Embracing Airbnb: How Cities Can Champion Private Property Rights Without Compromising the Health and Welfare of the Community

Peer-to-peer services offer participants considerable advantages whether they are a provider of such services or a user of them. The Airbnb phenomenon is an example of how technological advancement has transformed the rental industry and has signaled a societal acceptance of a sharing economy. However, the question now is to what extent cities should regulate this influx of short-term rentals while still preserving the property rights of homeowners. Much of the answer to this question depends on each city’s individual interpretation of specific areas of the law. Some legal issues raised by regulation and explored by this article include the property rights of homeowners, zoning restrictions on short-term rentals, and taxation responsibilities. Thus far, there have been several city-specific approaches to regulating Airbnb. This Comment contrasts San Francisco’s use of a permitting system with New York’s adherence to its Multiple Dwelling Law and analyzes the benefits and ramifications of each. Then, it turns to Portland’s Shared City initiative, which provides a more-balanced approach by combining the benefits of the permitting system with an enforcement mechanism to allow the city to realize the full benefits of the law. It concludes by urging more cities to follow Portland’s lead because it provides an ideal middle ground between preserving an owner’s right to engage in short-term rentals and protecting the nature of the city for all residents and visitors alike

Embracing Airbnb: How Cities Can Champion Private Property Rights Without Compromising the Health and Welfare of the Community

Peer-to-peer services offer participants considerable advantages whether they are a provider of such services or a user of them. The Airbnb phenomenon is an example of how technological advancement has transformed the rental industry and has signaled a societal acceptance of a sharing economy. However, the question now is to what extent cities should regulate this influx of short-term rentals while still preserving the property rights of homeowners. Much of the answer to this question depends on each city’s individual interpretation of specific areas of the law. Some legal issues raised by regulation and explored by this article include the property rights of homeowners, zoning restrictions on short-term rentals, and taxation responsibilities. Thus far, there have been several city-specific approaches to regulating Airbnb. This Comment contrasts San Francisco’s use of a permitting system with New York’s adherence to its Multiple Dwelling Law and analyzes the benefits and ramifications of each. Then, it turns to Portland’s Shared City initiative, which provides a more-balanced approach by combining the benefits of the permitting system with an enforcement mechanism to allow the city to realize the full benefits of the law. It concludes by urging more cities to follow Portland’s lead because it provides an ideal middle ground between preserving an owner’s right to engage in short-term rentals and protecting the nature of the city for all residents and visitors alike

A new technique for oil backstreaming contamination measurements

Due to the large size and the number of diffusion pumps, space simulation chambers cannot be easily calibrated by the usual test dome method for measuring backstreaming from oil diffusion pumps. In addition, location dependent contamination may be an important parameter of the test. The backstreaming contamination was measured in the Space Power Facility (SPF) near Sandusky, OH, the largest space simulation vacuum test chamber in the U.S.. Small clean silicon wafers placed at all desired measurement sites were used as contamination sensors. The facility used diffusion pumps with DC 705 oil. The thickness of the contamination oil film was measured using ellipsometry. Since the oil did not wet the silicon substrate uniformly, two analysis models were developed to measure the oil film: (1) continuous, homogeneous film; and (2) islands of oil with the islands varying in coverage fraction and height. In both cases, the contamination film refractive index was assumed to be that of DC 705. The second model improved the ellipsometric analysis quality parameter by up to two orders of magnitude, especially for the low coverage cases. Comparison of the two models shows that the continuous film model overestimates the oil volume by less than 50 percent. Absolute numbers for backstreaming are in good agreement with published results for diffusion pumps. Good agreement was also found between the ellipsometric results and measurements done by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) on examples exposed to the same vacuum runs

Inhomogeneity of donor doping in SrTiO3 substrates studied by fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy

Fluorescence-lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) was applied to investigate the donor distribution in SrTiO3 single crystals. On the surfaces of Nb- and La-doped SrTiO3, structures with different fluorescence intensities and lifetimes were found that could be related to different concentrations of Ti3+. Furthermore, the inhomogeneous distribution of donors caused a non-uniform conductivity of the surface, which complicates the production of potential electronic devices by the deposition of oxide thin films on top of doped single crystals. Hence, we propose FLIM as a convenient technique (length scale: 1 $\mu$m) for characterizing the quality of doped oxide surfaces, which could help to identify appropriate substrate materials

