Generalized Newton-Raphson trajectory optimization-generator 1

Computer program constructs a sequence of optimal solutions to dynamically-approximate linear equations. Specification of the number and type of subarcs in the optimal solution allows simultaneous satisfaction of all switching criteria

Lost in Translation: The Accidental Origins of Bond v. United States

One of the unusual features of cases about the constitutionality of federal statutes is that they are nearly always foreseeable. Even before the bill’s introduction in Congress, lawmakers are often aware that they are inviting a federal lawsuit. Anticipating a legal challenge, legislators and their staffs attempt to predict the courts’ views of the statute and adapt the bill accordingly. Generally speaking, the bigger the bill’s potential constitutional impact, the more foreseeable the resulting case. By this logic, jurists should have seen the constitutional issues in Bond v. United States from a mile away. In reality, they were foreseen by virtually no one. Bond addresses the constitutionality of a high-profile act of Congress, the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998 (hereinafter the “Act” or the “Implementation Act”). The Act domesticizes the Chemical Weapons Convention (“CWC”), a global treaty concluded in 1993, which the United States joined four years later. The CWC is expressly aimed at stopping the development, stockpiling, and deployment of chemical weapons of mass destruction. The Act’s application in Bond tests the limits of Congress’s power to implement treaties that encroach on traditional state prerogatives. The specific question before the Court is whether the Necessary and Proper Clause of the U.S. Constitution and Missouri v. Holland allow Congress to penalize “local” conduct not within any of its enumerated powers—and in fact quintessentially within the states’ police powers—when it is implementing a valid treaty. Both parties and numerous amici now seem to believe that the case could transform key parts of federalism doctrine and/or the United States’ ability to make treaty commitments. Yet despite the plethora of legal expertise in Congress and the executive branch, no one seemed aware of these issues until Bond’s attorneys raised them before a federal district court in 2007. Given Bond’s grand, disarmament-treaty origins, that oversight will probably trouble anyone interested in the growing role of international law in the U.S. federal legal system. Much has been written about how Bond should be decided and how its outcome could shape constitutional law and U.S. foreign relations. This Essay instead looks backward, exploring the strange roots of Bond and what those origins say about the process by which the United States converts treaties into federal law. The Essay suggests that the reason that Bond—and its implications for treaties and federalism— took so many by surprise lies in the incentives inherent in the arcane art of translating international law into domestic law. In that sense, Bond is a cautionary tale for future treaty-implementation efforts

Congress\u27s International Legal Discourse

Despite Congress’s important role in enforcing U.S. international law obligations, the relevant existing literature largely ignores the branch. This omission may stem partly from the belief, common among both academics and lawyers, that Congress is generally unsympathetic to or ignorant of international law. Under this conventional wisdom, members of Congress would rarely if ever imply that international law norms should impact otherwise desirable domestic legislation. Using an original dataset comprising thirty years of legislative histories of pertinent federal statutes, this Article questions and tests that view. The evidence refutes the conventional wisdom. It shows instead that, in legislative debates over bills whose enactment arguably triggers international law violations, members of Congress urge international law compliance relatively often, using rhetorical framing devices similar to those that members use for comparable constitutionally problematic bills. The arguments are overwhelmingly supportive of international law and often phrased in legalistic terms. The evidence suggests, moreover, that such international law invocation may be partially motivated by political self-interest. These findings, together with existing literature and qualitative evidence from former policymakers, imply that members of Congress may be incentivized to take public pro-international law positions by international law-minded executive officials. In this way, the executive may use the legislature to reinforce the national commitment to international law obligations. Through this interbranch bargaining, the president might use congressional international law discourse to boost the country’s international credibility and strengthen her office’s own hand in making and enforcing future commitments

Congress\u27s International Legal Discourse

Despite Congress’s important role in enforcing U.S. international law obligations, the relevant existing literature largely ignores the branch. This omission may stem partly from the belief, common among both academics and lawyers, that Congress is generally unsympathetic to or ignorant of international law. Under this conventional wisdom, members of Congress would rarely if ever imply that international law norms should impact otherwise desirable domestic legislation. Using an original dataset comprising thirty years of legislative histories of pertinent federal statutes, this Article questions and tests that view. The evidence refutes the conventional wisdom. It shows instead that, in legislative debates over bills whose enactment arguably triggers international law violations, members of Congress urge international law compliance relatively often, using rhetorical framing devices similar to those that members use for comparable constitutionally problematic bills. The arguments are overwhelmingly supportive of international law and often phrased in legalistic terms. The evidence suggests, moreover, that such international law invocation may be partially motivated by political self-interest. These findings, together with existing literature and qualitative evidence from former policymakers, imply that members of Congress may be incentivized to take public pro-international law positions by international law-minded executive officials. In this way, the executive may use the legislature to reinforce the national commitment to international law obligations. Through this interbranch bargaining, the president might use congressional international law discourse to boost the country’s international credibility and strengthen her office’s own hand in making and enforcing future commitments

