“Concert” or Solo Gig? Where the NLRB Went Wrong When it Linked in to Social Networks

This Note argues that some of the recent social media decisions by Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) may extend section 7‘s protection of concerted activity beyond what precedent allows.32 Furthermore, it proposes that even where the activity is concerted and for mutual aid or protection, the NLRB should not apply section 7 protection to employee social network posts that tarnish the employer‘s public image by disseminating details about workplace problems on the Internet. The Supreme Court has suggested that ―even when concerted activity comes within the scope of the ̳mutual aid or protection‘ clause, the forms such activity permissibly may take may well depend on the object of the activity. In the social networking cases, the Board and courts would best effectuate the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), while allowing employers to control their public image, by protecting only employees‘ online statements that are communicated privately or that do not disparage the employer. Part I provides a general history of the NLRA and an overview of recent social networking cases that have been decided by ALJs. Part II examines the definition of concerted activity and the challenges for parties who contend that their individual social network activity was concerted. Part III discusses the ―mutual aid or protection‖ requirement. Part IV suggests that in deciding whether to grant employees section 7 protection, the NLRB should adopt a balancing test that would consider the form of the protest against the object of the activity before extending protection

Director training: A mine field or brave new world?

The relative paucity of research on directing reflects the way in which the practice of directing occurs–behind closed-doors (Trousdell 1992). Despite the power afforded to directors, the literature is often comparatively silent on how a director leads a production. Whilst delineating the role of the director can be problematic, the training of directors is a minefield. Unlike actor training where a myriad of theories and methods guide us, the dearth of pedagogical frameworks for teaching directors has resulted in an ad hoc approach at best. Two case studies, conducted by the authors, within the context of conservatoire actor training, formed the basis for research exploring how leadership and creative collaboration could influence directorial practice. This article argues that a significant, and often overlooked aspect of director training is leadership and explores ways in which it can inform director training curriculum. Global #movements over the past five years have forced universities and conservatoires to consider the voices of marginalised and excluded students. By embedding leadership pedagogy into director training there is the potential to create a ‘brave new world’ where actor efficacy and creative collaboration are the vanguard that take directors into a post pandemic world

Persistence in epidemic metapopulations: quantifying the rescue effects for measles, mumps, rubella and whooping cough

Metapopulation rescue effects are thought to be key to the persistence of many acute immunizing infections. Yet the enhancement of persistence through spatial coupling has not been previously quantified. Here we estimate the metapopulation rescue effects for four childhood infections using global WHO reported incidence data by comparing persistence on island countries vs all other countries, while controlling for key variables such as vaccine cover, birth rates and economic development. The relative risk of extinction on islands is significantly higher, and approximately double the risk of extinction in mainland countries. Furthermore, as may be expected, infections with longer infectious periods tend to have the strongest metapopulation rescue effects. Our results quantitate the notion that demography and local community size controls disease persistence

On the Photometric Accuracy of RHESSI Imaging and Spectrosocopy

We compare the photometric accuracy of spectra and images in flares observed with the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI)}spacecraft. We test the accuracy of the photometry by comparing the photon fluxes obtained in different energy ranges from the spectral-fitting software SPEX with those fluxes contained in the images reconstructed with the Clean, MEM, MEM-Vis, Pixon, and Forward-fit algorithms. We quantify also the background fluxes, the fidelity of source geometries, and spatial spectra reconstructed with the five image reconstruction algorithms. We investigate the effects of grid selection, pixel size, field-of-view, and time intervals on the quality of image reconstruction. The detailed parameters and statistics are provided in an accompanying CD-ROM and web page. We find that Forward-fit, Pixon, and Clean have a robust convergence behavior and a photometric accuracy in the order of a few percents, while MEM does not converge optimally for large degrees of freedom (for large field-of-views and/or small pixel sizes), and MEM-Vis suffers in the case of time-variable sources. This comparative study documents the current status of the RHESSI spectral and imaging software, one year after launch.Comment: 2 Figures, full version on http://www.lmsal.com/~aschwand/eprints/2003_photo/index.htm

