Selling Mediation: Mimetic, Distancing, and Appellating Practices in the Marketing of an Emerging Profession

Individuals both within and outside the legal profession have been drawn by the ‘promise’ of mediation. In it they see a means for facilitating communicative exchanges between actors in conflict, which they view as a dramatic improvement on the adversarial practices of the formal legal system. However, despite the appeal of mediation to potential practitioners, there is not yet sufficient consumer demand to sustain the number of people who possess mediation skills. This has resulted in an overcrowded mediation market in which practitioners are forced to market themselves so as to compete for a limited clientele. In this context, the emerging mediation profession, with its still forming regulatory bodies, confronts the challenge of managing the image of mediation in the face of the increased marketing activities of mediators. In this paper we examine these marketing activities (described as mimetic, distancing and appellating practices) and their consequences for the public presentation of the mediation “profession.

Quebradores, dobradores e obedientes: Explorando a mediação de edTPA dos formadores de professores

This article reflects a qualitative exploratory inquiry into the lived experiences of faculty members working within a system of urban schools of education as they supported diverse teacher candidates in completing the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment (edTPA) during its first semesters of high-stakes implementation. Drawing upon questionnaire responses and semi-structured interviews, our findings demonstrate the disparity and variation in the level and kind of support offered to teacher candidates. We discuss the ways that the policy, stance, and the ethical, pedagogical, and logistical dilemmas teacher educators faced as they supported candidates intersected to shape the supports provided. Implications focus on utilization of such test scores for evaluating teacher preparation institutions, faculty relations, and the diversification of the teacher workforce. Este artículo refleja una investigación exploratoria cualitativa sobre las experiencias de vida de formadores  de docentes trabajando en escuelas urbanas mientras apoyaban a candidatos a maestros para completar el programa de Evaluación del Desempeño Educativo (edTPA) durante los primeros semestres de implementación de esta propuesta de consecuencias severas. Nuestros resultados basados en respuestas al cuestionario y entrevistas semiestructuradas, muestran la disparidad y la variación en el nivel y el tipo de apoyo ofrecido a los futuros docentes. Se analizan las formas en que los posicionamientos políticos, éticos, pedagógicos y dilemas logísticos que enfrentaban los formadores de docentes influenciaban como apoyaban a los  futuros docentes. Las conclusiones se centran en la utilización de resultados de este tipo de pruebas para la preparación docentes, la evaluación de las instituciones, las relaciones con los formadores docentes y la diversidad entre los docentes. Este artigo presenta uma pesquisa exploratória qualitativa sobre as experiências de vida dos formadores de professores que trabalham em escolas urbanas, apoiando futuros docentes no processo de completar a avaliação do programa do Rendimento Escolar (edTPA) durante o primeiro semestre de aplicação da presente proposta com consequências severas. Nossos resultados com base nas respostas ao questionário e entrevistas semiestruturadas mostram a disparidade e variação do nível e tipo de suporte oferecido aos futuros professores. as maneiras pelas quais os formadores docentes enfrentavam os dilemas políticos, éticos, educacionais e logísticos influenciava os apoios oferecidos aos futuros professores. Os resultados focam na utilização dos resultados de tais testes para preparação de professores, avaliação das instituições, as relações com formadores de professores e diversidade entre os professores

Electron transport in semiconducting carbon nanotubes with hetero-metallic contacts

We present an atomistic self-consistent study of the electronic and transport properties of semiconducting carbon nanotube in contact with metal electrodes of different work functions, which shows simultaneous electron and hole doping inside the nanotube junction through contact-induced charge transfer. We find that the band lineup in the nanotube bulk region is determined by the effective work function difference between the nanotube channel and source/drain electrodes, while electron transmission through the SWNT junction is affected by the local band structure modulation at the two metal-nanotube interfaces, leading to an effective decoupling of interface and bulk effects in electron transport through nanotube junction devices.Comment: Higher quality figures available at http://www.albany.edu/~yx15212

Just war and military morale: a brief reflection on the correlation between the legality of war and the moral repercussions for members of US and UK forces arising from the questionable legality of the campaign Iraqi Freedom of March 2003

Does it matter to a member of the military whether the military campaign in which he is taking part is lawful or not? Despite the observation that the crime of aggression (post Kampala 2010) constitutes a ‘leadership crime par excellence,’ which limits any (future) criminal responsibility accordingly, the legality or illegality of any military action under international law can create moral implications for the common foot soldier and mid-level officer and also have a tangible impact on the national legal frameworks under which these forces operate. This short article uses the example of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2003) to discuss the repercussions of a—most likely—illegal military campaign for individual members of democratic armed forces before the background of the present discussion of NATO led action in Libya

