Nonsense and the Freedom of Speech: What Meaning Means for the First Amendment

A great deal of everyday expression is, strictly speaking, nonsense. But courts and scholars have done little to consider whether or why such meaningless speech, like nonrepresentational art, falls within “the freedom of speech.” If, as many suggest, meaning is what separates speech from sound and expression from conduct, then the constitutional case for nonsense is complicated. And because nonsense is so common, the case is also important — artists like Lewis Carroll and Jackson Pollock are not the only putative “speakers” who should be concerned about the outcome. This Article is the first to explore thoroughly the relationship between nonsense and the freedom of speech; in doing so, it suggests ways to determine what “meaning” means for First Amendment purposes. The Article begins by demonstrating the scope and constitutional salience of meaningless speech, showing that nonsense is multifarious, widespread, and sometimes intertwined with traditional First Amendment values like autonomy, the marketplace of ideas, and democracy. The second part of the Article argues that exploring nonsense can illuminate the meaning of meaning itself. This, too, is an important task, for although free speech discourse often relies on the concept of meaning to chart the Amendment’s scope, courts and scholars have done relatively little to establish what it entails. Analytic philosophers, meanwhile, have spent the past century doing little else. Their efforts — echoes of which can already be heard in First Amendment doctrine — suggest that free speech doctrine is best served by finding meaning in the way words are used, rather than in their relationship to extra-linguistic concepts

Access management for road hauliers and rail operators in intermodal freight terminals

A pivotal element in the transport industry, intermodal freight transport, is rather complex due to the numerous transport modes and actors involved. Terminal operators in intermodal freight transport face major challenges to provide seamless flows of containers via their terminals. Seamless flows are achievable by bridging gaps between large-scale transport operators (e.g. shipping lines) and small-scale transport operators (e.g. road hauliers and rail operators). Effective access processes can not only bridge those gaps but also contribute to decreasing turnaround times for trucks and trains. By applying the access processes, small-scale transport operators can receive access to specific resources in terminals. An effective access process can be achieved when transport resources (e.g. trucks and truck drivers) can be managed together with terminal resources (e.g. straddle carriers and straddle carrier drivers). In this thesis, such management is termed access management, defined as managing the process by which actors access resources at terminals. Guided by that concept, the thesis seeks to increase the understanding of how access management for road hauliers and rail operators in intermodal freight terminals can contribute to decreasing turnaround times for trucks and trains.The thesis is a compilation of five papers reporting studies that involved literature reviews, interviews, focus groups, participant observations and time measurements. Whereas the literature reviews focused on the topics of access management and information exchange, the collected data were analysed by implementing several analytical frameworks developed for the thesis. The results of using those frameworks clarified how effective access to resources at intermodal freight terminals can be managed, especially by explaining four dynamics: (1) how different information services can contribute to decreasing turnaround times for trucks and trains, (2) how those services can affect activity performance and resource utilisation, (3) how the required and most relevant attributes of information can be exchanged in real time among actors involved and (4) how and when such attributes need to be automatically collected and exchanged. Following from those results, the chief finding is that terminal operators can effectively manage transport and terminal processes, as well as decrease turnaround for trucks and trains, by using access management services that allow exchanging information in real time. From the empirical findings of the studies conducted, six propositions are formulated and justified

Exchange parameters and adiabatic magnon energies from spin-spiral calculations

We present a method of extracting the exchange parameters of the classical Heisenberg model from first-principles calculations of spin-spiral total energies based on density functional theory. The exchange parameters of the transition-metal monoxides MnO and NiO are calculated and used to estimate magnetic properties such as transition temperatures and magnon energies. Furthermore we show how to relate the magnon energies directly to differences in spin-spiral total energies for systems containing an arbitrary number of magnetic sublattices. This provides a comparison between magnon energies using a finite number of exchange parameters and the infinite limit

Automatic information exchange between interoperable information systems: Potential improvement of access management in a seaport terminal

The purpose of this paper is to explore how and when the most beneficial and cost effective information attributes can be automatically exchanged between interoperable information systems of a seaport terminal operator, a road haulier, and a rail operator to potentially improve their access management. The automatically exchange of the attributes is dependent on interoperability between information systems of the involved actors. The interoperability is achieved through a developed application programming interface in this study. This case study adds to prior research by developing a cost-benefits analysis that categorises the attributes (from low cost / low benefit to high cost / high benefit) involving four strategies: data farming, dedicated information exchange, opportunistic information exchange, and avoiding information exchange. These four strategies are important in identifying when to collect the information attributes automatically to facilitate real-time decision-making and in turn potentially improve the access management for the involved actors. is developed in this case study to enable interoperability between the information systems of involved actors. As a change management tool, the cost-benefit analysis can also be used to identify and support transformation of attributes from one category to another. The empirical study included nine workshops resulting in the identification of the most beneficial and cost effective information attributes: deviation information, direction, driver ID, estimated time of arrival, goods priority information, intermodal transport unit (ITU) ID, ITU status, opening hours, shipment ID, and vehicle ID. The attributes must be automatically exchanged according to three identified time phases: one week before, one day before, and two hours before the ITUs are to be picked up at the terminal. By exchanging these attributes between the interoperable actors\ub4 information systems, there is potential for reducing the actors\ub4 turnaround times, increasing their access reliability, access precision, and access flexibility. Finally, two propositions are formulated from the empirical findings and in relation to prior research results

Work productivity in a population-based cohort of patients with spondyloarthritis.

