The Importance of Self-Selection in Casino Cannibalization of State Lotteries

This note extends the work of Elliott and Navin (2002) on the substitutability of commercial casinos and state lotteries by controlling for a potential negative selection bias. We utilize a Heckman two-step selection correction in which our first stage probit involves whether or not a state has legalized commercial casinos. Results indicate that a $1 increase in state casino tax revenue will reduce net lottery proceeds by$0.56. This estimate is 33% smaller than what has been found in other studies, which is consistent with a negative selection bias.

Physical to Virtual: A Model for Future Virtual Classroom Environments

Virtual reality is a technology that has seen unprecedented growth since the turn of the century with increasing applications within business, entertainment, and educational applications. As virtual reality technologies continue to develops and markets expand, the world may see an increased demand for virtual classrooms: virtual environments (VEs) that students may access through immersive virtual reality technologies to receive guided instruction, conduct simulations, or perform tasks typical in a classroom setting. While many studies document how virtual reality is beneficial to educational processes, there is little discussion on how virtual environments should be architecturally designed. Thus one may hypothesize that physical design strategies translated to virtual environments may have similar results. This thesis investigates virtual environments for education by creating several virtual classrooms embedded within a selective digital twin of the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. The design of the virtual classrooms was influenced by current architectural trends in classroom design while capturing unique abilities present within a virtual context. A physical teaching module was also designed to create a platform for educators within the university to deliver instruction within the virtual campus

Employee commitment in Westrail

A study conducted in Westrail, the Western Australian Government Railways revealed that three underlying attitudes influenced the three dimensions of commitment (to organisation, work and co-worker) measured in a survey. Achievement of personal and career goals, propensity to stay with the organisation, trust in senior management and positive view of change were shown to be linked with the commitment dimensions and the underlying factors (affective, cognitive and behavioural commitment). Education, union membership, age and tenure were also found to be significantly correlated with aspects of commitment. Large downsizings have occurred at Westrail in recent years and commitment among workers is low, as is trust in senior management. The formal communications system needs attention and there is a general view that recent changes have not been for the positive benefit of the organisation. Linking personal goal achievement to Westrail employment may help to resolve the problem of low morale and commitment

A fascinating multifaceted redox-active chelating ligand: introducing the N,N′-dimethyl-3,3′-biquinoxalinium “methylbiquinoxen” platform

To intimately combine a chelating ligand function with the numerous properties of a viologen-like redox-active centre would offer a rare possibility to design controllable multi-redox states, whose properties arise from strongly correlated phenomena between the organic ligand as well as with any metalloid coordinated centres. Such a concept previously proved to be feasible, however is not widely applicable owing to challenges in terms of synthesis, isolation, and aerial sensitivity of both the ligand and its metal complexes. Here we report the first stable example of such a redox-active molecule, N,N′-dimethyl-3,3′-biquinoxalinium2+/˙+/0 “methylbiquinoxen, MBqn2+/˙+/0”, which shows a rich redox chemistry and chelates a metal ion in the case of the metal complex [CdCl2(MBqn0)]. This goes beyond what is possible to achieve using viologens, which are limited by not providing chelation as well as having no accessible biradicaloid state, corresponding to the neutral direduced MBqn0 open-shell behaviour we observe here

Immunocytochemical Demonstration of Na + ,K + -ATPase in Internodal Axolemma of Myelinated Fibers of Rat Sciatic and Optic Nerves

We used postembedding electron microscopic immunocytochemistry with colloidal gold to determine the ultrastructural distribution of Na + ,K + -ATPase in the sciatic and optic nerves of the rat. Using a polyclonal antiserum raised against the denatured catalytic subunit of brain Na + ,K + -ATPase, we found immunoreactivity along the internodal axolemma of myelinated fibers in both nerves. This antiserum did not produce labeling of nodal axolemma. These results suggest that an important site of energy-dependent sodium-potassium exchange is along the internodal axolemma of myelinated fibers in the mammalian CNS and PNS and that there may be differences between the internodal and nodal forms of the enzyme.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66444/1/j.1471-4159.1991.tb02114.x.pd

Cross-cultural effects of color, but not morphological masculinity, on perceived attractiveness of men's faces

This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2012 ElsevierMuch attractiveness research has focused on face shape. The role of masculinity (which for adults is thought to be a relatively stable shape cue to developmental testosterone levels) in male facial attractiveness has been examined, with mixed results. Recent work on the perception of skin color (a more variable cue to current health status) indicates that increased skin redness, yellowness, and lightness enhance apparent health. It has been suggested that stable cues such as masculinity may be less important to attractiveness judgments than short-term, more variable health cues. We examined associations between male facial attractiveness, masculinity, and skin color in African and Caucasian populations. Masculinity was not found to be associated with attractiveness in either ethnic group. However, skin color was found to be an important predictor of attractiveness judgments, particularly for own-ethnicity faces. Our results suggest that more plastic health cues, such as skin color, are more important than developmental cues such as masculinity. Further, unfamiliarity with natural skin color variation in other ethnic groups may limit observers' ability to utilize these color cues