Libanius the Historian? Praise and the Presentation of the Past in Or. 59

A study of Libanius' use of historiographical topoi in his imperial panegyric of Constans and Constantius I

Early warning signals: The charted and uncharted territories

The realization that complex systems such as ecological communities can collapse or shift regimes suddenly and without rapid external forcing poses a serious challenge to our understanding and management of the natural world. The potential to identify early warning signals that would allow researchers and managers to predict such events before they happen has therefore been an invaluable discovery that offers a way forward in spite of such seemingly unpredictable behavior. Research into early warning signals has demonstrated that it is possible to define and detect such early warning signals in advance of a transition in certain contexts. Here we describe the pattern emerging as research continues to explore just how far we can generalize these results. A core of examples emerges that shares three properties: the phenomenon of rapid regime shifts, a pattern of 'critical slowing down' that can be used to detect the approaching shift, and a mechanism of bifurcation driving the sudden change. As research has expanded beyond these core examples, it is becoming clear that not all systems that show regime shifts exhibit critical slowing down, or vice versa. Even when systems exhibit critical slowing down, statistical detection is a challenge. We review the literature that explores these edge cases and highlight the need for (a) new early warning behaviors that can be used in cases where rapid shifts do not exhibit critical slowing down, (b) the development of methods to identify which behavior might be an appropriate signal when encountering a novel system; bearing in mind that a positive indication for some systems is a negative indication in others, and (c) statistical methods that can distinguish between signatures of early warning behaviors and noise

Libanius the Historian? Praise and the presentation of the past in Or. 59

Libanius’ panegyric for Constantius and Constans offers a sustained meditation on the proper role of historiography and its conventions in the practice of encomium

A Silk Purse or a Sow\u27s Ear? The Treatment of Evidence in the Fresh, Chilled, or Frozen Pork from Canada Trade Dispute

Chapter 19 of the Free Trade Agreement has been generally viewed as a successful mechanism for the resolution of trade disputes between Canada and the United States. The Fresh, Chilled, or Frozen Pork from Canada dispute, the only case to go before the Extraordinary Challenge Committee pursuant to article 1904.13 of the FTA, is a notable exception. The Panel\u27s treatment of evidence deviated from the process for binational panels established under article 1904(3) of the FTA. By failing to adopt a standard of review required by the law of the importing party, the Panel\u27s reliance on an independent body of law raised concerns about the procedures of future binational panels under the NAFTA. Changes to dispute resolution under Chapter 19 of the NAFTA have in part vindicated the Pork Panel\u27s decisions. *** Le chapitre 19 de l\u27Entente de Libre Échange est considéré comme un mécanisme adéquat pour résoudre les litiges entre le Canada et les États-Unis à l\u27égard des échanges commerciaux. Le litige du Fresh, Chilled, or Frozen Pork from Canada, la seule affaire ayant été devant le Comité Spécial des Contestations en vertu de l\u27article 1904.13 de l\u27Entente de Libre Échange, constitue une exception notoire. La considération des éléments de preuve par le panel dévia du processus des tribunaux binationaux établis en vertu de l’article 1904(3) de l\u27Entente de Libre Échange. En refusant d\u27adopter la norme de contrôle requise par la loi des parties en présence, la référence par le tribunal à des règles légales indépendantes soulève des inquiétudes au sujet des procédures des futurs tribunaux binationaux sous L’ALÉNA. Les changements apportés au processus de résolution de litige en vertu du chapitre 19 de L\u27ALÉNA ont corrigé en parti la décision du tribunal dans l\u27affaire Pork

The Precision Determination of Invisible-Particle Masses at the LHC

We develop techniques to determine the mass scale of invisible particles pair-produced at hadron colliders. We employ the constrained mass variable m_2C, which provides an event-by-event lower-bound to the mass scale given a mass difference. We complement this variable with a new variable m_2C,UB which provides an additional upper bound to the mass scale, and demonstrate its utility with a realistic case study of a supersymmetry model. These variables together effectively quantify the `kink' in the function Max m_T2 which has been proposed as a mass-determination technique for collider-produced dark matter. An important advantage of the m_2C method is that it does not rely simply on the position at the endpoint, but it uses the additional information contained in events which lie far from the endpoint. We found the mass by comparing the HERWIG generated m_2C distribution to ideal distributions for different masses. We find that for the case studied, with 100 fb^-1 of integrated luminosity (about 400 signal events), the invisible particle's mass can be measured to a precision of 4.1 GeV. We conclude that this technique's precision and accuracy is as good as, if not better than, the best known techniques for invisible-particle mass-determination at hadron colliders.Comment: 20 pages, 11 figures, minor correction

RICO Rights for ERISA Wrongs: Can Plaintiffs Find Relief Despite ERISA Preemption of State-Law Claims?

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempts state laws that relate to employee benefit plans and allows only equitable relief for those who are injured by decisions of ERISA plan administrators. Even though the interpretation of ERISA\u27s preemptive power has changed since 1974, ERISA still poses a significant challenge to plaintiffs in actions for damages against plan administrators. This Comment suggests that another federal law, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which is explicitly not preempted by ERISA, may provide relief. The challenges that a plaintiff bringing an action against plan administrators may face include proving the pattern element of the RICO violation and overcoming the requirement that a civil plaintiff be injured in his business or property. This Comment posits that in a case where the plaintiff proves that the denial of rightful benefits is an administrator\u27s regular way of doing business, the pattern element may be met. It also argues that the damage caused by a fraudulent denial of benefits under an ERISA plan may well be an injury to the business or property of the participant and concludes that the civil cause of action under RICO may be a mechanism for litigants to use in obtaining a remedy when ERISA\u27s remedies are insufficien