Design of a fault tolerant airborne digital computer. Volume 2: Computational requirements and technology

This final report summarizes the work on the design of a fault tolerant digital computer for aircraft. Volume 2 is composed of two parts. Part 1 is concerned with the computational requirements associated with an advanced commercial aircraft. Part 2 reviews the technology that will be available for the implementation of the computer in the 1975-1985 period. With regard to the computation task 26 computations have been categorized according to computational load, memory requirements, criticality, permitted down-time, and the need to save data in order to effect a roll-back. The technology part stresses the impact of large scale integration (LSI) on the realization of logic and memory. Also considered was module interconnection possibilities so as to minimize fault propagation

Molecular transport junctions: Current from electronic excitations in the leads

Using a model comprising a 2-level bridge connecting free electron reservoirs we show that coupling of a molecular bridge to electron-hole excitations in the leads can markedly effect the source-drain current through a molecular junction.In some cases, e.g. molecules that exhibit strong charge transfer transitions, the contribution from electron-hole excitations can exceed the Landauer elastic current and dominate the observed conduction.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR

Chiral molecular films as electron polarizers and polarization modulators

Recent experiments on electron scattering through molecular films have shown that chiral molecules can be efficient sources of polarized electrons even in the absence of heavy nuclei as source of a strong spin-orbit interaction. We show that self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of chiral molecules are strong electron polarizers due to the high density effect of the monolayers and explicitly compute the scattering amplitude off a helical molecular model of carbon atoms. Longitudinal polarization is shown to be the signature of chiral scattering. For elastic scattering, we find that at least double scattering events must take place for longitudinal polarization to arise. We predict energy windows for strong polarization, determined by the energy dependences of spin-orbit strength and multiple scattering probability. An incoherent mechanism for polarization amplification is proposed, that increases the polarization linearly with the number of helix turns, consistent with recent experiments on DNA SAMs.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 figure

Individual Accountability for Human Rights Abuses: Historical and Legal Underpinnings

The international legal community is beset today with talk of accountability. Governments, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and scholars speak of the need to hold individuals responsible for official acts that violate the most cherished of international human rights. Some study the nature of various infractions with an eye toward codification; others seek to create or engage mechanisms for trying or otherwise punishing individuals. Their common mission is based on a shared understanding that international law has a role to play not only in setting standards for governments, non-state actors, and their agents, but in prescribing the consequences of a failure to meet those standards. To understand the promises and limitations of individual accountability as a means to protect human dignity requires treating it as a discrete subject of international law. As such, it demands appraisal of a complex amalgam of law and a wide spectrum of sanctioning processes that transcend orthodox divisions of subjects within international law. Its theory, doctrine, and practice spring from legal sources and events both ancient and modern; and ultimately an appreciation of the topic turns considerably on insights beyond international law, whether political or philosophical in origin. Before any examination of the substantive law and mechanisms can proceed, we begin with the evolution of this concept and the legal threads involved

I can see CRISPR now, even when phage are gone: a view on alternative CRISPR-Cas functions from the prokaryotic envelope

Purpose of review: CRISPR-Cas systems are prokaryotic immune systems against invading nucleic acids that adapt as new environmental threats arise. There are emerging examples of CRISPR-Cas functions in bacterial physiology beyond their role in adaptive immunity. This highlights the poorly understood, but potentially common, moonlighting functions of these abundant systems. We propose that these noncanonical CRISPR-Cas activities have evolved to respond to stresses at the cell envelope. Recent findings: Here, we discuss recent literature describing the impact of the extracellular environment on the regulation of CRISPR-Cas systems, and the influence of CRISPR-Cas activity on bacterial physiology. These described noncanonical CRISPR-Cas functions allow the bacterial cell to respond to the extracellular environment, primarily through changes in envelope physiology. Summary: This review discusses the expanding noncanonical functions of CRISPR-Cas systems, including their roles in virulence, focusing mainly on their relationship to the cell envelope. We first examine the effects of the extracellular environment on regulation of CRISPR-Cas components, and then discuss the impact of CRISPR-Cas systems on bacterial physiology, concentrating on their roles in influencing interactions with the environment including host organisms