Large isoperimetric surfaces in initial data sets

We study the isoperimetric structure of asymptotically flat Riemannian 3-manifolds (M,g) that are C^0-asymptotic to Schwarzschild of mass m>0. Refining an argument due to H. Bray we obtain an effective volume comparison theorem in Schwarzschild. We use it to show that isoperimetric regions exist in (M, g) for all sufficiently large volumes, and that they are close to centered coordinate spheres. This implies that the volume-preserving stable constant mean curvature spheres constructed by G. Huisken and S.-T. Yau as well as R. Ye as perturbations of large centered coordinate spheres minimize area among all competing surfaces that enclose the same volume. This confirms a conjecture of H. Bray. Our results are consistent with the uniqueness results for volume-preserving stable constant mean curvature surfaces in initial data sets obtained by G. Huisken and S.-T. Yau and strengthened by J. Qing and G. Tian. The additional hypotheses that the surfaces be spherical and far out in the asymptotic region in their results are not necessary in our work.Comment: 29 pages. All comments welcome! This is the final version to appear in J. Differential Geo

Private Governance Responses to Climate Change: The Case of Global Civil Aviation

This Article explores how private governance can reduce the climate effects of global civil aviation. The civil aviation sector is a major contributor to climate change, accounting for emissions comparable to a top ten emitting country. National and international governmental bodies have taken important steps to address civil aviation, but the measures adopted to date are widely acknowledged to be inadequate. Civil aviation poses particularly difficult challenges for government climate mitigation efforts. Many civil aviation firms operate globally, emissions often occur outside of national boundaries, nations differ on their respective responsibilities, and demand is growing rapidly. Although promising new technologies are emerging, they will take time to develop and adopt. This Article argues that private initiatives can overcome many of these barriers. Private initiatives can motivate civil aviation firms to act absent government pressure at the national level and can create pressure for mitigation that transcends national boundaries. The Article argues that it is time to develop a private climate governance agenda for civil aviation and identifies examples of the types of existing and new initiatives that could be included in the effort. If public and private policymakers can overcome the tendency to focus almost exclusively on public governance, private initiatives can yield large and prompt emissions reductions from global civil aviation, buy time for more comprehensive government measures, and complement the government measures when they occur

Convergence of Senior Administrators and Professional Employees: Case Studies of Institutional Transformation via Convergent Hybrid Planned and Emergent Change

Higher education institutions are struggling to engage in transformational changes to meet novel environmental forces. These struggles in part may be due to change approaches that lack coordination of professional employee and senior administrator change activity. Kezar’s (2012) Kaleidoscope Convergence—could address such separation of change agent activity. However, a limited understanding of the approach currently exists. This study seeks to gain a better understanding of how and why convergence is used for institutional transformation and engage in analysis to improve the utilization of convergence methods. Research has been organized for this study with a conceptual framework assessing institutional context, desired change, and change approach. Case study data was acquired through 24 change agent interviews, site observation, and document analysis collected from Greater Metropolis & City University (GMCU), a public suburban research university, and Hill University, a private urban research university. Identities of the institutions, programs studied, and participants interviewed have been masked. Results of this data analysis supported the premise that convergence can be used to serve institutional transformation efforts, and furthermore allowed conclusions to be drawn on the utilization of convergence strategies leading to revision of the conceptual framework to account for new information. Additional findings showed that institutional context has profound influence on convergence, that convergence requires significant input commitment to generate outcomes, and that transformational change does not have to be an overtly conflict-laden process. These findings led to the development of a new convergence model, called “Transformational Spiral Convergence”. This model more robustly addresses the roles of both groups of change agents and accommodates the spiraling manner through which convergence interaction occurs between professional employees and senior administrators. Recommendations are also presented for practitioners, higher education groups, and future research

Assessing the Effectiveness of Louisiana\u27s Freshwater Diversion Projects Using Remote Sensing

Southern Louisiana is experiencing a dramatic loss of freshwater wetlands as a result of natural and man-made changes in the landscape. Multitempral remotely sensed data were used to examine the impact of the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion Structure, built in 1991 to divert water to Breton Sound. Satellite imagery data covering the period from 1974 to 2006 were analyzed by computing several spectral indices including NDVI, VI, IR/R, Sqrt IR/R, T-NDVI, and NDWI, as well as principle component analysis. The resulting enhanced images were classified into two classes, vegetation or open water. The ratios of vegetation to open water were then calculated and the changes graphed over the 1974-2006 timeframe. The results indicated that despite the infusion of freshwater, the open water portion of the Breton Sound area continued to expand, indeed the expansion rate increased from approximately 0.25% per year before construction of Caernarvon to 0.45% per year after construction

The Parol Evidence Rule: Promissory Estoppel\u27s Next Conquest?

The parol evidence rule, at first glance, seems to be such a candidate for many reasons. The parol evidence rule has confused and dissatisfied legal scholars for a long time; for example, Professor Wigmore condemned the rule as the most discouraging subject in the whole field of evidence. \u27 Bringing the rule within estoppel\u27s domain could simplify the application of the rule,\u27 and legal scholars should appreciate anything that could clarify and rationalize its application. Furthermore, that promissory estoppel already has made substantial incursions into the province of the Statute of Frauds may portend a similar role for promissory estoppel in the parol evidence context. Many similarities exist between the Statute and the rule and many of the same arguments that justify the use of estoppel to circumvent the Statutes are equally applicable to justify the use of estoppel to bypass the parol evidence rule. Few cases to date have explored the possible interaction between promissory estoppel and the parol evidence rule. This Article attempts to explain why so few cases have explored this interaction, and discusses both the likelihood and the desirability of a significant intrusion by promissory estoppel into the parol evidence rule\u27s domain. First, however, this Article necessarily focuses upon the parol evidence rule itself, the evolution of the promissory estoppel doctrine in general, and the doctrine\u27s development as a device for circumventing the strictures of the Statute of Frauds

Formulating earthquake response modes in Iran

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-51).The objective of this paper was to try and find the optimal distribution of rescuers after an earthquake with a very large magnitude caused major damage in two different cities. A model was developed to optimally divide all of the available rescuer workers such that the expected number of lives saved was maximized. When the method was tested on random sets of data on average a 5% improvement in lives saved was found. However it was also determined that there was a positive relationship between percent improvement and severity of the earthquake. This shows that the method is especially effective when extreme amounts of damage occur.by Michael D. Metzger.M.Eng

Inclusion of Low Income Sectors in Latin American Agribusiness

We examine three case studies on agribusiness ventures that have included low income sectors (LIS) into value creation activities to reduce poverty in Latin America. While the goal for each agribusiness is economic profit, we find that this goal is not inconsistent with wealth creation among LIS. We use the agribusiness chain analytical framework to identify the roles played by LIS in the ventures studied, and we explore the ways in which LIS inclusion has influenced the performance of the agribusiness chains and contributed to their competitiveness.Agribusiness, Poverty reduction, Latin America, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,