The Economic Impact of Extending Marriage to Same-Sex Couples in Maine

This research study estimates that same-sex marriage in Maine, if permitted, would have a positive impact on the state's economy and budget. The study finds that same-sex weddings and associated tourism would generate $60 million in additional spending in Maine over three years, creating 1,000 new jobs. Due to this spending, the state and Maine counties would see an increase of$3.6 million in revenues over the next three years; the result of an increase of sales tax revenues of approximately $3.1 million and new marriage license fees of$500,000. In calculating the net benefit to the State, the study approximates that half of Maine's 4,644 same-sex couples, or 2,316 couples, would marry in the first three years that marriage is extended to them. The study also estimates that approximately 15,657 same-sex couples from other states would come to Maine to marry

Evidence of Employment Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: Complaints Filed with State Enforcement Agencies, 1999-2007

To more accurately measure the effect of anti-discrimination laws, this report compares sex, race, and sexual orientation complaint rates through a population-adjusted model. Today, twenty states and the District of Columbia prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Of those, thirteen also prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity. An aggregation of all available state level data reveals that sexual orientation discrimination laws are used at similar frequencies by Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) workers as sex discrimination laws by female workers, both at 5 complaints per every 10,000 workers. Race complaints are filed at the higher rate of 7 per 10,000 workers

Migration of latent fingermarks on non-porous surfaces:observation technique and nanoscale variations

Latent fingermark morphology was examined over a period of approximately two months. Variation in topography was observed with atomic force microscopy and the expansion of the fingermark occurred in the form of the development of an intermediate area surrounding the main fingermark ridge. On an example area of a fingermark on silicon, the intermediate region exists as a uniform 4nm thick deposit; on day 1 after deposition this region extends approximately 2µm from the edge of the main ridge deposit and expands to a maximum of ~ 4µm by day 23. Simultaneously the region breaks up, the integrity is compromised by day 16, and by day 61 the area resembles a series of interconnected islands, with coverage of approximately 60%. Observation of a similar immediate area and growth with time on surfaces such as Formica was possible by monitoring the mechanical characteristics of the fingermark and surfaces though phase contrast in tapping mode AFM. The presence of this area may affect fingermark development, for example affecting the gold distribution in vacuum metal deposition. Further study of time dependence and variation with donor may enable assessment of this area to be used to evaluate the age of fingermarks

Nano-scale analysis of titanium dioxide fingerprint-development powders

Titanium dioxide based powders are regularly used in the development of latent fingerprints on dark surfaces. For analysis of prints on adhesive tapes, the titanium dioxide is suspended in a surfactant and used in the form of a small particle reagent (SPR). Analysis of commercially available products shows varying levels of effectiveness of print development, with some powders adhering to the background as well as the print. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of prints developed with different powders show a range of levels of aggregation of particles. Analytical transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of the fingerprint powder shows TiO2 particles with a surrounding coating, tens of nanometres thick, consisting of Al and Si rich material. X ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) is used to determine the composition and chemical state of the surface of the powders; with a penetration depth of approximately 10nm, this technique demonstrates differing Ti: Al: Si ratios and oxidation states between the surfaces of different powders. Levels of titanium detected with this technique demonstrate variation in the integrity of the surface coating. The thickness, integrity and composition of the Al/Si-based coating is related to the level of aggregation of TiO2 particles and efficacy of print development

Incoherent dynamics in neutron-matter interaction

Coherent and incoherent neutron-matter interaction is studied inside a recently introduced approach to subdynamics of a macrosystem. The equation describing the interaction is of the Lindblad type and using the Fermi pseudopotential we show that the commutator term is an optical potential leading to well-known relations in neutron optics. The other terms, usually ignored in optical descriptions and linked to the dynamic structure function of the medium, give an incoherent contribution to the dynamics, which keeps diffuse scattering and attenuation of the coherent beam into account, thus warranting fulfilment of the optical theorem. The relevance of this analysis to experiments in neutron interferometry is briefly discussed.Comment: 15 pages, revtex, no figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

The Impact on Maine's Budget of Allowing Same-Sex Couples to Marry

This analysis estimates the impact of allowing same-sex couples to marry on Maine's state budget. We estimate that allowing same-sex couples to marry will result in a net gain of approximately $7.9 million each year for the State. This net impact will be the result of savings in expenditures on state means-tested public benefits programs and an increase in revenue from state sales and income taxes and marriage license fees. Throughout this report, we estimate the economic impact of weddings conservatively. In other words, we choose assumptions that are cautious from the State's perspective in that they tend to produce lower revenues and higher expenditures given the range of possibilities. Even so, we find that the effect of allowing same-sex couples to marry in Maine is an annual positive fiscal impact of approximately$7.9 million

Reduced dimension modeling of leading edge turbulent interaction noise

A computational aeroacoustics approach is used to model the effects of real airfoil geometry on leading edge turbulent interaction noise for symmetric airfoils at zero angle of attack. For the first time, one-component (transverse), two-component (transverse and streamwise), and three-component (transverse, streamwise, and spanwise) synthesized turbulent disturbances are modeled instead of single frequency transverse gusts, which previous computational studies of leading edge noise have been confined to. The effects of the inclusion of streamwise and spanwise disturbances on the noise are assessed, and it is shown that accurate noise predictions for symmetric airfoils can be made by modeling only the transverse disturbances, which reduces the computational expense of simulations. Additionally, the two-component turbulent synthesis method is used to model the effects of airfoil thickness on the noise for thicknesses ranging from 2% to 12%. By using sufficient airfoil thicknesses to show trends, it is found that airfoil thickness will reduce the noise at high frequency, and that the sound power P will reduce linearly with increasing airfoil thickness

Energetics and dynamics of H2_2 adsorbed in a nanoporous material at low temperature

Molecular hydrogen adsorption in a nanoporous metal organic framework structure (MOF-74) was studied via van der Waals density-functional calculations. The primary and secondary binding sites for H$_2$ were confirmed. The low-lying rotational and translational energy levels were calculated, based on the orientation and position dependent potential energy surface at the two binding sites. A consistent picture is obtained between the calculated rotational-translational transitions for different H$_2$ loadings and those measured by inelastic neutron scattering exciting the singlet to triplet (para to ortho) transition in H$_2$. The H$_2$ binding energy after zero point energy correction due to the rotational and translational motions is predicted to be $\sim$100 meV in good agreement with the experimental value of $\sim$90 meV.Comment: 5 pagers, 4 figures. added reference

Visualising the past – an evaluation of processes and sequences for fingermark recovery from old documents

This study aimed to collect data on the effectiveness of most of the fingermark visualisation reagents currently used on porous surfaces on fingermarks aged for up to 90 years, significantly extending the timescales for which such information exists. A limited subset of the variables associated with processing of old fingermarks was explored, with a focus on the use of 1,8 diazafluoren-9-one (DFO), 1,2-indandione, ninhydrin, and physical developer. These techniques were used in sequence on batches of cheques between 11 and 32 years old, and on documents dating from the 1920s and 1940s. The potential for applying a physical developer enhancement process (blue toning) as the final step in the sequence was also explored. The benefits of using processing sequences on porous items were clearly demonstrated, with all processes in the sequence adding value in terms of additional marks found on the cheques up to 32 years old. In addition, physical developer was found to be capable of developing fingermarks up to 90 years old, whereas the amino acid reagents appear less effective on documents of 70 years and older. An experimental physical developer formulation with reduced environmental impact was found to be as effective as the existing process in these experiments. Blue toning was found to visualise an additional 10-25% of marks, and its wider use after silver-based deposition processes is recommended based on the evidence from this study.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio