EF Cultural Travel v. Explorica: The Protection of Confidential Commercial Information in the American and Canadian Contexts

Commercial information, once relegated to paper files stored in cabinets, is now more likely to be in digital form, allowing a myriad of people to access its contents. These electronic storehouses can subsequently be stored on the Internet, providing a handy but some- what risky means of archiving valuable information. The United States Court of Appeals (1st Circ.) judgment EF Cultural Travel v. Explorica1 is a clear indicator of the way in which the advent of the Internet has completely changed the constructive meaning of the traditional ‘‘office file’’. This paper attempts to provide an under- standing of the scope and potential impact on policy relating to confidential information and the use of Internet robots. In addition, this paper will provide an assessment of whether or not the same — or similar — facts of the Explorica decision could be successfully argued under all relevant and equivalent Canadian law relating to the protection of confidential commercial information

Sharing the vision:representing the matters of concern for design-led fledgling companies in Scotland

Design is being performed on an ever-increasing spectrum of complex practices arising in response to emerging markets and technologies, co-design, digital interaction, service design and cultures of innovation. This emerging notion of design has led to an expansive array of collaborative and facilitation skills to demonstrate and share how such methods can shape innovation. The meaning of these design things in practice can't be taken for granted as matters of fact, which raises a key challenge for design to represent its role through the contradictory nature of matters of concern. This paper explores an innovative, object-oriented approach within the field of design research, visually combining an actor-network theory framework with situational analysis, to report on the role of design for fledgling companies in Scotland, established and funded through the knowledge exchange hub Design in Action (DiA). Key findings and visual maps are presented from reflective discussions with actors from a selection of the businesses within DiA's portfolio. The suggestion is that any notions of strategic value, of engendering meaningful change, of sharing the vision of design, through design things, should be grounded in the reflexive interpretations of matters of concern that emerge

Perceptions of Cosmetic Alteration in Different Sized Attractive Women.

Two experimental phases examined the characteristics impacting the physical attractiveness stereotype and a potential stereotype shift. From reading a description of a hypothetical target, Phase 1 of this study revealed that participants considered an overweight attractive woman significantly more likely to help a friend in need and significantly more likely to become a friend than an underweight attractive woman. These findings provide understanding of how particular stereotypes may provide social benefits. In Phase 2, knowledge of the woman\u27s plans for liposuction, which was disclosed in a second description of the target, dramatically lowered the participants\u27 evaluations of her physical attractiveness, willingness to help a friend in need, and likelihood as a potential friend. The women\u27s ratings of the target\u27s willingness to help a friend dropped significantly more than the men\u27s ratings. These results indicate that evaluations of physically attractive women may decline if they choose to unnaturally alter their appearance

A Risk Reduction Education Intervention for Cardiovascular Risk Factors Among College Students

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the U.S. Although cardiovascular disease is often associated with middle aged and older adults, modifiable CVD risk factors are also present in young adults. PURPOSE: The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether a cardiovascular risk reduction educational intervention delivered via Facebook is feasible and effective for modifying risk factor reduction such as decreased body mass index and increased fruit/vegetable consumption among college students. METHODS: This study involved the use of pre-test and post-test surveys modified from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to determine intervention effectiveness. A once weekly cardiovascular risk reduction education memes, video clip, or text related to body mass index and/or fruit/vegetable consumption was posted publicly on the private Facebook page. In addition, the treatment group received a once weekly private message that had an additional cardiovascular risk reduction education meme, video clip, or text related to body mass index and/or fruit/vegetable consumption. RESULTS: Fourteen students participated in the study. The average body mass indexes were 23.02/23.07 pre-test/post-test for the intervention group and 25.97/25.61 pre-test/post-test for the control group. The average daily number of servings of fruits/vegetables was 3.14 both pre-test/post-test for the intervention group and 3.43/3.58 pre-test/post-test for the control group. There were no significant differences observed between the intervention group and the control group with regards to changes in BMI or fruit/vegetable consumption amounts from pre-test to post-test

A comparison of multiple intelligence preferences and performance on standardized tests