Attitudes Toward Computers: The Impact on Performance

The proliferation of personal computers throughout business environments will continue to place demands on workers at all levels to develop proficient computer skills. A variety of training mechanisms exist that allow workers to introduce, develop, and hone any needed computer skills. Identical training mechanisms, however, are nonetheless likely to result in individuals with different computer abilities (Hicks, Hicks, and Senn, 1991). Existing researchhas examined differences in demographic factors (Dambrot, Silling, and Zook; 1988) as well as differences in attitudes (Torkzadeh and Koufteros, 1993). Much of the research that has examined this area has focused on the changes in attitudes (e.g. computeranxiety) that occur due to a training intervention. Research to date, however, has not extended this effect of training on attitudes as well as to performance. The theory of reasoned action (TRA) (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975) suggests that attitudes will influence behavior, including performance. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) ( Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw, 1989) also suggests that attitudes towards use directly influence intentions to use the computer and ultimately actual computer use. Davis et al. demonstrate that an individual\u27s initial attitudes regarding a computer\u27s ease of use and a computer\u27s usefulness influence attitudes toward use. In addition to the attitudes of computer ease of use and computer usefulness, a number of other attitudes related to computer use have been identified in the research literature. Items measuring attitudes examined in this study have been previously defined and used in other studies. The attitudes and measures used in this study were perceived usefulness , perceived ease of use (Davis et al. 1989), computer anxiety (Loyd and Gressard, 1984), anticipation of computer use (Heinssen, Glass, and Knight, 1987), fear of computer use (Heinssen et al.,1987), and attitude toward previous academic achievement. Computer anxiety has been an attitude of primary focus that corresponds closely to the concept of math anxiety (Torkzadeh and Angulo, 1992). Although computer anxiety has definitions ranging from psychological, physical or sociological discomfort to fear. The definition of anxiety in this research referred to the psychological discomfort that might come from using a computer. This discomfort might come from using something unknown, concern over making mistakes or destroying pertinent information. In addition to measuring computer anxiety, we also wanted to measure computer fear. Although extreme anxiety might become fear, there is a distinction between the two constructs. Fear was defined as a trepidation that computers would change something about the individual, such as making the person too dependent on computers. Anticipation was defined as comfort with the idea of learning and using computer skills (Harrison and Ranier, 1992). Academic achievement provided a perceived measure of a subject\u27s past performance in both math and other academic endeavors. The perceived ease of use and usefulness constructs have been well established in the work by Davis et al. (Davis, 1989; Davis, Bagozzi, and Warshaw, 1992). Perceived usefulness was defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would enhance his or her job performance . Perceived ease of use was defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a particular system would be free of effort (Davis, 1989, pg. 320)

Bulk-sensitive Photoemission of Mn5Si3

We have carried out a bulk-sensitive high-resolution photoemission experiment on Mn5Si3. The measurements are performed for both core level and valence band states. The Mn core level spectra are deconvoluted into two components corresponding to different crystallographic sites. The asymmetry of each component is of noticeable magnitude. In contrast, the Si 2p spectrum shows a simple Lorentzian shape with low asymmetry. The peaks of the valence band spectrum correspond well to the peak positions predicted by the former band calculation.Comment: To be published in: Solid State Communication

Follow-Up Assessment of Intracranial Aneurysms Treated with Endovascular Coiling: Comparison of Compressed Sensing and Parallel Imaging Time-of-Flight Magnetic Resonance Angiography

The aim of our study was to compare compressed sensing (CS) time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) with parallel imaging (PI) TOF MRA in the evaluation of patients with intracranial aneurysms treated with coil embolization or stent-assisted coiling. We enrolled 22 patients who underwent follow-up imaging after intracranial aneurysm coil embolization. All patients underwent both PI TOF and CS TOF MRA during the same examination. Image evaluation aimed to compare the performance of CS to PI TOF MRA in determining the degree of aneurysm occlusion, as well as the depiction of parent vessel and vessels adjacent to the aneurysm dome. The reference standard for the evaluation of aneurysm occlusion was PI TOF MRA. The inter-modality agreement between CS and PI TOF MRA in the evaluation of aneurysm occlusion was almost perfect (κ = 0.98, p < 0.001) and the overall inter-rater agreement was substantial (κ = 0.70, p < 0.001). The visualization of aneurysm parent vessel in CS TOF images compared with PI TOF images was evaluated to be better in 11.4%, equal in 86.4%, and worse in 2.3%. CS TOF MRA, with almost 70% scan time reduction with respect to PI TOF MRA, yields comparable results for assessing the occlusion status of coiled intracranial aneurysms. Short scan times increase patient comfort, reduce the risk of motion artifacts, and increase patient throughput, with a resulting reduction in costs. CS TOF MRA may therefore be a potential replacement for PI TOF MRA as a first-line follow-up examination in patients with intracranial aneurysms treated with coil embolization

The effects of user characteristics on query performance in the presence of information request ambiguity

This paper investigates the effects of personality characteristics on individuals' abilities to compose queries from information requests containing various types of ambiguity. In particular, this research examines the effects of user personality characteristics on query performance in the presence of information requests that contained no extraneous, syntactic, or both extraneous and syntactic ambiguities. The results indicate that personality characteristics significantly affect users' abilities to compose accurate queries. Neuroticism, agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness significantly affected the number of errors made in the query formulations. Conscientiousness affected the length of time taken to compose the queries and neuroticism affected the confidence users had in the accuracy of their queries. Although several personality dimensions affected query performance, no significant interactions between personality dimensions and ambiguity were detected. Furthermore, both query complexity and information request ambiguity exhibited greater impacts on query performance than personality characteristics. Hence, organizations should attempt to train users to deal with query complexity and information request ambiguity before modifying their training programs for personality characteristics

Investigating child participation in the everyday talk of a teacher and children in a preparatory year

In early years research, policy and education, a democratic perspective that positions children as participants and citizens is increasingly emphasized. These ideas take seriously listening to children’s opinions and respecting children’s influence over their everyday affairs. While much political and social investment has been paid to the inclusion of participatory approaches little has been reported on the practical achievement of such an approach in the day to day of early childhood education within school settings. This paper investigates talk and interaction in the everyday activities of a teacher and children in an Australian preparatory class (for children age 4-6 years) to see how ideas of child participation are experienced. We use an interactional analytic approach to demonstrate how participatory methods are employed in practical ways to manage routine interactions. Analysis shows that whilst the teacher seeks the children’s opinion and involves them in decision-making, child participation is at times constrained by the context and institutional categories of “teacher” and “student” that are jointly produced in their talk. The paper highlights tensions that arise for teachers as they balance a pedagogical intent of “teaching” and the associated institutional expectations, with efforts to engage children in decision-making. Recommendations include adopting a variety of conversational styles when engaging with children; consideration of temporal concerns and the need to acknowledge the culture of the school