Phase transitions of nematic rubbers

Single crystal nematic elastomers undergo a transition from a strongly ordered phase N to an "isotropic" phase I. We show that: (a) samples produced under tension by the Finkelmann procedure are intrinsically anisotropic and should show a small (temperature dependent) birefringence in the high temperature I phase. (b) for the I->Ntransition via cooling there is a spinodal limit but for the N->I transition via heating there is no soft mode at the standard spinodal temperature. (c) the N->I transition is reminiscent of a martensitic transformation: nucleation of the I phase should occur in the form of platelets, making a well defined angle with the director.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures (To appear in Europhys. Lett.

Palestinian Refugees in Gaza

Events since Arthur Helton\u27s death - including the change in leadership of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli proposal for disengagement from Gaza make it even timelier to examine some practical solutions. For improving Palestinian lives in the short term, much can be learned from the approaches taken in other refugee situations. This Article begins with background information on Palestinian refugees in Gaza. It then discusses Israeli plans for disengagement from Gaza. In the following section, the Article reviews options for addressing the problems faced by Palestinian refugees in Gaza, utilizing the broader literature devoted to the integration of refugees and displaced persons in post-conflict and post-occupation societies. It concludes with an agenda of action for the international community, Palestinian Authority, and Israel

Utilization of VAS satellite data in the initialization of an oceanic-cyclogenesis simulation

A series of experiments was performed to test various method of incorporating Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer Atmospheric Sounder (VAS)-sounding data into the initial conditions of the Penn State University/National Center for Atmospheric mesoscale model. The VAS data for this ocean-cyclogenesis case consist of 110 irregularly distributed temperature and humidity soundings located over the North Pacific Ocean and apply at approximately 1200 GMT 10 November 1981. Various methods of utilizing VAS data in the initial condition of a mesoscale model were evaluated

Theory of photoferroelectric response in SmC* liquids

We are concerned with the modification of liquid crystalline and polar order in SmC* liquids by illumination. In particular we show that non-uniformity due to absorption and also dynamics, can be complex. The variation of polarization with temperature, while illuminated, is modified from that assuming uniformity. Apparent changes of polarization with illumination will be shown to be underestimated due to non-uniformity. The dynamics is shown to depend on propagating fronts of photo-conversion penetrating the sample.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figure

Giving and Creating: The Legacy of Keith J. Shapiro

(Excerpt) Some take; others give. Tonight’s honoree, Keith J. Shapiro, is a giver. Many of the giants in our field have received this award during its almost 20-year history, and each of them richly deserved it. But of all the recipients, Keith is the person most deserving of this particular award. This is, after all, the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal lifetime achievement award and Keith and the Journal are inextricably linked. Not only did this journal launch Keith’s lifetime of stellar bankruptcy achievement, but one of his achievements was pushing this Journal to the success and preeminence that it now enjoys. Keith has received many other lifetime achievement awards, and I have been honored to attend a few of those ceremonies. But the greatest honor for me is to be able to present him with this award because it completes the circle of Keith’s bankruptcy life

Conflicting Norms: Impact of the Model Law on Chapter 11\u27s Global Restructuring Role

(Excerpt) The Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency is said to embody the concept of modified universalism for cross-border insolvency matters. In a pure universalist system, a single proceeding would deal with all of the debtor’s assets and debts globally. This is in contrast to a purely territorial approach, where multiple local proceedings would be required; one in each jurisdiction where the debtor had assets or debts, but each limited to the assets and debts located in that jurisdiction. While universalism emphasizes the economic goals of insolvency theory – to maximize the value of the estate and minimize the expense of the process -- territorialism emphasizes (or at least recognizes) the sovereignty of the states where the assets of the debtor are located or the effects of the insolvency proceeding are felt. The modified universalist approach embodied in the Model Law reflects a compromise between the theory of universalism and the practical realities of the territorial sovereignty limitations on the effectiveness of any one state’s insolvency orders. It does this by accepting that there would be multiple proceedings in different states and then trying to reduce the inefficiencies that might create. Some of the inefficiencies can be reduced simply by communication and cooperation, but often the goal of maximizing value requires that there be a single plan for the resolution of the affairs of a single debtor. This requires coordination of the multiple proceedings pending in diverse jurisdictions. Coordination will often require that one of the local proceedings (the “main” proceeding) control the process and that the other proceedings (the “secondary” proceedings) defer to that proceeding. The Model Law accomplishes this by permitting the courts in an adopting jurisdiction to grant additional relief to a foreign representative from the main proceeding and encouraging deference to the main proceeding

Bankruptcy Reform and Economic Recovery

(Excerpt) In 2005, following years of intensive lobbying by the consumer credit industry, the focus of the consumer bankruptcy law was changed from the liberal debtor-focused fresh start approach embodied in the 1978 Bankruptcy Code to a creditor-focused can pay/must pay approach. Although the shift to a can pay/must pay system started years earlier to address perceived abuses, the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 ( BAPCPA ) completed that shift by engrafting onto the bankruptcy law a fairly strict and largely objective test for determining a debtor\u27s ability to repay debt and by setting forth channeling rules designed to force debtors with a perceived ability to repay some debt into a lengthy repayment plan. The focus of the debate about that change has been on the debtor. Proponents of the change have phrased the reforms in moralist terms. They tend to set forth a narrative of widespread moral failure among those debtors using the bankruptcy system, and they use morally charged terms like substantial abuse, rather than more neutral terms like eligibility to describe the debtors determined to have an ability to repay. Opponents of the change have similarly focused on the debtor, arguing that the indebtedness causing resort to the bankruptcy system does not equate to moral failings by debtors and focusing on the debtors\u27 need for relief from burdensome indebtedness. Largely missing from the debate is consideration of the possible macroeconomic effects of the 2005 BAPCPA changes to the bankruptcy law. The purpose of this brief essay is to explore the role that the consumer bankruptcy system plays in economic recovery after periods of economic recession like the current Great Recession. My thesis is that consumer bankruptcy policy plays an important role in economic recovery and that the shift to a can pay/must pay system will both dampen and delay recovery from economic recessions