, perceived coworker supporter exerted a stronger influence on thesevariables than did perceived organizational support. Implications for both research and practice are discussed

Evaporative Moisture Loss from Heterogeneous Stone: Material- Environment Interactions During Drying

The complexities of evaporation from structurally and mineralogically heterogeneous sandstone (Locharbriggs Sandstone) are investigated through a laboratory-based experiment in which a variety of environmental conditions are simulated. Data reported demonstrate the significance of material-environment interactions on the spatial and temporal variability of evaporative dynamics. Evaporation from porous stone is determined by the interplay between environmental, material and solution properties, which govern the rate and mode by which water is transmitted to, and subsequently removed from, an evaporating surface. Initially, when the stone is saturated, evaporation is characterized by high rates of moisture loss primarily controlled by external atmospheric conditions. However, as drying progresses, eventually the hydraulic continuity between the stone surface and subsurface is disrupted with recession of the drying front and a decrease in evaporation rates which become reliant on the ability of the material to transport water vapour to the block surface. Pore size distribution and connectivity, as well as other material properties, control the timing of each stage of evaporation and the nature of the transition. These experimental data highlight the complexity of evaporation, demonstrating that different regions of the same stone can exhibit varying moisture dynamics during drying and that the rate and nature of evaporative loss differs under different environmental conditions. The results identify the importance of material-environment interactions during drying and that stone micro-environmental conditions cannot be inferred from ambient data alone. These data have significance for understanding the spatial distribution of stone surface weathering-related morphologies in both the natural and built environments where mineralogical and/or structural heterogeneity creates differences in moisture flux and hence variable drying rates. Such differences may provide a clearer explanation for the initiation and subsequent development of complex weathering responses where areas of significant deterioration can be found alongside areas that exhibit little or no evidence of surface breakdown.Madrid’s Regional Government Geo-materials Programme (S2013/MIT-2914)Peer reviewe