Chain reaction: The tragedy of atomic governance

An unprecedented combination of imagination and capital resulted in the most profound, and profane, achievement in modern history--the atom bomb--but the strategies that empowered its development caused inestimable suffering in peacetime America. Discrete practices of secrecy, media manipulation, and the devaluation of scientific opinion evolved and coalesced during the cold war, permeating institutions and pre-empting any protection of the unwary from exposure to radioactive fallout. While the atomic testing program and its consequences are often considered in light of national policy, this analysis alternatively reveals the character, fusion, and trajectory of practices that culminated in the collision of the government with the health and lives of the innocent

The Alliance Against Disarmament: The Atomic Energy Commission, The National Security Council, and The Joint Chiefs of Staff

Of the discussions that took place at the highest policy levels during the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, those concerning the possibility of a diplomatic solution to the arms race with the Soviet Union were among the most urgent and, perhaps, the most consequential in their failure. In the United States, members of the Eisenhower cabinet and other agencies and departments analyzed and addressed the consequences of various diplomatic proposals. Throughout that assessment phase, the National Security Council, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Atomic Energy Commission joined in steadfast opposition to arms limitations. On the international plane, the United Nations and allies of each country, fearing the worst, urged compromise. Nevertheless, the United States and the Soviet Union ultimately rejected every possible diplomatic solution over the issue of verifiability, arguing that any procedure to monitor compliance would violate their respective national security. Rhetorical sparring and enmity grew as the international community brought ever more pressure to bear upon the two superpowers and confrontation seemed ever more likely. As a result, efforts to limit the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union actually led to an escalation of weapons development and experimentation. The costs of that escalation were enormous—in terms of budgets and lives: the development and display of atomic and particularly hydrogen weapons by both nations resulted in radioactive material contaminating, in the form of fallout, every region of the globe

Learning Through Intradepartmental Scholarship In The History 251 Milestone

The History Department established HIST 251 in 1996 to supply students with the opportunity to acquire and develop the methodological skills and habits of critical thinking and analysis considered essential for student success.https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/btp_expo/1047/thumbnail.jp

Promising Payment Reform: Risk-Sharing With Accountable Care Organizations

Describes the implementation of shared payer-provider risk payment models at eight private accountable care organizations. Analyzes challenges for providers, purchasers, and payers, including securing the infrastructure for successful risk management

Atomic governance: Militarism, secrecy, and science in post-war America, 1945-1958

This history of America\u27s post-World War II atomic program examines the institutional impulses that drove its evolution from 1945 through the 1958 moratorium on atmospheric weapons testing. Based on archival research and methodologies borrowed from sociologists and legal theorists, it focuses on the motivations of and decisions made by military officers, program managers and affiliates in the private sector, their relationships, and the alliances they formed with congressmen. This analysis identifies a two-stage process of self-interested decision-making through which the armed forces, seeking to mitigate postwar loss of funding and influence, gained de facto control of the atomic program that it maintained throughout the atmospheric era. During Militarization (1945-1948), officers capitalized on the political instrumentality of weapons testing at Operation Crossroads and benefited from the organizational expertise of Manhattan administrators, consolidating their authority and monopolizing program resources and production. This culminated in Atomic Governance (1949-1958), when officers, pro-military program officials, affiliates, and congressmen combined their institutional and political influence to marginalize the civilian authority of the Atomic Energy Act. During both phases, officers used strategies of control adopted from the Manhattan Project to deceive elected officials and the public about the hazards of testing and the utility of nuclear weapons. These findings significantly revise the standard Cold War narrative of atomic testing. First, the significant turning points and officers\u27 use of strategies of control demonstrate that it was not national security imperatives, but the combined effects of self-interested behavior by historical actors with their own institutional goals that most influenced the program\u27s development. Second, the way the armed forces used the program shows that it was the engine, and not an aspect, of Cold War mobilization. Third, the hazards of the program were not due to ignorance but rather understanding of the boundaries between dosages known to cause acute injury and those expected to cause illness only in the long term. Officers and officials used that scientific knowledge to conduct tests they expected would cause illness years later, but would not result in immediate, acute injury

An Analysis of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting

The purpose of this thesis is to present an overview of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and CSR reporting. The research done in preparation of this report was done by reviewing articles and professional reports and surveys on the topic of CSR. The report defines CSR and examines several surveys of businesses to see what the current CSR trends are. Next, government initiatives and expenditures related to CSR are described and quantified. The report continues by describing the benefits and format of CSR reporting and attestation. Other areas of business and CSR are studied such as CSR investing and consulting. Lastly, CSR is examined from global and ethical standpoints, and the unintended consequences of CSR are examined. The conclusion of this thesis is that CSR has made a place for itself in today’s business world. Though there is a large debate surrounding it, businesses should be prepared to consider CSR, CSR reporting, and CSR attestation

