Fox Hunting, Pheasant Shooting and Comparative Law

The Roman jurists, ancient rabbis and Muslim jurists were very different people. Above all, the rabbis and Muslim jurists were engaged on a search for law as truth. And the Roman jurists were much more obviously upper-class gentlemen.91 But the similarities are great. All three had a passion for legal interpretation. They delighted in discussing hypothetical cases. They chased after solutions by ways of reasoning devised by themselves. Practical utility, while present, was in the background. At times, to outsiders, their opinions seem outr6, even callous, remote from reality. They have little interest in what actually happens in court: their texts do not smell of the courtroom even when they invent new devices. They do not seek to devise a system of law. Nor do they propose radical reform. They write for those interested in the same issues as themselves. This article is a comparison of Roman and Islamic Law

Performance Evaluation of Inverted Tee (IT) Bridge System

The Inverted Tee (IT) girder bridge system was originally developed in 1996 by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (UNL) researchers and Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) engineers. This bridge system currently accounts for over 110 bridges in Nebraska used for both state highways and local county roads. Extensive longitudinal and transverse deck cracking have been observed and noted in numerous bridge inspection reports. Since the IT girder bridge system is relatively new, limited data and knowledge exist on its structural performance and behavior. This study evaluates the IT girder bridge system by conducting twenty field observations as well as recording accelerometer, strain gauge, and LVDT time histories and lidar scans for a selected subset of these bridges and then a three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted. The field observations included visual inspection for damage and developing deck crack maps to identify a trend for the damage. System identification of the bridge deck and girders helped investigate the global and local structural responses, respectively. Operational modal analysis quantified the natural frequencies, damping ratios, and operational deflected shapes for the instrumented IT girder bridges. These results helped diagnose the reason for the longitudinal deck cracking. The IT girders respond non- uniformly for the first operational deflected shape and independently for higher modes. Two comparable bridges, namely one slab and one NU girder bridge, were instrumented to verify and demonstrate that the IT girder behavior is unique. An advanced geospatial analysis was conducted for the IT girder bridges to develop lidar depth maps of the deck and girders elevations. These depth maps help identify locations of potential water/chloride penetration and girders set at various elevations and/or where the deck thickness is non-uniform. Live load tests helped quantify the transverse dynamic behavior of the bridge girders. Quantifying the transverse dynamic behavior helped validate the source of longitudinal deck cracking in IT girder bridges, which was determined to be the differential deflection between adjacent IT girders. The FEA analysis was conducted to evaluate the live load moment and shear distribution factors and compare that to the predicted values calculated from the AASHTO Standard and LRFD bridge design specifications. The comparison indicated that the predicted distribution factors were conservative. Also, interviews with IT bridge producers and contractors were conducted to determine production and construction advantages and challenges of this bridge system

The Extreme Small Scales: Do Satellite Galaxies Trace Dark Matter?

We investigate the radial distribution of galaxies within their host dark matter halos by modeling their small-scale clustering, as measured in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Specifically, we model the Jiang et al. (2011) measurements of the galaxy two-point correlation function down to very small projected separations (10 < r < 400 kpc/h), in a wide range of luminosity threshold samples (absolute r-band magnitudes of -18 up to -23). We use a halo occupation distribution (HOD) framework with free parameters that specify both the number and spatial distribution of galaxies within their host dark matter halos. We assume that the first galaxy in each halo lives at the halo center and that additional satellite galaxies follow a radial density profile similar to the dark matter Navarro-Frenk-White (NFW) profile, except that the concentration and inner slope are allowed to vary. We find that in low luminosity samples, satellite galaxies have radial profiles that are consistent with NFW. M_r < -20 and brighter satellite galaxies have radial profiles with significantly steeper inner slopes than NFW (we find inner logarithmic slopes ranging from -1.6 to -2.1, as opposed to -1 for NFW). We define a useful metric of concentration, M_(1/10), which is the fraction of satellite galaxies (or mass) that are enclosed within one tenth of the virial radius of a halo. We find that M_(1/10) for low luminosity satellite galaxies agrees with NFW, whereas for luminous galaxies it is 2.5-4 times higher, demonstrating that these galaxies are substantially more centrally concentrated within their dark matter halos than the dark matter itself. Our results therefore suggest that the processes that govern the spatial distribution of galaxies, once they have merged into larger halos, must be luminosity dependent, such that luminous galaxies become poor tracers of the underlying dark matter.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, Accepted to Ap

Information Systems Research That Really Matters: Beyond the IS Rigor Versus Relevance Debate

Few would refute the view that information systems have and will continue to make significant impacts on our societies. There is almost no area of human endeavor that has been untouched by information technology-based information systems. In some areas, IS has had a positive effect (finding survivors after natural disasters such as the Tsunami), while in others, the misuse of IS has aided in awe-inspiring destruction (the 9/11 attacks were planned, coordinated, and executed using a wide range of technology infrastructures). The instances of disasters and emergencies are only one example of areas of human endeavor where the role of IS is salient. Other examples of critical areas include modernizing healthcare delivery, improving social development in underdeveloped nations, and improving the quality of life. Given the continuing certainty of disasters, emergencies, and other societal needs, one would expect IS research and researchers to be the most sought-after sources of expertise and knowledge on critical problems of our society. However, this is not always the case. The goal of this panel is to commence a debate on how best to move the IS research agenda forward with a view to making significant impacts in society. For research to make a significant impact on society, it must be not only rigorous and relevant, but also show concern for pressing problems of our society. While the panel members believe in the broader role of IS researchers in society, they disagree on how best to move IS research ahead in order to have significant impact. Do we need to do some in-house cleaning (e.g., do a better job of making IS research attractive to IS practitioners) within the IS research domain before we are ready to target a more-diverse group of stakeholders? Do we need to move to a research model where the emphasis is on cutting-edge industry projects? Or is the answer to be found in considering a broader range of problems (e.g., problems with broader societal impact)? The panel members will also address the pragmatic issues (e.g., research funding, promotion and tenure issues, senior leadership, etc.) involved in encouraging the IS academy to accept and conduct such research

Decontamination of chilli flakes in a fluidized bed using combined technologies: infrared, UV and ozone

An initial study of the combination of IR, UV and ozone on treating raw and artificially inoculated chilli flakes (CF, Capsicum annum L) was assessed using a specially designed fluidised bed system, in a fused quartz tube, using a distributor plate and filtered air, to keep the CF in an air suspension. The untreated samples, as bought, were contaminated with ~4 × 105 cfu/g, they were subsequently autoclaved, and inoculated with Escherchia coli (MG1655). The individual treatments were all effective in reducing the bioburden with log reduction and treatment times ~6 logs (cfu/g) in ≤20 min for ozone (300 mgO3hr−1); ~7 logs (cfu/g) in ≤40 min, for UV (4 W); and ~7 logs (cfu/g) in ≤20 min, for IR (100 W); for stationary air with ozone, and an airflow of 108 Lmin−1 with UV and IR treatment. The IR was modulated so that the external tube temperature was 58–60 °C. The treatment order was more effective for the IR and UV followed by ozone, than ozone followed by UV and IR (ozone, 10 min, UV and IR 10 min combined), this was due to the higher intial reduction of the UV and IR (0.80 log (cfu/g)) than with ozone first (0.13 log (cfu/g)). Such decontamination systems could be used efficiently when conveying the spices, just prior to aseptic packaging

Evaluation of alternative solvents in common amide coupling reactions : replacement of dichloromethane and N,N-dimethylformamide

A range of alternative solvents have been evaluated within amidation reactions employing common coupling reagents with a view to identifying suitable replacements for dichloromethane and N,N-dimethylformamid

Management of the Rectal Stump after Subtotal Colectomy Operations for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the Era of Immunologic Therapy : A Two-Centre Cohort Study

Funding Sources The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

Revising ethical guidance for the evaluation of programmes and interventions not initiated by researchers

Public health and service delivery programmes, interventions and policies (collectively, “programmes)” are typically developed and implemented for the primary purpose of effecting change rather than generating knowledge. Nonetheless, evaluations of these programmes may produce valuable learning that helps to determine effectiveness and costs as well as informing design and implementation of future programmes. Such studies might be termed “opportunistic evaluations”, since they are responsive to emergent opportunities rather than being studies of interventions that are initiated or designed by researchers. However, current ethical guidance and registration procedures make little allowance for scenarios where researchers have played no role in the development or implementation of a programme, but nevertheless plan to conduct a prospective evaluation. We explore the limitations of the guidance and procedures with respect to opportunistic evaluations, providing a number of examples. We propose that the key missing distinction in current guidance is that moral responsibility: researchers can only be held accountable for those aspects of a study over which they have control. We argue that requiring researchers to justify an intervention, programme or policy that would occur regardless of their involvement prevents or hinders research in the public interest without providing any further protections to research participants. We recommend that trial consent and ethics procedures allow for a clear separation of responsibilities for the intervention and the evaluation.SIW and RJL are funded by the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Improving Health in Slums. CT, PJC and RJL are also supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership for Applied Health Research Care (CLAHRC) West Midlands initiative. EBW and ELD are employed by Partners In Health. MD-W is supported by the Health Foundation’s grant to the University of Cambridge for The Healthcare Improvement Studies (THIS) Institute. THIS Institute is supported by the Health Foundation - an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK. This work was also supported by MDW’s Wellcome Trust Investigator award WT09789. MDW is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator. This paper presents independent research and the views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Healt

Beyond Rigor and Relevance Towards Responsibility and Reverberation: Information Systems Research That Really Matters

This paper is an outcome of a panel discussion that was held during the 2005 International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS). The panel, titled, IS Research that Really Matters: Beyond the IS Rigor - Relevance Debate, was organized to foster a discussion on conducting IS research that is significant, in terms of impact, and responsible to the needs of stakeholders. To this end, panel members were asked to push the debate on IS research beyond the traditional arguments of rigor and relevance in research towards IS research that reverberates and is responsible. In doing so, the panel members shared their views on the definition of significant research, who are the stakeholders of IS research and what are their needs, and how do we move the field ahead