Causal distributed assert statements

Monitoring a program\u27s execution is fundamental to the debugging, testing and maintenance phases of program development. This research addresses the issue of monitoring the execution of a distributed program. In particular, we are concerned with efficient techniques for evaluating global state predicates for distributed programs. The global state of a distributed program is not well-defined, making the monitoring task complex compared to that of a sequential programs. Processes of a distributed program execute concurrently, and the events of the program cannot be totally ordered. Each process has its own local memory, and the local memories are physically separate.;Despite the difficulties of defining a distributed computation\u27s states, monitoring a distributed program requires reasoning about constituent processes\u27 execution as a single collective entity. We have extrapolated the semantics of the sequential program\u27s assert statement into the distributed context. A distributed assert statement is a global predicate that is anchored at a control point of one processes, and that is evaluated when that process executes the assert.;We have developed a runtime method for monitoring both stable and unstable properties that does not disrupt the computation of the distributed system. A distributed assert statement is evaluated with that statement\u27s causal global state which incorporates the state of the system as a whole as it may have causal impact upon the assert statement. A runtime protocol has been implemented that constructs the causal global state and evaluates the assert statement. No additional synchronization or message passing is imposed on the distributed application although some message sizes are increased to propagate state information. The causal global state is immediately available providing real-time feedback

SOCIAL WORKERS’ AND TEACHERS’ FEELINGS OF SELF-EFFICACY IN DEALING WITH SCHOOL BULLYING

Bullying continues to be a serious problem in schools. School social workers and teachers face challenges daily to deal with bullying. This author examined school social workers’ and teachers’ perceptions about their feelings of efficacy to deal with bullying and what may account for those feelings in a population of 71 teachers and 26 social workers employed in Kentucky schools. Research was gathered using a self-report, electronic survey consisting of subscales of the Teachers’ Attitudes about Bullying Questionnaire (Beran, 2005), the School Bullying Questionnaire (Nicolaides, Toda & Smith, 2002), the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire (Spreng, McKinnon, Mar & Levine, 2009) and questions designed by the researcher. This study examined the influence of demographic variables as well as the amount and type of professional education and/or training, the professionals’ perceptions of the level of bullying present and how much of a problem it is in their schools, perceived levels of administrative support, the professionals’ personal experiences with bullying and the professionals’ level of empathy. Finally, this study explored the role of school social workers as bullying educators within the school environment by self-report and by teacher reports. The results of the study revealed that social workers reported significantly greater efficacy than did teachers. Additionally, when compared with teachers social workers reported higher levels on all measures of comfort. Other differences between the two professional groups included that social workers reported higher levels of working in urban schools, a higher level of empathy, a greater desire for additional training and a higher incidence of personal experience. Teachers reported higher levels of working in their own school districts, and working in suburban and rural schools and a higher level of believing bullying is a big problem in their school. With regard to the dependent variable of efficacy the independent variables of empathy, the extent of bullying, bystander and additional training trended toward significance. Results regarding social workers as bullying educators revealed that the majority of social workers identified bullying prevention and intervention programming as part of their responsibilities and reported feeling comfortable in this role. Teachers’ responses closely aligned with school social workers’ self-assessments with the majority of teachers reporting social workers in their schools as supportive and helpful in addressing bullying. However, these variables did not have a significant effect on the dependent variable of efficacy. Professional teacher education programs, school social work programs and professional development trainings should incorporate trainings that focus on the role of empathy in managing bullying into their curriculums. Additionally, graduate educational offerings and professional development opportunities for school social workers should incorporate additional trainings to prepare social workers as bullying educators for other school professionals. Finally, additional research efforts that explore school professionals’ efficacy for dealing with bullying may be an important factor in addressing this problem

Determining Status as an Employee Rev. Ruling 87-41

The Internal Revenue Service recently provided guidance for determining whether a technical service specialist is a common law employee, as opposed to an independent contractor, through Revenue Ruling 87-41. The ruling provides guidance for purposes of the Social Security taxes (FICA contributions), federal unemployment taxes assessed under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA), and income tax withholding by employers. Further, the ruling is important as it also provides guidance for employers in determining an individual\u27s status in relation to qualified retirement or health plans