The purpose of this study was to look for correlations between levels of preference for multiple intelligences and performance rates on standardized tests, as determined by utilizing the Teele Inventory of Multiple Intelligences and standardized test scores. The research was conducted in small rural elementary school in southern New Jersey where the researcher was the art teacher. The sample consisted of the entire fifth grade class (n= 64) who provided parental consent and had the necessary test scores available. Students completed the Teele Inventory of Multiple Intelligence by viewing a series of paired images of panda bears involved in various activities. Students selected the image that best represented them and from their selections multiple intelligence levels of preference were determined on a scale from 0-8 for each of Howard Gardner\u27s seven multiple intelligence. These scaled scores were correlated with student\u27s standardized test scores on the Reading and Math sections of the New Jersey Ask-4 utilizing a Spearman-Rho nonparametric correlation. There were no correlations between any of the multiple intelligence preferences and standardized testing scores, nor between the multiple intelligences themselves. The major implication of the study was that student preference and ability are not interconnected

A framework for the natures of negativity in introductory physics

Mathematical reasoning skills are a desired outcome of many introductory physics courses, particularly calculus-based physics courses. Positive and negative quantities are ubiquitous in physics, and the sign carries important and varied meanings. Novices can struggle to understand the many roles signed numbers play in physics contexts, and recent evidence shows that unresolved struggle can carry over to subsequent physics courses. The mathematics education research literature documents the cognitive challenge of conceptualizing negative numbers as mathematical objects--both for experts, historically, and for novices as they learn. We contribute to the small but growing body of research in physics contexts that examines student reasoning about signed quantities and reasoning about the use and interpretation of signs in mathematical models. In this paper we present a framework for categorizing various meanings and interpretations of the negative sign in physics contexts, inspired by established work in algebra contexts from the mathematics education research community. Such a framework can support innovation that can catalyze deeper mathematical conceptualizations of signed quantities in the introductory courses and beyond

River Characteristics as an Indicator of Climate Change in the Reese River Valley

In drylands, the abundance and health of the vegetation in riparian areas can serve as an indicator for the state of the local water quantity. These areas consist of vegetation growing in proximity to a water source that is therefore greatly affected by changes to that source, such as decreased input due to human alteration or climate change. In the Reese River Valley of Nevada, the driest state in the US, within one generation members of the Shoshone Yomba tribe have reported noticeable changes to the landscape and its water supply. A lack of available data from stream gauges and updated aerial imagery hinders research in the area. In such cases, changes in river characteristics such as the measured areas of riparian coverage, sandbars, and the active water channel can be used as proxies for surface water supply. Increasing total areas of sandbars and decreasing total areas of riparian vegetation and the active water channel over time, can signal changes in the surface water supply in the Valley and may be evident of climate change. In this project, I use Google Earth imagery from 2010, 2013, and 2016 to digitize sandbars, riparian vegetation, and active water channel and ArcGIS Pro to calculate the total areas from each year of the Reese River within the Yomba reservation to assess measurable changes to the landscape. The greatest changes occurred between 2010- 2013, with a decrease in riparian and an increase in sandbar areas, reflecting concerns in a decreased water supply in the valley

Genetic heterogeneity of residual variance in broiler chickens

Aims were to estimate the extent of genetic heterogeneity in environmental variance. Data comprised 99 535 records of 35-day body weights from broiler chickens reared in a controlled environment. Residual variance within dam families was estimated using ASREML, after fitting fixed effects such as genetic groups and hatches, for each of 377 genetically contemporary sires with a large number of progeny ($>$100 males or females each). Residual variance was computed separately for male and female offspring, and after correction for sampling, strong evidence for heterogeneity was found, the standard deviation between sires in within variance amounting to 15–18% of its mean. Reanalysis using log-transformed data gave similar results, and elimination of 2–3% of outlier data reduced the heterogeneity but it was still over 10%. The correlation between estimates for males and females was low, however. The correlation between sire effects on progeny mean and residual variance for body weight was small and negative (-0.1). Using a data set bigger than any yet presented and on a trait measurable in both sexes, this study has shown evidence for heterogeneity in the residual variance, which could not be explained by segregation of major genes unless very few determined the trait