Personality Type as an Indicator of Teacher Career Selection: Elementary Teacher or Special Education Elementary Teacher

This study examined the relationship between elementary teachers and special education teachers and their preferred MBTI type. The sample consisted of 49 elementary teachers (25 regular classroom and 24 special education) within the public school system in Lincoln and Warren counties in Missouri. The subjects were all Caucasian females ranging in age from 22 to 52 years with an educational level ranging from Bachelors degree to Masters degree plus. The sample reported from 1 to 30 years of teaching experience. Each participant was asked to complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and a demographic questionnaire. Chi-square analyses and the two-sample t-statistic were computed at the 0.05 level of significance. The results indicate that there was no difference between preferred MBTI types of elementary teachers and special education teachers

Investigation into sterol signalling in Arabidopsis

The hydra sterol mutants (hydral and fk(^hyd2)) phenotypes are characterised by short thickened roots and a shoot consisting of a mass of indistinct leaves. At the cellular level, cell patterning is disorganised and cell shape irregular, hydra sterol mutants are not phenotypically rescued by application of extrogeneous sterols (Lindsey et al, 2003) and have auxin and ethylene signalling defects but no defects in biosynthesis (Souter et al., 2002).It is not known at the mechanistic level how the hydra phenotype is generated. The disruption in sterol biosynthesis and subsequent altered sterol profile may lead to a loss of sterol-based signals required for development (Schrick et al, 2000), or disruption of other hormone signalling pathways (Souter et al. 2002, 2004); or some other mechanism. To determine whether sterol biosynthesis is required in specific cell types, we expressed the wild type HYDRA1 and HYDRA2 genes respectively under tissue specific promoters in the relevant hydra backgrounds and looked for evidence of phenotypic rescue. The analysis included examination of GFP expression in UAS enhancer trap lines, quantification of root length, examining the root tip cellular structure and characterization of cellular defects in mature plants using microscopy and tissue staining. Phenotypic rescue occurred in all lines analysed, however there were differences in the extent of phenotypic rescue under different promoters and in different independent transgenic lines. Where the same promoters were used, there was a difference in the degree of rescue in hydral to fk(^hyd2). Fk(^hyd2) displayed partial rescue whereas hydral displayed almost complete restoration to wild type phenotype fk(^hyd2) is known to have the more severe phenotype of the two mutants, this result may indicate the product of C-14 reductase has a critical role in plant development. The major conclusion is correct sterol biosynthesis is not required in all root tissues for correct plant development

The Quality Schools Model Of Education Reform: A Description Of Knowledge Management Beliefs And Practices Using Baldrige In Education Criteria

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2008This study used a concurrent nested mixed-methods approach to analyze the implementation of the Quality Schools Model of education reform through the lens of the seven Malcolm Baldrige Education criteria. Specifically, this study was an inquiry to determine the difference in beliefs and implementation related to knowledge constructs between and within groups of school staff based on professional role, years of education experience and years of experience working in the Quality Schools Model district. This research also used structural equation modeling to examine the fit between the Baldrige in Education theoretical model and actual practice of the Baldrige concepts in the context of rural Alaska school districts implementing the Quality Schools Model of comprehensive education reform. A 72-item questionnaire was used to measure beliefs about importance of concepts and perceptions of the concepts in practice. The questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 212 administrators, teachers, and classified staff in three rural Alaska school districts. Qualitative data was gathered through 14 semi-structured interviews with community members, elders, school board members, parents, and school staff. Results from the questionnaire data showed that job classification was the greatest predictor of mean responses. Administrators perceived knowledge activities were in practice to a greater degree than teachers. There were no significant differences in beliefs about importance or practice among participants based on years of education work experience or on experience in the current school district. The results showed ambivalence and sticky transfer in the street-level implementation of the QSM with significant large differences between belief and practice scores for all groups. A structural model of Baldrige in Education factors with leadership as the exogenous factor was created for the QSM. Results showed that leadership had a direct effect on knowledge management, and knowledge management had a direct effect on strategic planning, and an indirect effect on process management and the outcome variables of student, stakeholder and market focus, and results. There was no direct or indirect path between the knowledge factor and staff focus factor, leading to a recommendation to increase knowledge creation and sharing opportunities for that group

Effective Project Management: A Knowledge Management And Organizational Citizenship Behavior Approach

In the current complex business environment, projects are viewed as critical building blocks for organizational success. In fact, there seems to be a powerful interaction between the flow of project work and the flow of knowledge in an organization. Such interaction leads to the exploration of the concept of effective Knowledge Management strategies for Project Management based on the guiding principles of Organizational Citizenship Behavior. In the past, Knowledge Management has been thought of as the collection of technological assets and managerial policies that compensate for information failures. Recent studies have uncovered the popularity of Knowledge Management research since most project environments have the potential, but do not promote personal information sharing