Business Exits and Reentry: Demand and Supply Explanations of Entrepreneur Career Choices

This dissertation is a compilation thesis consisting of three research studies on the normative and personal expectations that influence entrepreneurial engagement subsequent to business exits. Collectively, the three studies provide insights into how and when variances between performance expectations and actual business outcomes shift the demand and supply of different groups of experienced entrepreneurs. On the demand side, I theorize and empirically examine variances in acts and modes of entrepreneurial engagement that correlate to informal (stigma of business failure, masculine norms) and formal (regulatory environment) institutional contexts. On the supply side, I develop propositions about cognitive aspects of business exits that influence the motivation of experienced entrepreneurs to engage in serial entrepreneurship. I ask the following three questions in my dissertation research: When and how do the fit or non-fit of exits from successful and unsuccessful businesses influence future engagement in entrepreneurship activity (Study 1)? How are the future career decisions of entrepreneurs who close failed businesses influenced by formal, i.e., the regulatory environment for doing business, and informal, i.e., the stigma of business failure, institutional contexts (Study 2)? Do differences in normative expectations influence the re-entry of male and female entrepreneurs differently following the closure of a failed business (Study 3)? The extant studies in the entrepreneurship literature often emphasize the characteristics of the entrepreneur or the institutional context. This dissertation highlights the fact that social realities, in concert with the cognitive processing of business exits, shape the acts and modes of entrepreneurial engagement subsequent to business exits. The implications for entrepreneurship theory, policy and practice that arise from this duality are discussed

Guest Editors\u27 Introduction

In this introduction, the guest editors of this special issue share their call to action in support of Black crossover youth

Entrepreneurship Everywhere: Across Campus, Across Communities, and Across Borders

This paper introduces the theme of this special issue related to “Entrepreneurship Everywhere: Across Campus, Across Communities, and Across Borders.” We explore three critical points as we set up the accepted articles for the special issue. First, if we are everywhere are we anywhere? Second, we focus on the importance of collaboration. Third, we discuss the importance of strategically planning on how your efforts intervene or integrate into the wider ecosystem. Entrepreneurship is everywhere. A search of the term “entrepreneurship” on Google yields 132 million results. By comparison a search on “strategic management” yields a mere 17.2 million results. Despite the highly unscientific nature of this comparison, the results shine the light on the tremendous interest and growth in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs. The job creation potential of small businesses and entrepreneurial firms has captured the attention of politicians from across the globe and the ideological spectrum, who frequently hale the benefits of entrepreneurial activity. Citing work by Tornatzky and Rideout (2014), the Kauffman Foundation’s (2015) “State of Entrepreneurship” address indicates that entrepreneurship programs, both curricular and noncurricular, are the fastest-growing programs on college campuses. While many large corporations are villainized, entrepreneurs and small businesses are generally held in high regard and lionized in many instances. Further, interest and growth in the topic of entrepreneurship is unbound by geography or academic discipline. Across many university campuses it is common to find multiple programs and centers dedicated to fostering and growing entrepreneurship. Programs as diverse as engineering, music, pharmacy, agriculture, art, and law are all focusing on helping their students to both engage in entrepreneurial thinking and activity. While the business school remains a key component of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on campuses across the globe, the diversity of programs has grown dramatically. This special issue seeks to highlight this expansive growth by including a diverse set of articles that point to the explosive growth of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship programing around the world, within our communities and on college campuses. We will briefly preview each of the contributions below, but first we highlight three critical and related questions of the growth of entrepreneurship. First, if entrepreneurship is everywhere, is it truly anywhere? Second, as entrepreneurship continues to be an emphasis across levels of federal, state, and local government and as diverse university entities continue to seek to spark entrepreneurial activities, how is this best managed? Third, how is the entrepreneurial ecosystem affected by the tremendous investment and enhanced focus of universities and government entities in trying to engineer entrepreneurship

Neurogenin2 Expression in Ventral and Dorsal Spinal Neural Tube Progenitor Cells Is Regulated by Distinct Enhancers

