Crucible of the Civil War: Virginia From Secession to Commemoration

The Old Dominion\u27s Civil WarA New Look at Virginia This anthology features contributions from eight current or recent graduate students at the University of Virginia. All look at the Old Dominion between 1860 and the early 1870s. Rather than revisit the oft-trod terrain of milit...

Book review: Congo

"Congo." Thomas Turner. Polity. April 2013. --- The Democratic Republic of Congo has become one of the world’s bloodiest hot spots, and despite recent peace agreements and democratic elections, the country is still plagued by army and militia violence. Thomas Turner‘s insightful book discusses how the the deep–rooted causes of conflict have not been adequately addressed, and shows how current attempts to rebuild the shattered state and society of DRC are doomed to fail. Joel Krupa recommends this illuminating and important book for its passionately written chapters and rigorous analysis

Social Mobility in the United States as a Markov Process

Previous research on intergenerational mobility in income, occupation, or social class as a Markov process typically uses regression models to analyze cross-sectional data. In this paper we draw data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to build Markov transition states, producing a set of stylized facts from these longitudinal data. We derive the probabilities that children will repeat the occupational, educational, or child-raising choices of their parents. This gives us insight into how such lifestyle choices are vertically transmitted from parents to children, and the degree of persistence of these choices over the generations.

Neurological sequelae of lightning injury

Man has been exposed to lightning ever since his appearance on earth. This is particularly so when he moves about in open spaces with the risk of being struck by lightning being about 30 times greater in rural areas than in cities. Lightning strikes are not rare and fortunately, the majority survive with no long term sequelae. Any part of the peripheral or central nervous system may be involved. Of crucial importance are the points of contact, and therefore the path of current flow.peer-reviewe

The patriot band : the school cadets from their evolution to the Great War : thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in History at Massey University

The writing of history consists in the complementary activities of analysis and reflection. A study of the school cadets in New Zealand from their evolution in the old established colleges till 1914, provides an opportunity for both these activities to be attempted through the medium of a relatively small but highly defined topic. As an institution, the cadets provide an interesting study in themselves, for by minutely observing the specialised activities of a large section of New Zealand society, namely its children together with those especially concerned with the cadets through education or defence, it is possible to gain a detailed understanding and insight into their beliefs and assumptions. The activities and attitudes of teachers, concerned military men, articulate members of the general public and where possible pupils, will each provide a slightly different vantage point from which to reconstruct this picture. [From Introduction

The Crescent Student Newspaper, January 29, 1980

Student newspaper of Pacific College (later George Fox University). 8 pages, black and white.https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/the_crescent/1968/thumbnail.jp

The Labor Market Returns to Cognitive and Noncognitive Ability: Evidence from the Swedish Enlistment

We use data from the military enlistment for a large representative sample of Swedish men to assess the importance of cognitive and noncognitive ability for labor market outcomes. The measure of noncognitive ability is based on a personal interview conducted by a psychologist. Unlike survey-based measures of noncognitive ability, this measure is a substantially stronger predictor of labor market outcomes than cognitive ability. In particular, we find strong evidence that men who fare badly in the labor market in the sense of long-term unemployment or low annual earnings lack noncognitive but not cognitive ability. We point to a technological explanation for this result. Noncognitive ability is an important determinant of productivity irrespective of occupation or ability level, though it seems to be of particular importance for workers in a managerial position. In contrast, cognitive ability is valuable only for men in qualified occupations. As a result, noncognitive ability is more important for men at the verge of being priced out of the labor market.Personality; Noncognitive ability; Cognitive ability; Intelligence; Human capital

Is the Price Right? Assessing Estimates of Cadastral Values for Bogotá, Colombia

Hedonic house price models are increasingly applied in the process of mass appraisal, in which econometric specifications are used to obtain automated valuation of properties for taxation purposes. The predictive quality of such models is important, since it directly affects the revenue stream of local authorities. In this paper, we assess the relative predictive performance of different model specifications used in automated valuation. Specifically, we focus on the issue of spatial heterogeneity by comparing models that utilize different definitions of housing submarkets. In addition, we consider the inclusion of “spatial†explanatory variables in the form of distance to various amenities as computed from a GIS. We apply this to data from the city of Bogot Ìa, Colombia, a pioneer in the application of mass appraisal techniques in a developing country context. We find that specifications that include the submarkets improve predictive performance and that the inclusion of the spatial variables is superior to the traditional models of homogenous zones. However, even the best models are still characterized by relatively poor performance in the form of a high degree of overprediction of the house value. In addition, the predictive performance of the models varied by socio-economic stratum in the city, which suggests that the dynamics of the housing markets in these strata would require closer and separate attention. These results may provide further guidance to enhance mass appraisal practice in the city of Bogot Ìa as well as potentially other Latin American cities.