Opening Pandora\u27s Box: The Status of the Diplomatic Bag in International Relations

This Note argues that article 27 [of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations] provides for the absolute inviolability of the diplomatic bag. Part I discusses the history of the Vienna Convention and its provisions concerning the diplomatic bag. Part II sets forth instances of abuse of the diplomatic bag, proposed remedies, and the arguments in favor of such remedies. Part III suggests that the proper construction of article 27 of the Vienna Convention is that the diplomatic bag is absolutely inviolable and, thus, immune from nonintrusive examinations. This Note concludes that the status of the bag should be reconsidered in order to enable governments to curb its abuses

Video Reference: A Pre-Test and Pilot Project

Hennepin County Library will open two new, larger libraries without the ability to increase FTE. We are developing a pilot plan to see if a video service can address the need to provide reference service in a busy library as part of an overall staffing strategy. A coordinated video reference service may be a tool that can help libraries continue to provide core services with reduced in-building staff. The purpose of a video-based reference service is to supplement reference staffing in buildings. In a small library, video reference could be used in the absence of on-site reference staff; in a larger library it may be used to provide access to reference service while in-library reference staff are engaged in other service functions - programming, outreach, class visits, etc. Web Services staff at Hennepin County Library began investigating the technical aspects of providing video reference service in early 2009, with an eye toward determining if there were any technical issues that would prohibit the introduction of a service. The library has no additional funds that can be spent on the purchase of equipment or software; work done to date is based on freely available software and low cost equipment. This presentation will give an up close look at the process of developing this new service at Hennepin County Library. We\u27ll touch on equipment needs, service issues and staffing models. We may not have a lot of answers, but we\u27ll be able to share out experiences with interested parties

Analysis of loss networks with routing

This paper analyzes stochastic networks consisting of finite capacity nodes with different classes of requests which move according to some routing policy. The Markov processes describing these networks do not, in general, have reversibility properties, so the explicit expression of their invariant distribution is not known. Kelly's limiting regime is considered: the arrival rates of calls as well as the capacities of the nodes are proportional to a factor going to infinity. It is proved that, in limit, the associated rescaled Markov process converges to a deterministic dynamical system with a unique equilibrium point characterized by a nonstandard fixed point equation.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/105051606000000466 in the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Perturbation Analysis of a Variable M/M/1 Queue: A Probabilistic Approach

Motivated by the problem of the coexistence on transmission links of telecommunication networks of elastic and unresponsive traffic, we study in this paper the impact on the busy period of an M/M/1 queue of a small perturbation in the server rate. The perturbation depends upon an independent stationary process (X(t)) and is quantified by means of a parameter \eps \ll 1. We specifically compute the two first terms of the power series expansion in \eps of the mean value of the busy period duration. This allows us to study the validity of the Reduced Service Rate (RSR) approximation, which consists in comparing the perturbed M/M/1 queue with the M/M/1 queue where the service rate is constant and equal to the mean value of the perturbation. For the first term of the expansion, the two systems are equivalent. For the second term, the situation is more complex and it is shown that the correlations of the environment process (X(t)) play a key role

Stochastic networks with multiple stable points

This paper analyzes stochastic networks consisting of a set of finite capacity sites where different classes of individuals move according to some routing policy. The associated Markov jump processes are analyzed under a thermodynamic limit regime, that is, when the networks have some symmetry properties and when the number of nodes goes to infinity. An intriguing stability property is proved: under some conditions on the parameters, it is shown that, in the limit, several stable equilibrium points coexist for the empirical distribution. The key ingredient of the proof of this property is a dimension reduction achieved by the introduction of two energy functions and a convenient mapping of their local minima and saddle points. Networks with a unique equilibrium point are also presented.Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/009117907000000105 the Annals of Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aop/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Upstream traffic capacity of a WDM EPON under online GATE-driven scheduling

Passive optical networks are increasingly used for access to the Internet and it is important to understand the performance of future long-reach, multi-channel variants. In this paper we discuss requirements on the dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithm used to manage the upstream resource in a WDM EPON and propose a simple novel DBA algorithm that is considerably more efficient than classical approaches. We demonstrate that the algorithm emulates a multi-server polling system and derive capacity formulas that are valid for general traffic processes. We evaluate delay performance by simulation demonstrating the superiority of the proposed scheduler. The proposed scheduler offers considerable flexibility and is particularly efficient in long-reach access networks where propagation times are high

Deconstructing white privilege : social variables that may affect white males\u27 race identity development

This mixed method study explored aspects of White privilege that may affect White males\u27 White racial identity development (WRID). Janet Helm\u27s White Racial Identity Attitudes Scale was used along with nominal demographic information and five open-ended questions. WRID has been identified as an aspect of identity that determines one\u27s ability to dismantle racism and internalize a positive White identity. This researcher did not hypothesize that specific demographic data would yield specific results; however, the literature implies that those with the multi agent status are less likely to develop a sophisticated White racial identity. Fifty-four White adult males were surveyed to identify if socioeconomic status (SES), public versus private high school, or attending high school in rural, urban, or suburban environments has an influence on their WRID. Survey participants were recruited through the internet and connected to Survey Monkey.com. The data yielded results with the majority of participants in the last stages of WRID. The scores of those with lower SES tend to correspond to higher levels of WRID. Study findings indicate that multi agent status may not have a negative influence on the ability to achieve sophisticated levels of WRID, but less privileged White men have better opportunities to do so. The implications of study findings for the helping professions and social work curriculum in the area of addressing race and racism are discussed

Post-Operatives Nausea and Vomiting Treatment in the Adult Surgical Patient

The problem of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in the adult surgical patient continues to be a major source of frustration for both clinicians and surgical patients despite multiple treatment modalities available to allay this problem. PONV can cause patient anxiety in the preoperative period and discomfort in the postoperative period. Multiple pharmacological treatments have been investigated in regard to their efficacy. These treatments have been examined as both single agents and multiple agents in terms of their effectiveness in the adult surgical patient. It is desirable to establish which treatment, whether it is single agent pharmacological treatment or multiple agent pharmacological treatment, is the most effective in preventing PONV. The purpose of this independent project is to consider the efficacy of single pharmaceutical treatment modalities compared to multiple pharmaceutical treatments in preventing and treating PONV in the adult surgical patient. A review and critique of recent literature has been conducted in order to determine the best treatment for PONV. A thorough review of current literature will provide information on single pharmaceutical modalities and combination pharmaceutical modalities that contribute to lowering the risk of PONV. No one pharmacological treatment, whether it is single agent or multiple agents, has been shown to completely prevent PONV