AbstractThe basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Neurogenin2 (NGN2) is expressed in distinct populations of neural progenitor cells within the developing central and peripheral nervous systems. Transgenic mice containing ngn2/lacZ reporter constructs were used to study the regulation of ngn2 in the developing spinal cord. ngn2/lacZ transgenic embryos containing sequence found 5′ or 3′ to the ngn2 coding region express lacZ in domains that reflect the spatial and temporal expression profile of endogenous ngn2. A 4.4-kb fragment 5′ of ngn2 was sufficient to drive lacZ expression in the ventral neural tube, whereas a 1.0-kb fragment located 3′ of ngn2 directed expression to both dorsal and ventral domains. Persistent β-gal activity revealed that the NGN2 progenitor cells in the dorsal domain give rise to a subset of interneurons that send their axons to the floor plate, and the NGN2 progenitors in the ventral domain give rise to a subset of motor neurons. We identified a discrete element that is required for the activity of the ngn2 enhancer specifically in the ventral neural tube. Thus, separable regulatory elements that direct ngn2 expression to distinct neural progenitor populations have been defined

Leveraging Energy Data for the Benefit of Society and Consumers

This policy brief is intended to distill the essential points of the Industrial Internet of Things paper by Karim Farhat et al into a format easily consumed by policymakers.Industrial data (ID) has the potential to play a key role in finding efficiencies in energy markets and thus lower rates for consumers. The realm of industrial data within the energy sector encompasses a broad ecosystem involving many stakeholders. This policy brief is intended to focus specifically on implications for Investor-Owned Utilities (IOUs), energy service and technology providers including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), policymakers, and researchers, as well as interactions among them. Within this construct, we find that: • IOUs could better leverage data analytics to utilize capital, natural resources, and public infrastructure more efficiently; • ID could lead to better alignment of incentives between utilities and policy/regulation; • Methods to facilitate market entry for local third-party energy service providers should be explored to benefit the regional economy and to avoid ceding leadership to foreign or out-of-state competition; • More collaboration within the standards space and during the standards deliberation process is warranted (in particular between OEMs and energy providers); • ID and energy stakeholders have an obligation and opportunity to improve regulations for Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) with future implications on grid cybersecurity; • Coordination and R&D among utilities, policymakers and research institutions can enhance and accelerate knowledge diffusion and beneficial outcomes for owners, consumers, and the environment

Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage in the Southeastern U.S.: Cost Competitive?

White paper published by SEI that will be hosted on the SEI website.Achieving net zero carbon emissions will require a combination of renewable energy technologies and carbon capture. Indeed, a great deal of investment has been devoted to the source side of the ledger, such as replacing fossil fuels with renewables, making combustion processes more efficient, and leveraging nuclear energy. Considerably less funding has flowed toward solving the problem of accumulating emissions in the atmosphere, for instance by capturing carbon at the point of electricity generation, or extracting carbon prior to combustion. Nonetheless, a variety of studies have shown that the lowest societal cost means of achieving net zero emissions, as well as ensuring a resilient grid, must include carbon capture. This whitepaper discusses the role of the southeast in this broader nation carbon capture landscape, particularly focusing on the question “What will be the role of Southeast region in this broader national carbon capture effort in the United States?”White paper published by SEI that will be hosted on the SEI website

Experimental transmission of atypical scrapie to sheep

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Active surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in small ruminants has been an EU regulatory requirement since 2002. A number of European countries have subsequently reported cases of atypical scrapie, similar to previously published cases from Norway, which have pathological and molecular features distinct from classical scrapie. Most cases have occurred singly in flocks, associated with genotypes considered to be more resistant to classical disease. Experimental transmissibility of such isolates has been reported in certain ovinised transgenic mice, but has not previously been reported in the natural host. Information on the transmissibility of this agent is vital to ensuring that disease control measures are effective and proportionate.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This report presents the successful experimental transmission, in 378 days, of atypical scrapie to a recipient sheep of homologous genotype with preservation of the pathological and molecular characteristics of the donor. This isolate also transmitted to ovinised transgenic mice (Tg338) with a murine phenotype indistinguishable from that of Nor 98.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This result strengthens the opinion that these cases result from a distinct strain of scrapie agent, which is potentially transmissible in the natural host under field conditions.</p