Political rivalry in Rhode Island: William H. Vanderbilt vs. J. Howard McGrath: the wiretapping case

The 1939 wiretapping case bared many of the intra- and inter- party struggles that had been festering during the interwar years. Pitting Democrat J. Howard McGrath and Republican William H. Vanderbilt, two energetic and ambitious rival politicians, against each other, this scandal raised the issues of the right to privacy and the legality of using evidence obtained through electronic surveillance. Additionally, the case exposed the heated rivalry between the old and new guard within the Republican Party, while simultaneously restoring harmony among the competing forces within the Democrat Party

The Partially-Split Hall Bar: Tunneling in the Bosonic Integer Quantum Hall Effect

We study point-contact tunneling in the integer quantum Hall state of bosons. This symmetry-protected topological state has electrical Hall conductivity equal to $2 e^2/h$ and vanishing thermal Hall conductivity. In contrast to the integer quantum Hall state of fermions, a point contact can have a dramatic effect on the low energy physics. In the absence of disorder, a point contact generically leads to a partially-split Hall bar geometry. We describe the resulting intermediate fixed point via the two-terminal electrical (Hall) conductance of the edge modes. Disorder along the edge, however, both restores the universality of the two-terminal conductance and helps preserve the integrity of the Hall bar within the relevant parameter regime.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures; v.2: typos fixed and clarified some argument

"Capital Intensity and U.S. Country Population Growth during the Late Nineteenth Century"

The United States witnessed substantial growth in manufacturing and urban populations during the last half of the nineteenth century. To date, no convincing evidence has been presented to explain the shift in population to urban areas. We find evidence that capital intensity, particularly new capital in the form of steam horsepower, played a significant role in drawing labor into counties and by inference into urban areas. This provides support for the hypothesis that the locational decisions of manufacturers and their placement of capital in urban areas fueled urban growth in the nineteenth century.urbanization, capital intensity, regional population growth, technological change

On the Cognition of States of Affairs

The theory of speech acts put forward by Adolf Reinach in his "The A Priori Foundations of the Civil Law" of 1913 rests on a systematic account of the ontological structures associated with various different sorts of language use. One of the most original features of Reinach's account lies in hIs demonstration of how the ontological structure of, say, an action of promising or of commanding, may be modified in different ways, yielding different sorts of non-standard instances of the corresponding speech act varieties. The present paper is an attempt to apply this idea of standard and modified instances of ontological structures to the realm of judgement and cognition, and thereby to develop a Reinachian theory of how intentionality is mediated through language in acts of thinking and speaking

Use of a Modified POGIL Exercise to Teach Bacterial Transformation in a Microbiology Course

Assignments incorporating student collaborations to hone critical thinking skills in higher education have been proven to enhance student learning.  Abstract concepts, such as bacterial transformation are challenging for students to understand.  One way to overcome this learning obstacle is to provide students with collaborative learning activities during class.  A modified process-oriented guided-inquiry learning exercise (POGIL) was used to facilitate learning of bacterial transformation in a microbiology course for allied health majors at a community college.  This class activity involved small groups working together on short background test, and a series of questions pertaining to the background and experimental data.  Students were given a summary diagram to assist them in completing this collaborative exercise.  

Selective Mutism: Identification of Subtypes and Influence on Treatment

Selective Mutism (SM) is a psychiatric disorder with a relatively low incidence that impairs social communication in some settings. There are many characteristics that appear similar in some children but are absent in others. Therefore, it was hypothesized that there may be distinct SM subtypes that warrant differential diagnosis and treatment strategies. In this study, 442 Selective Mutism Comprehensive Diagnostic Questionnaires (SM-CDQ) were analyzed to help identify children with specific characteristics that made their SM unique. Participants ranged in age from 3 to18 years old and met criteria for SM. The data were coded based on 203 variables and were compared to develop profiles of SM subtypes. The variables were divided into three categories, descriptive (D), characteristics of mutism (CM), and mutism behavior ratings (MBRS). Cluster analysis of CM variables using a within-groups linkage cluster method, which is a variant of the unweighted pair group method using arithmetic averages, was used with a Phi 4-point correlation for binary data as the distance measure. An ANOVA was used with the (Mutism Behavior Rating Scale) subscales as dependent variables. Only subtypes that have more than 10 participants were included and compared on the demographic and MBRS variables. It was hypothesized that through the cluster analysis of the CM variables, subtypes would emerge

Feed my lambs.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit