Why Are We Here? What Are We Doing? Interdisciplinary Social Studies for the 21st Century

It\u27s the interdisciplinary potential that drew many of us into social studies from the start, isn\u27t it? Because the human condition is, in fact, interdisciplinary. We\u27re attracted by the study of real people and their challenges. We\u27re magnetized by the processes people use to find solutions to a variety of societal problems. It\u27s appealing to learn how people organize to accomplish certain goals. We thrive on diversity, on relationships, on cultural artifacts, on connections. We love the drama of discovery

Temperature variations of the disorder-induced vortex-lattice melting landscape

Differential magneto-optical imaging of the vortex-lattice melting process in Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8 crystals reveals unexpected effects of quenched disorder on the broadening of the first-order phase transition. The melting patterns show that the disorder-induced melting landscape T_m(H,r) is not fixed, but rather changes dramatically with varying field and temperature along the melting line. The changes in both the scale and shape of the landscape are found to result from the competing contributions of different types of quenched disorder which have opposite effects on the local melting transition.Comment: 4 pages of text and 3 figures. Accepted for Publication in Physical Review Letter

Rostker v. Goldberg: A Step Backward in Equal Protection, or a Justifiable Affirmation of Congressional Power?

The Supreme Court in Rostker v. Goldberg upheld a Congressional decision which excluded women from registration for service in the Armed Forces of the United States. Although the case was brought based upon equal protection grounds, the majority took a separation of powers stance and based its decision upon the fact that the Court has traditionally granted deference to the decisions of Congress in the area of military affairs. The minority opinions disagreed with the majority\u27s analysis and claimed that the central issue in Rostker was not military in nature, but was that Congress\u27 plan to register males only, promoted gender based discrimination. In this unique presentation, both sides of the Rostker case are analyzed and argued by two authors. One author argues that even though Rostker does involve elements of gender based discrimination, the decisions of Congress in the area of military affairs warrant deference by the Court. The other argues that the evolution of the equal protection standards, and the precedents arising therefrom, should have dictated the outcome in Rostker. In addition, each author discusses the possible impact Rostker will have on future Court decisions as well as the women\u27s movement generally. The decision as to which analysis is correct is left to the reader