Climate-Vegetation-Feedbacks as a Mechanism for Accelerated Climate Change: The onset of the African Humid Period

Paleo-environmental records and models indicate that the African Humid Period (AHPabruptly ended about 5000-4000 years before present (BP). Some proxies indicate alsan abrupt onset of the AHP between 14,000 and 11,000 BP. How important are local orbitaforcing, ice-sheet forcing, greenhouse gas forcing, and the reorganization of the AtlantiMeridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) for changes in the African Monsoon/vegetatiosystem? Here we use transient simulations with climate-vegetation models of differencomplexity to identify the factors that control the onset of the African Monsoon/VegetationWe test the following hypothesis:(1) There is no indication for insolation-thresholds for the onset/break of the AHP.(2) Forcing from CO2/ice-sheets significantly controls the climate of North Africa.(3) CO2 fertilization contributes to the vegetation changes over North Africa.(4) A shutdown of the AMOC is as important as orbital insolation for the African Monsoon

The Judge Would Then Be the Legislator : Dismantling Separation of Powers in the Name of Sentencing Reform—Mistretta v. United States, 109 S. Ct. 647 (1989)

In the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 Congress created the United States Sentencing Commission, an independent agency in the judicial branch charged with promulgating binding sentencing guidelines for federal crimes. In Mistretta v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the Sentencing Reform Act does not violate separation of powers principles. This Note asserts that the Court misapplied separation of powers theory, and that the Sentencing Commission violates separation of powers in two ways. First, by delegating to the judicial branch the authority to create sentencing guidelines which have the effect of law, Congress impermissibly aggrandized the core function of the judiciary. Second, judicial service on the Sentencing Commission encroaches upon the core function of the judicial branch by threatening the impartiality and independence of judges and reducing public confidence in the judiciary. This Note concludes that the advantages of judicial service on the Sentencing Commission do not outweigh the detriment to the judicial branch

Gemini Systems: Managing From The Middle In A High-Tech Company

This business case study is designed for MBA courses in Organizational Behavior, Organization Change and Negotiations. The case follows a young middle manager who has very little formal authority as she attempts to implement a new project staffing system for engineers in a high-tech matrix organization. As the company rapidly grows, she experiences significant resistance to change from section leaders, program managers and engineers who have become accustomed to competitive behavior in an environment rich with opportunities. However, as the company experiences retrenchment during the economic downturn of 2009, the change resistance continues, but within an environment where there is a paucity of projects. The case shows how Sophie grows as a middle manager and learns the necessary skills to be successful at managing change and “influencing without authority”

A Survey of Financial Responsibility Laws and Compensation of Traffic Victims: A Proposal for Reform

One of the most acute socio-economic and legal problems confronting society today concerns the compensation of traffic victims. In 1966, there were 52,500 persons killed as a result of traffic accidents,\u27which constituted nearly one-half of all accident fatalities. In addition, 868,000 persons were injured, and the total cost of motor vehicle accidents was estimated at ten billion dollars. As a result of the steadily rising accident toll, there has been increased concern over means of insuring that victims of automobile accidents will be compensated. This concern has been aggravated by the continued presence of the financially irresponsible motorist. The problem becomes even more acute when one considers that in 1966 there was a total of 94,177,000 motor vehicles registered in the United States and 98,496,000 licensed drivers, whereas by 1983 it is estimated that there will be 115,000,000 vehicles. The states first attempted to solve this problem by means of the financial responsibility law. At present, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have some form of financial responsibility statute, including North Carolina, New York and Massachusetts, which also have compulsory insurance laws. Although vigorously defended by the insurance industry, these financial responsibility statutes have come under strong criticism for failure to achieve their intended purpose. Although a variety of plans for compensation without respect to fault have been proposed--such as, the Columbia Plan, Saskatchewan Plan, Full Aid Insurance, and Basic Protection Insurance-American jurisdictions have retained the fault principle and have concentrated on plans designed to assure that motorists will be capable of responding with damages should the need arise. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to summarize the operation and effect of financial responsibility laws with a consideration of existing problem areas, and to submit suggested proposals for reform

Liquid antiferromagnets in two dimensions

It is shown that, for proper symmetry of the parent lattice, antiferromagnetic order can survive in two-dimensional liquid crystals and even isotropic liquids of point-like particles, in contradiction to what common sense might suggest. We discuss the requirements for antiferromagnetic order in the absence of translational and/or orientational lattice order. One example is the honeycomb lattice, which upon melting can form a liquid crystal with quasi-long-range orientational and antiferromagnetic order but short-range translational order. The critical properties of such systems are discussed. Finally, we draw conjectures for the three-dimensional case.Comment: 4 pages RevTeX, 4 figures include

Flow through the nasal cavity of the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias

The nasal cavity of spiny dogfish is a blind capsule with no internal connection to the oral cavity. Water is envisioned to flow through the cavity in a smooth, continuous flow pattern; however, this assumption is based on previous descriptions of the morphology of the olfactory cavity. No experimentation on the flow through the internal nasal cavity has been reported. Morphology of the head of the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) does not suggest a close external connection between the oral and nasal systems. However, dye visualization showed that there was flow through the nasal apparatus and from the excurrent nostril to the mouth when respiratory flows were simulated. The hydrodynamic flow through the nasal cavity was observed from flow tank experiments. The dorsum of the nasal cavity of shark heads from dead animals was exposed by dissection and a glass plate was glued over of the exposed cavity. When the head was placed in a flow, dye was observed to be drawn passively into the cavity showing a complex, three-dimensional hydrodynamic flow. Dye entered the incurrent nostril, flowed through the nasal lamellae, crossed over and under the nasal valve, and circulated around the nasal valve before exiting the excurrent nostril. When the nasal valve was removed, the dye became stagnant and back flowed out through the incurrent nostril. The single nasal valve has a hydrodynamic function that organizes a coherent flow of water through the cavity without disruption. The results suggest that the morphology of the nasal apparatus in concert with respiratory flow and ambient flows from active swimming can be used to draw water through the olfactory cavity of the shark

Z Generation is Here! Recommendations for Counselor Educators

Generation Z, individuals born between the mid-1990s and mid-2010s, are now enrolling in graduate counseling programs. This article addresses the generation’s unique characteristics, learning needs, and challenges and how they impact the development of counselor soft skills and dispositions. Implications for counselor educators and recommendations for future research are discussed

Who Succeeds In The Murky Middle?

This exploratory study examines technically educated middle managers performing ad hoc projects in flat organizations and develops a typology for examining the behavioral patterns associated with their effectiveness. Initial findings indicate the greatest success was achieved by “Type 1” managers (the Leaders) who were able to integrate collaborative selling skills and technical expertise within a web of both formal and informal interactions. Moderate success accrued to “Type 2” managers (the Learners) who used collaborative selling skills to develop social networks that allowed them to expand their own technical expertise. “Type 3” managers (the Leapers) primarily relied upon technical expertise as the tool for interacting with others and enjoyed only modest success. Although “Type 4” managers (the Laggards) had the requisite technical knowledge base, they were the least successful because their lack of collaborative selling skills made it difficult to utilize a compensatory social network. Suggestions are provided for leaders seeking to leverage and direct the abilities of key staff