Democratic Culture in America

America has multiple civic traditions and is a nation that blends liberal and illiberal ideals. The Lockean liberal foundations the American civic community is built upon left space for people like Thomas Jefferson to add non-liberal elements to Locke’s theory, so it could better fit the context of the situation. Rogers Smith argues that the political elite fill that space with illiberal values to obtain power or maintain already established power structures.The political elite create “civic myths,” tales that are made from falsehoods, that give the individuals of a certain community greater worth than individuals who do not share the community’s common identity. This can help politicians mobilize their base in times of economic hardship. Since Lockean liberalism gives individuals theirworth based upon their productivity, individuals find their worth in sub-community identities, which politiciansare not afraid to use for their own political gain

The interaction of insecticides and the soil microflora

Imperial Users onl

Effects of an Acute High-Volume Isokinetic Intervention on Inflammatory and Strength Changes: Influence of Age

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a high volume isokinetic intervention on lower body strength and inflammation, as well as markers of muscle damage in the subsequent 48 hours between younger and middle-aged men. METHODS: 19 healthy, recreationally trained men were randomly assigned to two groups, younger adults (YA: 21.8 ± 2.0 y; 90.7 ± 11.6 kg; 21.5 ± 4.1 % body fat), or middle-aged adults (MA: 47.0 ± 4.4 y; 96.0 ± 21.5; 24.8 ± 6.3 % body fat). Both groups reported to the human performance laboratory (HPL) on four separate occasions. On the first visit (D1), anthropometric assessment, as well as a familiarization session with the isokinetic dynamometer, was performed. A muscle damaging protocol (HVP) was performed on the second visit (D2) consisting of 8 sets of 10 repetitions at 60°·sec-1 on the isokinetic dynamometer. An assessment protocol (AP) was performed to assess performance decrements between the YA and MA groups. For this protocol, a maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) was performed, as well as 3 isokinetic kicks at 2 different speeds (240°·sec-1 and 60°·sec-1). For the MVIC, values for peak torque (PKT), average torque (AVGT), rate of torque development at 100 ms (RTD100), and 200 ms (RTD200) were recorded. For the isokinetic kicks at 240°·sec-1 (ISK240) and 60°·sec-1 (ISK60), values were also recorded for peak torque (PKT), average torque (AVGT), as well as peak power (PP), and average power (AVGP). The AP was performed before the HVP (BL), immediately after the HVP (IP), 120 minutes after the HVP (120P), as well as one (24H) and two (48H) days following the HVP. Blood draws were also taken at BL, IP, 24H, and 48H, as well as 30 minutes (30P), and 60 minutes (60P) following the HVP to assess circulating levels of creatine kinase (CK), myoglobin (Mb), c-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Ultrasound assessment was also performed at BL and IP as well to assess changes in muscle morphology as a result of the intervention. Performance, blood, and ultrasound markers were analyzed using a repeated measures ANOVA to observe between group comparisons for all of the outcome variables. RESULTS: There were no group differences observed for isometric or isokinetic peak torque or average torque, nor were there differences in isokinetic peak power or average power between the two groups as a result of the intervention. There were, however, differences in the pattern for rate of torque development at 100 ms and 200 ms between the two groups. RTD 100 was decreased at IP and 48H in YA, with MA showing decreases at IP, but also 120P and 24H unlike YA. RTD200 was decreased at all time points in YA, while MA was decreased at IP, 24H, and 48H, but not 120P. For markers of muscle damage and inflammation, there were no differences in the response of Mb, CK, CRP, or IL-6 between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Age does not appear to be a driving factor in the inflammatory or muscle damage response from a high volume isokinetic intervention. Though changes in peak torque and average torque from a high volume isokinetic intervention do not seem to differ between younger and middle-aged adults, the rate of torque production at 100ms and 200ms is different between groups. This suggests that while recovery to average or maximal strength after an exercise bout may not be affected greatly by age, the rate of neuromuscular recovery from exercise may be primarily affected by other factors such as training status

An analysis of the New England shoe industry

This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Partial- And General-equilibrium Evaluations Of The Impact Of Energy Policies In Canada

This dissertation is primarily concerned with evaluating the welfare implications of the National Energy Program (NEP) for Canada in static, partial- and general-equilibrium frameworks. Foreign participation in the Canadian economy is incorporated in analyzing the allocational and distributional effects of these petroleum pricing and fiscal policies.;The international redistribution of crude oil rents as well as efficiency and intranational revenue redistribution effects of both NEP pricing and fiscal policies on the Canadian crude oil market are addressed in partial equilibrium analyses.;A unique and relatively simple approach to general-equilibrium modelling (developed in association with John Whalley) is used to analyze the welfare effects of the NEP petroleum pricing policies. The basic model uses the assumption that Canada is a taker of commodity prices on world markets in solving the zero profit conditions to determine cost covering factor prices from given world goods prices. Full employment conditions for factors then determine industry production levels. Once domestic demands are calculated, excess demands for goods are obtained as a residual. The basic approach allows for further complicating structural elements such as foreign participation, price controls, taxes and non-traded goods to be introduced as required.;The NEP pricing and fiscal policies resulted in overconsumption and underproduction of petroleum in Canada compared to the levels of consumption and production that would have resulted from market-determined petroleum pricing and in the absence of the NEP fiscal policies. While allocational inefficiencies reflect a Canadian welfare loss, petroleum rents were also redistributed between foreigners and Canadians. The empirical results suggest that the transfer of rents from foreign producers to Canadians, reflected in a Canadian welfare gain, was not insignificant; indeed, it is found to have dominated the efficiency losses in consumption and production.;A procedure is also developed for calculating compensating and equivalent variation from market demand information. As a corollary to this latter work, it is shown that, under certain conditions, a partial-equilibrium analysis employing consumer\u27s and producer\u27s surpluses is capable of yielding as valid a representation of welfare change (i.e., compensating variation) as that achieved using the general-equilibrium modelling technique

Electroanalgesia: Historical and Contemporary Developments

Aims and Objectives: This thesis makes an in-depth examination of the historical, including the eighteenth-century pioneering electrical treatments of the Rev John Wesley, together with contemporary developments in electroanalgesia from the late twentieth-century, including the author's own pilot study, in order to provide a sound, scientific basis for their continuing use. The problem and the hypothesis: Controversy still surrounds the effectiveness of electrical treatments, even after 250 years of application. This is seen in its most researched form as TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) and ALTENS (acupuncture-like transcu taneous electrical nerve stimulation) for chronic back pain. The empirical research making up the main part of the thesis sets out to provide clear evidence to reject the null hypothesis, i.e. that there are no significant clinical effects from the use of electrical treatments for chronic back pain. Methods and findings: The empirical tertiary research centred on a systematic review and meta-analysis, within the framework of the Cochrane Collaboration, of all randomised controlled trials of TENS/ ALTENS for chronic back pain found during rigorous searches of the medical literature. Pooling their results in a meta-analysis established that effective clinical benefits are to be found in the use of ALTENS/TENS for chronic back pain, at least in the short term. Conclusions and recommendations: This wide ranging PhD thesis demonstrates for the first time significant clinical benefits of TENS/ ALTENS for treating patients with chronic back pain and if implemented on a global basis, then considerable numbers of chronic back pain sufferers could benefit

Prelude to Euclid: The United States Supreme Court and the Constitutionality of Land Use Regulation, 1900-1920

Time after time, and with only one dissenting vote in two decades, the Court found that the police power was sufficiently broad to warrant restrictions on the use of land, even when they eliminated existing uses and imposed severe economic loss on landowners. These cases provided a strong proregulation backdrop against which the cases of the 1920s were decided