Adhesion of volcanic ash particles under controlled conditions and implications for their deposition in gas turbines

A particular (representative) type of ash has been used in this study, having a particle size range of ~10-70 µm. Experimental particle adhesion rate data are considered in conjunction with CFD modeling of particle velocities and temperatures. This ash becomes soft above ~700˚C and it has been confirmed that a sharp increase is observed in the likelihood of adhesion as particle temperatures move into this range. Particle size is important and those in the approximate range 10-30 µm are most likely to adhere. This corresponds fairly closely with the size range that is most likely to enter a combustion chamber and turbine.This work forms part of a research programme funded by EPSRC (EP/K027530/1). In conjunction with this project, a consortium of partners has been set up under the PROVIDA ("PROtection against Volcanic ash Induced Damage in Aeroengines") banner and information about its operation is available at http://www.ccg.msm.cam.ac.uk/initiatives/provida. The invaluable assistance of Kevin Roberts (Materials Department in Cambridge) with operation of the plasma spray facility is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Margaret Hartley, of the University of Manchester, for kindly collecting the Laki ash (and several other types) during field trips to Iceland, which were funded by EasyJet.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adem.201500371 In compliance with current EPSRC requirements, input data for the modelling described in this paper, including meshing and boundary condition specifications, are available at the following URL: www.ccg.msm.cam.ac.uk/publications/resources. These files can be downloaded and used in COMSOL Multiphysics packages. Data supplied are for a representative case

Effects of clinical pathways in the joint replacement: a meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the use of clinical pathways for hip and knee joint replacements when compared with standard medical care. The impact of clinical pathways was evaluated assessing the major outcomes of in-hospital hip and knee joint replacement processes: postoperative complications, number of patients discharged at home, length of in-hospital stay and direct costs.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medline, Cinahl, Embase and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched. The search was performed from 1975 to 2007. Each study was assessed independently by two reviewers. The assessment of methodological quality of the included studies was based on the Jadad methodological approach and on the New Castle Ottawa Scale. Data analysis abided by the guidelines set out by The Cochrane Collaboration regarding statistical methods. Meta-analyses were performed using RevMan software, version 4.2.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty-two studies met the study inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis for a total sample of 6,316 patients. The aggregate overall results showed significantly fewer patients suffering postoperative complications in the clinical pathways group when compared with the standard care group. A shorter length of stay in the clinical pathway group was also observed and lower costs during hospital stay were associated with the use of the clinical pathways. No significant differences were found in the rates of discharge to home.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of this meta-analysis show that clinical pathways can significantly improve the quality of care even if it is not possible to conclude that the implementation of clinical pathways is a cost-effective process, because none of the included studies analysed the cost of the development and implementation of the pathways. Based on the results we assume that pathways have impact on the organisation of care if the care process is structured in a standardised way, teams critically analyse the actual organisation of the process and the multidisciplinary team is highly involved in the re-organisation. Further studies should focus on the evaluation of pathways as complex interventions to help to understand which mechanisms within the clinical pathways can really improve the quality of care. With the need for knee and hip joint replacement on the rise, the use of clinical pathways might contribute to better quality of care and cost-effectiveness.</p

Present Church: Ecclesial Adolescence in the Twenty-First Century and Annual Re-Appraisal at Northland Village Church

The goal of this study was to consider a small worshipping community, Northland Village Church (NVC), as it enters its second decade, and whether and how it can pursue a commitment to reconciliation in the US in the twenty-first century. NVC’s seed verses, 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, claim that God has reconciled and is reconciling the world to Godself through Christ. Within the ongoing nature of that work, a worshipping community is given the ministry of reconciliation whereby to participate in, and be subject to, God’s activity in Christ through the guidance of the Spirit. In order to do this with integrity and coherence, this study outlines a theology of being present, such that a worshipping community, in a spatial, temporal, physical, and relational sense, is present with God, neighbor, and the worshipping community itself. Furthermore, it argues that being present requires a continuously reforming posture, wherein the worshipping community is attentive and responsive to the impact of being present with those three entities. A theology of being present is the way by which a reconciling community can allow itself to be reconciled, and, therefore, this transitional existence is both the means and the goal of faithful commitment to the role of God’s people. Approaching this with attention to the needs of the community specifically and humanity generally and a Spirit-led liberative and creatively disruptive hermeneutic of Scripture ensures that the progression will be in keeping with God’s Kingdom’s advance. This study concludes that a reconciling worshipping community will allow its understanding of itself, its neighbor, and God, as well as its actions and principles, to be continuously subject to God’s work of reconciliation. A regular re-appraisal session for NVC is thus proposed and included