Derivatives: Innovation in the Era of Financial Deregulation

This is the third of several papers examining the underlying viability of the assertion that regulation of the financial markets is unduly burdensome. These papers assert that the value of the financial markets is often mis-measured. The efficiency of the market in intermediating flows between capital investors and capital users (like manufacturing and service businesses, individuals, and governments) is the proper measure. Unregulated markets are found to be chronically inefficient using this standard. This costs the economy enormous amounts each year. In addition, the inefficiencies create stresses to the system that make systemic crises inevitable

Childhood Obesity: What Role Does Public Policy Play?

The purpose of this review is to explore public policies that impact the health of American children and adolescents. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) has a significant impact on school-age children’s nutritional intake. Foods provided by the NSLP have been analyzed for their nutritional content. Although these foods did not exceed the recommended total caloric intake, they were below other nutritional standards, and these shortcomings are primarily attributable to cultural preferences. Other important contributors to childhood obesity are unregulated school food items sold in vending machines. These items are becoming increasingly more prevalent in schools. Public policy is an appropriate method of curbing the growing incidence of childhood obesity, including the mandatory implementation of school wellness policies for all schools that participate in the NSLP. Many school districts have had success in implementing these programs, but implementation is difficult in low-income rural schools. The wellness programs with the greatest success have been those at the local level, such as the CATCH program in Texas and the Pathways program in American Indian communities. The federal government should be aggressive in creating more healthy school food environments, which might help reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity

Parametric Study of a 7◦ Half-Angle Cone with Highly-Swept Fins at Mach 6

Boundary-layer instability and transition was measured on a 7◦ cone with highly-swept fins at 0◦ angle of attack in a Mach-6 quiet tunnel. Effects of fin sweep angle, fin bluntness, and nosetip radius were assessed. Using temperature-sensitive paint and piezoelectric fast pressure transducers, transition was measured in all configurations. Some features present under quiet flow were not seen under noisy flow. Multiple streaks of heat transfer with peaks near 5 kW/m2 were noted on the cone surface. More streaks appeared and the streaks spread as the Reynolds number increased. Power spectral density plots were calculated from the pressure transducer data displaying two possible instabilities, one at low frequency and another at high frequency. Several heat-transfer streaks are also seen on the fin surface. The number of streaks appears invariant with Reynolds number. Increasing sweep, decreasing fin bluntness, and increasing nose radius delayed transition

Facing Death, Finding Life: Discipleship and Focus Change in the Church

This dissertation addresses the lack of focus on “others” within the Western Church and too much focus on “me.” The explosion of seeker-sensitive churches and the attractional model of church fuels churches feeling the need to be attractional to keep members happy. The attractional model would appear to be others-focused, but it seems to have had the opposite effect of creating a focus on “me and what I want” within the church. I believe that this has led to a decline in church membership. Field research and literature review support submitting recommendations on how a pastor in a Southern Baptist church can change the culture of the church from being inwardly-focused to focusing on others. Chapter 1 looks closely at the perceived lack of concern for others outside the church. I address focus change in the church and what leadership encounters while moving a church from an inward to an others focus. Additionally, the lack of discipleship within the church is explored. Chapter 2 reveals the biblical background of discipleship and how it was viewed in the Early Church. The Scriptural basis for discipleship is seen in how Jesus trained his disciples, as well as in the epistles where the focus on discipleship never wavers. Chapter 3 considers the different approaches taken in discipleship in Church history. The theological implications of a seeker versus discipleship model are also reviewed. Chapter 4 offers the results of field research with a group of pastors and leaders. I then review research from Pew and Barna, highlighted the problems existing within the Western church. Chapter 5 addresses the changes pastors can initiate to help their churches move toward discipleship and the ways pushback can be addressed. The pace at which these changes can happen, and what happens if a leader moves too quickly are also explained. Chapter 6 reviews the unintended negative impact of the attractional model versus the benefits of changing to the discipleship model

AN UNFINISHED MELODY: MENTAL ILLNESS, WORSHIP MUSIC, AND THE TENSION OF THE PENTECOSTAL “NOW” AND “NOT YET

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, it is estimated that nearly 20% of adults within the United States suffer from some form of mental illness.1 With roughly one-fifth, if not more, of the entire U.S. population facing a daily internal battle of some sort, this is an issue that is certainly elemental to the overarching purpose of the Church as an agent of reconciliation of creation with Creator. A prevalent problem requires prevalent solutions. What is something even more pervasive in every culture than mental health? Music. Melodies and lyrics are native to virtually every individual on earth. The field of neuroscience has begun to make headway in showing the positive correlation between listening to music and improved mental health. Also important to the conversation are positive psychology studies that illustrate the vitality of positive emotions in improving mental health. Worship in and of itself is essential to the DNA of the Church with one of its most common manifestations taking place in the form of song. With this in mind, the potential positive effects of worship music should be considered as a tool for those with mental illnesses. This paper explores the idea of worship, neuroscientific research indicating music’s effect on the brain, positive psychology’s emphasis on positive emotions, the role of lament, certain Biblical texts centered around worship, and current Pentecostal responses to mental illness. As summative illustrations, this paper interacts with insight gained on the use of worship music in a facility for sex trafficking survivors, as well as the Acts 16 story of Paul and Silas’ imprisonment. In conclusion, this paper argues that worship music is an effective vehicle with which individuals with mental illness can possibly experience the lessening of symptoms in addition to the presence of God based both upon scientific and Biblical bases

Using Place Attachment to Determine the Acceptability of Restoring Fire to Its Natural Role in Wilderness Ecosystems

This study was conducted to explore the social dimensions of wilderness fire management. I set out to answer the question what role does an individual’s attachment to place play in determining the acceptability of management actions directed towards fire? I feel that problems will arise if management agencies attempt to restore natural fire regimes to wilderness areas without accounting for the effects on meanings and values different people attach to landscapes. I used a qualitative method and conducted guided interviews with 27 people from three different groups: (1) fire and wilderness management personnel from the Bitterroot National Forest, (2) residents of the Bitterroot Valley, and (3) people who recreate in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness. I used an established framework for mapping place meanings to guide the analysis of this study. It identifies four different meanings people attach to places: (1) inherent/aesthetic, (2) instrumental/goal-directed, (3) cultural/symbolic and (4) individual/expressive meanings. The goal of each interview was to determine the meaning each individual attached to special places and whether they find the current approach to fire management acceptable. All four meanings were represented by the respondents, and a majority of them found the current approach to fire management in the SBW acceptable. They felt that fire is a natural and positive agent of change on the landscape and that to truly be Wilderness the Selway-Bitterroot should be characterized by a naturally occurring fire regime. Only two of the twenty-seven respondents in this study found the current approach to fire management in the SBW unacceptable. This study attempted to make it clear that accounting for meanings people attach to a particular landscape can be useful when managers are implementing new programs or prescriptive actions that may alter the physical conditions of a site. Wildland fire has the potential to significantly alter the conditions of places. The social impacts of these changes should be accounted for in the early stages of forest planning. It would be useful for managers to work closely with the public to identify special places and how they would like to see them managed. By doing this managers can gain acceptance for new programs