Narrow-line magneto-optical cooling and trapping of strongly magnetic atoms

Laser cooling on weak transitions is a useful technique for reaching ultracold temperatures in atoms with multiple valence electrons. However, for strongly magnetic atoms a conventional narrow-line magneto-optical trap (MOT) is destabilized by competition between optical and magnetic forces. We overcome this difficulty in Er by developing an unusual narrow-line MOT that balances optical and magnetic forces using laser light tuned to the blue side of a narrow (8 kHz) transition. The trap population is spin-polarized with temperatures reaching below 2 microkelvin. Our results constitute an alternative method for laser cooling on weak transitions, applicable to rare-earth-metal and metastable alkaline earth elements.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. 4 pages, 5 figure

Narrow Line Cooling and Momentum-Space Crystals

Narrow line laser cooling is advancing the frontier for experiments ranging from studies of fundamental atomic physics to high precision optical frequency standards. In this paper, we present an extensive description of the systems and techniques necessary to realize 689 nm 1S0 - 3P1 narrow line cooling of atomic 88Sr. Narrow line cooling and trapping dynamics are also studied in detail. By controlling the relative size of the power broadened transition linewidth and the single-photon recoil frequency shift, we show that it is possible to continuously bridge the gap between semiclassical and quantum mechanical cooling. Novel semiclassical cooling process, some of which are intimately linked to gravity, are also explored. Moreover, for laser frequencies tuned above the atomic resonance, we demonstrate momentum-space crystals containing up to 26 well defined lattice points. Gravitationally assisted cooling is also achieved with blue-detuned light. Theoretically, we find the blue detuned dynamics are universal to Doppler limited systems. This paper offers the most comprehensive study of narrow line laser cooling to date.Comment: 14 pages, 19 figure

Stellar spectroscopy in the near-infrared with a laser frequency comb

The discovery and characterization of exoplanets around nearby stars are driven by profound scientific questions about the uniqueness of Earth and our solar system, and the conditions under which life could exist elsewhere in our galaxy. Doppler spectroscopy, or the radial velocity (RV) technique, has been used extensively to identify hundreds of exoplanets, but with notable challenges in detecting terrestrial mass planets orbiting within habitable zones. We describe infrared RV spectroscopy at the 10 m Hobby–Eberly Telescope that leverages a 30 GHz electro-optic laser frequency comb with a nanophotonic supercontinuum to calibrate the Habitable Zone Planet Finder spectrograph. Demonstrated instrument precision <10  cm/s and stellar RVs approaching 1 m/s open the path to discovery and confirmation of habitable-zone planets around M-dwarfs, the most ubiquitous type of stars in our galaxy

Bcl3 prevents acute inflammatory lung injury in mice by restraining emergency granulopoiesis

Granulocytes are pivotal regulators of tissue injury. However, the transcriptional mechanisms that regulate granulopoiesis under inflammatory conditions are poorly understood. Here we show that the transcriptional coregulator B cell leukemia/lymphoma 3 (Bcl3) limits granulopoiesis under emergency (i.e., inflammatory) conditions, but not homeostatic conditions. Treatment of mouse myeloid progenitors with G-CSF — serum concentrations of which rise under inflammatory conditions — rapidly increased Bcl3 transcript accumulation in a STAT3-dependent manner. Bcl3-deficient myeloid progenitors demonstrated an enhanced capacity to proliferate and differentiate into granulocytes following G-CSF stimulation, whereas the accumulation of Bcl3 protein attenuated granulopoiesis in an NF-κB p50–dependent manner. In a clinically relevant model of transplant-mediated lung ischemia reperfusion injury, expression of Bcl3 in recipients inhibited emergency granulopoiesis and limited acute graft damage. These data demonstrate a critical role for Bcl3 in regulating emergency granulopoiesis and suggest that targeting the differentiation of myeloid progenitors may be a therapeutic strategy for preventing inflammatory lung injury