Liberty for Security

On 11 September 2001, we collectively endured the worst tragedy to touch American soil since the Civil War. In the wake of this horrible event, a national hysteria erupted. People are anxious to restore the lost security; but at what cost? Many Americans seem not to care about the costs, and national polls show that now, more than ever, Americans are willing to trade their precious civil liberties in an attempt to restore security. As the ACLU has stated these are difficult days. Not only are they difficult, they will define the future of America. This iBrief explores the reactions of the American government to this tragedy and the effect these reactions will have on the freedom of all Americans

Carnivore: Will It Devour Your Privacy?

Perhaps you have written an e-mail that looks something like this

Political Dissidents in Putin’s Russia

When it comes to punishing opponents of the present-day regime, Soviet traditions remain alive and well. So that Russia’s attempt at democracy can be better understood, I will discuss aspects of the Soviet government dating back to WWII. Russia can only be understood in the context of the past. I study the government branches to emphasize the power of the president. Russia’s electoral and party systems are mentioned to understand Russia’s lack of plurality and ongoing efforts to stifle dissident voices. Those who publically endorse ideas against the regime risk death. The journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, publically opposed Putin and his involvement in Chechnya was shot at her apartment. Paul Klebnikov dedicated his life to reporting and researching Russian business affairs. His vast knowledge stood as a threat to Putin, and he too was murdered. These two individuals stood for truth and transparency in Russian society. Those who threaten the legitimacy of Putin’s government are silenced. This paper examines how political dissidents reflect how Putin’s role as Russia’s executive authority singularly threatens to co-opt Russia’s fledgling democracy, transitioning the country into a new era of authoritarianism

The Effects of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning on Sense of Connectedness, Sense of Learning, and Overall Sense of Community among High School Students Enrolled in a Marketing Course

The purpose of this quantitative static group study was to determine the effects of computer-supported collaborative learning on sense of community, sense of connectedness, and sense of learning for students in a high school Marketing Principles course. Sense of community pertains to feelings of belonging and is important to the learning process because it can foster shared positive experiences in the classroom setting. Both collaborative learning and computer-based instruction have been researched extensively and their benefits noted; however, this study is important because it focuses on combining the two into what is known as computer-supported collaborative learning. The independent variable in this study was the type of learning environment, specifically, traditional instruction and computer-supported collaborative learning. The dependent variables were sense of classroom community, sense of connectedness, and sense of learning as measured by the Classroom Community Scale. A series of independent t-tests were conducted to determine any statistically significant differences among the groups. Mean scores for students taught using computer-supported collaborative learning were compared to the mean scores of students taught the same material using traditional lecture-based individualized learning. Results and findings, along with a conclusion are included

Jesuit Values, Ignatian Pedagogy, and Service Learning: Catalysts for Transcendence and Transformation Via Action Research

The focus of this paper is the transformative and transcendental nature of the service learning experience for Regis University graduate education students, in the Education Research Methods and Critical Reflection course (EDRS600). In an eight-week intensive framework, the course is a unique combination of Jesuit values, Ignatian pedagogy, service learning, and action research. Via the mechanism of reflection, inherent in the Ignatian pedagogy and the process of their work and action research at their service learning sites, students often experience transcendence and transformation that further aligns them with Jesuit values and prepares them to be ethical, connected, proactive members of their professional communities

Overcoming Student Resistance to Discussing the Jesuit Values in Graduate Education Curriculum by Accessing the Values’ Universality

This paper is an exploration of the issue of Regis University graduate education student reluctance to address the Jesuit values in their coursework. It is an examination of student explanations for their reticence as well as an attempt to use the universality of the values to make them more accessible to education students. These strategies may be applicable to other disciplines as well

Effect of electrical bias on spin transport across a magnetic domain wall

We present a theory of the current-voltage characteristics of a magnetic domain wall between two highly spin-polarized materials, which takes into account the effect of the electrical bias on the spin-flip probability of an electron crossing the wall. We show that increasing the voltage reduces the spin-flip rate, and is therefore equivalent to reducing the width of the domain wall. As an application, we show that this effect widens the temperature window in which the operation of a unipolar spin diode is nearly ideal.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

A study of irradiation-induced defects in silicon using low temperature photoluminescence

Irradiation-induced defects in silicon, using low temperature photoluminescence as a probe of defect properties were investigated. The goal of this research was to gain new understanding of defects which degrade solar cell characteristics in a radiation environment. In this regard, an important aspect of this program was a study of radiation damage and annealing in lithium doped silicon, which is useful in reducing solar cell degradation. Luminescence was used to study defects because this property reveals electron transitions through a number of defect energy levels at any given annealing stage; the luminescence spectra give excellent resolution of many defect energy levels, and these measurements can be used to give defect symmetry in the lattice, impurity dependence, and annealing properties

Quantum information processing based on P-31 nuclear spin qubits in a quasi-one-dimensional Si-28 nanowire

We suggest a new method of quantum information processing based on the precise placing of P-31 isotope atoms in a quasi-one-dimensional Si-28 nanowire using isotope engineering and neutron-transmutation doping of the grown structures. In our structure, interqubit entanglement is based on the indirect interaction of P-31 nuclear spins with electrons localized in a nanowire. This allows one to control the coupling between distant qubits and between qubits separated by non-qubit neighboring nodes. The suggested method enables one to fabricate structures using present-day nanolithography. Numerical estimates show the feasibility of the proposed device and method of operation.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Model Predictive Planning: Towards Real-Time Multi-Trajectory Planning Around Obstacles

This paper presents a motion planning scheme we call Model Predictive Planning (MPP), designed to optimize trajectories through obstacle-laden environments. The approach involves path planning, trajectory refinement through the solution of a quadratic program, and real-time selection of optimal trajectories. The paper highlights three technical innovations: a raytracing-based path-to-trajectory refinement, the integration of this technique with a multi-path planner to overcome difficulties due to local minima, and a method to achieve timescale separation in trajectory optimization. The scheme is demonstrated through simulations on a 2D longitudinal aircraft model and shows strong obstacle avoidance performance