The Impact of Extreme Weather Events on Budget Balances and Implications for Fiscal Policy.

This paper explores implications of climate change for fiscal policy by assessing the impact of large scale extreme weather events on changes in public budgets. We apply alternative measures for large scale extreme weather events and conclude that the budgetary impact of such events ranges between 0.23% and 1.1% of GDP depending on the country group. Developing countries face a much larger effect on changes in budget balances following an extreme weather event than do advanced economies. Based on these findings, we discuss implications for fiscal policy and publicly-provided disaster insurance. Our policy conclusions point to the enhanced need to reach and maintain sound fiscal positions given that climate change is expected to cause an increase in the frequency and severity of natural disasters. JEL Classification: Q54, Q58, F59, H87.Global warming, climate change, fiscal sustainability, disasters.

Form factor expansion of the row and diagonal correlation functions of the two dimensional Ising model

We derive and prove exponential and form factor expansions of the row correlation function and the diagonal correlation function of the two dimensional Ising model

Bullying girls - Changes after brief strategic family therapy: A randomized, prospective, controlled trial with one-year follow-up

Background: Many girls bully others. They are conspicuous because of their risk-taking behavior, increased anger, problematic interpersonal relationships and poor quality of life. Our aim was to determine the efficacy of brief strategic family therapy (BSFT) for bullying-related behavior, anger reduction, improvement of interpersonal relationships, and improvement of health-related quality of life in girls who bully, and to find out whether their expressive aggression correlates with their distinctive psychological features. Methods: 40 bullying girls were recruited from the general population: 20 were randomly selected for 3 months of BSFT. Follow-up took place 12 months after the therapy had ended. The results of treatment were examined using the Adolescents' Risk-taking Behavior Scale (ARBS), the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI), the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-D), and the SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36). Results: In comparison with the control group (CG) (according to the intent-to-treat principle), bullying behavior in the BSFT group was reduced (BSFT-G from n = 20 to n = 6; CG from n = 20 to n = 18, p = 0.05) and statistically significant changes in all risk-taking behaviors (ARBS), on most STAXI, IIP-D, and SF-36 scales were observed after BSFT. The reduction in expressive aggression (Anger-Out scale of the STAXI) correlated with the reduction on several scales of the ARBS, IIP-D, and SF-36. Follow-up a year later showed relatively stable events. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that bullying girls suffer from psychological and social problems which may be reduced by the use of BSFT. Expressive aggression in girls appears to correlate with several types of risk-taking behavior and interpersonal problems, as well as with health-related quality of life. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

The 1999 Heineman Prize Address- Integrable models in statistical mechanics: The hidden field with unsolved problems

In the past 30 years there have been extensive discoveries in the theory of integrable statistical mechanical models including the discovery of non-linear differential equations for Ising model correlation functions, the theory of random impurities, level crossing transitions in the chiral Potts model and the use of Rogers-Ramanujan identities to generalize our concepts of Bose/Fermi statistics. Each of these advances has led to the further discovery of major unsolved problems of great mathematical and physical interest. I will here discuss the mathematical advances, the physical insights and extraordinary lack of visibility of this field of physics.Comment: Text of the 1999 Heineman Prize address given March 24 at the Centenial Meeting of the American Physical Society in Atlanta 20 pages in latex, references added and typos correcte

Emergent Trends of Contemporary Dramatic Recontextualization: An Exploration Utilizing Eugene O\u27Neill\u27s Mourning Becomes Electra

The art of adaptation in the realm of drama has undergone an easily recognizable evolution in the past couple of decades, from the work of Sarah Ruhl to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. This evolution has opened doors to an altogether new form of adaptation in the theatre: dramatic recontextualization. While the two forms are built upon a foundation of shared aspects, there are certain observable and quantifiable delineations between the two artistic forms. As this trend continues to grow exponentially in the world of theatre, it is important to further research the origins and methodologies of contemporary dramatic recontextualization, both to provide a better understanding of what drives the form and better educate current writers. This thesis project identifies Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra (adapted itself from Aeschylus’ Oresteia) as one of the earliest American examples of dramatic recontextualization, and then proceeds to analyze O’Neill’s script both as its own individual work of early dramatic recontextualization and in comparison to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ An Octoroon, which I consider the benchmark for contemporary dramatic recontextualization. Finally, after identifying the components that easily identify a work of theatre as dramatic recontextualization through multiple lenses (historical, textual, performance, cultural), I provide an excerpt of my work on my own recontextualization of Mourning Becomes Electra, setting it after the United States’ exit of Afghanistan in 2022 and experimentally layering recontextualization upon recontextualization. The result of this thesis project is a detailed examination of O’Neill, Jacobs-Jenkins, Theatre History, and Recontextualization, which provide a framework for future standardization of the recontextualization process, as well as the research required of the writer for such an effort

Pelage Color Variations of Peromyscus Maniculatus Nebrascensis in Western Kansas

An investigation was made to determine the role of pelage color of Peromyscus maniculatus nebrascensis in relation to the type of soil and the vegetation the Nebraska deermouse inhabits. P.m. nebrascensis displays several different shades of pelage coloration which may afford protection from predation. Also, the pelage color of a particular species or subspecies, distinguished mainly by differences in pelage color, tends to be correlated with the color of the soils of their habitats. Two methods of securing specimens were employed. Snap trapping was done with Museum Special traps to secure specimens in various soil and vegetation types. Eight trap sites were sampled in the western one-third of Kansas, generally a mixed prairie habitat. The trap areas were selected in relation to the type of soil and vegetation. The composition of the soil was described from Soil Conservation Service maps of the various areas. The vegetative composition of the areas was ascertained by estimating the frequency and abundance of forbs and grasses present. Each animal collected was weighed, measured, sexed, and the pelage color described. Three skins, from a collection representative of western Kansas, were selected as type colors. The lightest was marked number one, the darkest number three and the intermediate was marked number two. Specimens taken were given a number between one minus and three plus by visual comparison with the selected series. Live traps were used to secure specimens for the breeding study. A breeding program was organized to determine how pelage color of parents was transmitted to the offspring. The number of breedings completed was limited by available time; and no useful data was obtained. Data were also used from established trap line located in the college relict area. Animals caught were recorded in relation to color and released. Seventy-eight P. maniculatus were caught in a seven month period, with the same individual being captured more than once in some instances. Data gathered from the investigation may be found in Tables I through V. The characteristics of P. m. nebrascensis as well as other subspecies of Peromyscus, have a genetic basis, as shown by lack of modifiability even when the habitat is changed. The comparative frequencies of the Mendelian genes for pelage color should afford some measure of the intensity of selection against Peromyscus that are conspicuous on their backgrounds. Natural selection by predators is an important factor in the evolution of pelage color in Peromyscus. The pelage color of Peromyscus maniculatus nebrascensis in western Kansas showed no significant relationship between pelage color and the type of vegetation in which the trapped specimens lived. The distribution of pelage color did not differ from the distribution of total population in the three vegetative types. The pelage color of P. m. nebrascensis showed a direct relationship to soil color only in the light colored soil. There was only a slight tendency toward a relationship between pelage color and the medium to dark soils. In further investigations of pelage color of P. m. nebrascensis, the author would suggest that a more detailed and extensive study would yield valuable information

Radiation of a circulating quark in strongly coupled N=4 super Yang-Mills theory

The energy density and angular distribution of power radiated by a quark undergoing circular motion in strongly coupled ${\cal N}=4$ supersymmetric Yang-Mills (SYM) theory is computed using gauge/gravity duality. The results are qualitatively similar to that of synchrotron radiation produced by an electron in circular motion in classical electrodynamics: At large velocities the quark emits radiation in a narrow beam along its velocity vector with a characteristic opening angle $\alpha \sim 1/\gamma$ and radial thickness scaling like $\sim 1/\gamma^3$.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures - Talk presented by D. Nickel at QCD@Work, June 20-23rd, 2010, Martina Franca, Ital

The Relationship of Perceptual Learning Modality Preference and the Use of an On-Line Learning Environment to Achieve Non-Technology Related Course Objectives

The purpose of this thesis study was to explore the possibility of a relationship between perceptual learning modality preference and efficacy in the use of an on-line learning environment to achieve non-technology related course objectives. Subjects were 30 adult students enrolled in the CaseNET course administered by the University of Virgina. Two research questions were explored: 1.) Is there a difference in feelings of student efficacy, in a course which uses Internet technology to achieve non-technology related course objectives, for auditory, visual, and tactile learners? 2.) Is there a difference in the use of student adaptation techniques for tactile, visual, and auditory learners in their use of Internet course materials to achieve course objectives? The students\u27 learning modality preferences were determined using a 25 item sensory modality preference inventory completed by the student on-line, which simultaneously returned their preference on the screen and recorded it in a data base. Levels of efficacy and adaptation were measured according to the students\u27 answers on an exit survey, also taken on-line, which were submitted by the student to the data base. Findings imply that no perceptual modality preference group had a particularly low sense of efficacy in the use of an on-line environment to achieve non-technology related course objectives. For those questions on the exit survey indicating high efficacy, with a range of 13-56 and a mean of 42.66, auditory learners averaged a score averaged a score of 49.60, visual learners scored an average of 41.00, and tactile learners scored an average of 41.58. A high score indicates high efficacy. Adaptation scores were calculated based on the students\u27 response to exit survey questions inquiring as to their attempts to manipulate the on-line environment. Auditory learners had an average adaptation score of 1.48, visual learners had an average adaptation score 1.66, and tactile learners had an average adaptation score of 1.63, with a range of 1-2 and a mean of 1.62. A high score indicates low adaptation. Tables reporting significant findings are included. It is contended that perceptual modality preference is a necessary criteria for the evaluation of on-line environments as an instructional tool. The author provides recommendations for further study

On the non-abelian Brumer-Stark conjecture and the equivariant Iwasawa main conjecture

We show that for an odd prime p, the p-primary parts of refinements of the (imprimitive) non-abelian Brumer and Brumer-Stark conjectures are implied by the equivariant Iwasawa main conjecture (EIMC) for totally real fields. Crucially, this result does not depend on the vanishing of the relevant Iwasawa mu-invariant. In combination with the authors' previous work on the EIMC, this leads to unconditional proofs of the non-abelian Brumer and Brumer-Stark conjectures in many new cases.Comment: 33 pages; to appear in Mathematische Zeitschrift; v3 many minor updates including new title; v2 some cohomological arguments simplified; v1 is a revised version of the second half of arXiv:1408.4934v