Objective. To assess work productivity and associated factors in patients with SpA.Methods. This cross-sectional postal survey included 1773 patients with SpA identified in a regional health care register. Items on presenteeism (reduced productivity at work, 0-100%, 0 = no reduction) were answered by 1447 individuals. Absenteeism was defined as register-based sick leave using data from a national register. Disease duration, disease activity (BASDAI), physical function (BASFI), health-related quality of life (EQ-5D), anxiety (HAD-a), depression (HAD-d), self-efficacy [Arthritis Self-efficacy Scale (ASES) pain and symptom], physical activity and education were also measured.Results. Forty-five per cent reported reduced productivity at work with a mean reduction of 20% (95% CI 18, 21) and women reported a higher mean reduction than men (mean 23% vs 17%, P < 0.001). Worse quality of life, disease activity, physical function and anxiety all correlated with reduced productivity (r = 0.52-0.66, P < 0.001), while sick leave did not. Worse outcomes on the EQ-5D (β-est -9.6, P < 0.001), BASDAI (β-est 7.8, P < 0.001), BASFI (β-est 7.3, P < 0.001), ASES pain (β-est -0.5, P < 0.001) and HAD-d (β-est 3.4, P < 0.001) were associated with reduced productivity at work in patients with SpA regardless of age, gender and disease subgroup. ASES symptoms, HAD-a and education level <12 years were associated with reduced productivity but were not significant in all strata for age, gender and disease subgroup.Conclusion. Work productivity was reduced in patients with SpA and more so in women. Worse quality of life, disease activity, physical function, self-efficacy and depression were all associated with reduced productivity at work in patients with SpA

Comparative Analysis of European Examples of Freight Electric Vehicles Schemes—A Systematic Case Study Approach with Examples from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK.

E-Mobility is a hot topic, in the public policy area as well as in business and scientific communities. Literature on electric freight transport is still relatively scarce. Urban freight transport is considered as one of the most promising fields of application of vehicle electrification, and there are on-going demonstration projects. This paper will discuss case study examples of electric freight vehicle initiatives in Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK and identify enablers and barriers for common trends

Placental weight centiles adjusted for age, parity and fetal sex

Introduction The weight of the placenta can be indicative of efficacy in nutrient and oxygen supply. Furthermore, it has been suggested that a measure of the placenta's ability to adequately supply nutrients to the fetus can be found in the relationship between birth weight and placental weight expressed as a ratio. Our aim was to develop age adjusted placenta weight and birth weight to placenta weight ratio reference curves that are stratified by maternal parity and fetal sex. Methods We included singleton, non-anomalous births with a gestational age inclusive of 28 + 0 weeks to 42 + 6 weeks. Excluded were pregnancies of multiplicity, fetuses with congenital abnormalities, stillbirths and pregnancies that had placental complications (ie placenta previa or abruption). Generalised additive model for location, shape and scale (GAMLSS) was used to fit reference curves. Results We stratified 97,882 pregnancies by maternal nulliparity status and fetal sex. Extensive assessment model goodness-of-fit showed appropriate modeling and accurate fit to the four parameters of distribution. Our results show accurate model fit of the reference curves to the data. We demonstrated that the influence that parity has on the placenta weight is far greater than that exerted by fetal sex, and that the difference is dependent on gestational age. Discussion This is the largest presentation of age and parity adjusted placenta weight and feto-placental weight ratio reference ranges to date. The difference observed between nulliparous and multiparous pregnancies could be explained by biological memory and the remnants of maternal endo-myometrial vascularity after the first pregnancy.publishedVersio

Assessing the Causal Relationship of Maternal Height on Birth Size and Gestational Age at Birth : A Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Background Observational epidemiological studies indicate that maternal height is associated with gestational age at birth and fetal growth measures (i.e., shorter mothers deliver infants at earlier gestational ages with lower birth weight and birth length). Different mechanisms have been postulated to explain these associations. This study aimed to investigate the casual relationships behind the strong association of maternal height with fetal growth measures (i.e., birth length and birth weight) and gestational age by a Mendelian randomization approach. Methods and Findings We conducted a Mendelian randomization analysis using phenotype and genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data of 3,485 mother/infant pairs from birth cohorts collected from three Nordic countries (Finland, Denmark, and Norway). We constructed a genetic score based on 697 SNPs known to be associated with adult height to index maternal height. To avoid confounding due to genetic sharing between mother and infant, we inferred parental transmission of the height-associated SNPs and utilized the haplotype genetic score derived from nontransmitted alleles as a valid genetic instrument for maternal height. In observational analysis, maternal height was significantly associated with birth length (p = 6.31 x 10(-9)), birth weight (p = 2.19 x 10(-15)), and gestational age (p = 1.51 x 10(-7)). Our parental-specific haplotype score association analysis revealed that birth length and birth weight were significantly associated with the maternal transmitted haplotype score as well as the paternal transmitted haplotype score. Their association with the maternal nontransmitted haplotype score was far less significant, indicating a major fetal genetic influence on these fetal growth measures. In contrast, gestational age was significantly associated with the nontransmitted haplotype score (p = 0.0424) and demonstrated a significant (p = 0.0234) causal effect of every 1 cm increase in maternal height resulting in similar to 0.4 more gestational d. Limitations of this study include potential influences in causal inference by biological pleiotropy, assortative mating, and the nonrandom sampling of study subjects. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that the observed association between maternal height and fetal growth measures (i.e., birth length and birth weight) is mainly defined by fetal genetics. In contrast, the association between maternal height and gestational age is more likely to be causal. In addition, our approach that utilizes the genetic score derived from the nontransmitted maternal haplotype as a genetic instrument is a novel extension to the Mendelian randomization methodology in casual inference between parental phenotype (or exposure) and outcomes in offspring.Peer reviewe