A program for high school band instruction

Not available.Malcolm Craig ScottNot ListedNot ListedMaster of ScienceDepartment Not ListedCunningham Memorial library, Terre Haute, Indiana State University.isua-thesis-1945-scott.pdfMastersTitle from document title page. Document formatted into pages: contains 50p. : ill. Includes bibliography

Relationships between Stock Prices and Accounting Information: A Review of the Residual Income and Ohlson Models

As one of the main purposes of financial statements is to provide relevant information for investors, relationships between share prices and accounting variables have been widely researched. Early studies focus mainly on earnings, but attention has turned in recent years to valuation models that include the book value of the equity. Many of these studies cite the residual income model as their theoretical base and, with the growing emphasis on shareholder value, residual income measures are more commonly used in the business community to track financial performance. Given such trends, this paper reviews the theoretical background of the residual income model and discusses results of empirical studies that use it. The study finds that the two main accounting variables can usually explain a substantial part of the variation in share prices, and it also identifies a number of issues that remain unresolved. These findings should be of interest to other researchers, and to managers and investors who currently use or are planning to use residual income to monitor business performance.

The DarkStars code: a publicly available dark stellar evolution package

We announce the public release of the 'dark' stellar evolution code DarkStars. The code simultaneously solves the equations of WIMP capture and annihilation in a star with those of stellar evolution assuming approximate hydrostatic equilibrium. DarkStars includes the most extensive WIMP microphysics of any dark evolution code to date. The code employs detailed treatments of the capture process from a range of WIMP velocity distributions, as well as composite WIMP distribution and conductive energy transport schemes based on the WIMP mean-free path in the star. We give a brief description of the input physics and practical usage of the code, as well as examples of its application to dark stars at the Galactic centre.Comment: The DarkStars code can be downloaded from http://www.fysik.su.se/~pat/darkstars; 8 pages, 3 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of Dark2009, Christchurch, NZ, Jan 18-24 200

Impacts of WIMP dark matter upon stellar evolution: main-sequence stars

The presence of large amounts of WIMP dark matter in stellar cores has been shown to have significant effects upon models of stellar evolution. We present a series of detailed grids of WIMP-influenced stellar models for main sequence stars, computed using the DarkStars code. We describe the changes in stellar structure and main sequence evolution which occur for masses ranging from 0.3 to 2.0 solar masses and metallicities from Z = 0.0003-0.02, as a function of the rate of energy injection by WIMPs. We then go on to show what rates of energy injection can be obtained using realistic orbital parameters for stars near supermassive black holes, including detailed considerations of dark matter halo velocity and density profiles. Capture and annihilation rates are strongly boosted when stars follow elliptical rather than circular orbits, causing WIMP annihilation to provide up to 100 times the energy of hydrogen fusion in stars at the Galactic centre.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the proceedings of the Identification of Dark Matter conference (IDM 2008), Stockholm, Sweden, 18-22 August, 200

Low mass stellar evolution with WIMP capture and annihilation

Recent work has indicated that WIMP annihilation in stellar cores has the potential to contribute significantly to a star's total energy production. We report on progress in simulating the effects of WIMP capture and annihilation upon stellar structure and evolution near supermassive black holes, using the new DarkStars code. Preliminary results indicate that low-mass stars are the most influenced by WIMP annihilation, which could have consequences for upcoming observational programs.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures. To appear in the Proceedings of DARK2007, eds. H.V. Klapdor-Kleingrothaus, I. Krivosheina and G. Lewis, World Scientific, 200

Verification of Citations: Fawlty Towers of Knowledge?

The prevalence of faulty citations impedes the growth of scientific knowledge. Faulty citations include omissions of relevant papers, incorrect references, and quotation errors that misreport findings. We discuss key studies in these areas. We then examine citations to Estimating nonresponse bias in mail surveys, one of the most frequently cited papers from the Journal of Marketing Research, as an exploratory study to illustrate these issues. This paper is especially useful in testing for quotation errors because it provides specific operational recommendations on adjusting for nonresponse bias; therefore, it allows us to determine whether the citing papers properly used the findings. By any number of measures, those doing survey research fail to cite this paper and, presumably, make inadequate adjustments for nonresponse bias. Furthermore, even when the paper was cited, 49 of the 50 studies that we examined reported its findings improperly. The inappropriate use of statistical-significance testing led researchers to conclude that nonresponse bias was not present in 76 percent of the studies in our sample. Only one of the studies in the sample made any adjustment for it. Judging from the original paper, we estimate that the study researchers should have predicted nonresponse bias and adjusted for 148 variables. In this case, the faulty citations seem to have arisen either because the authors did not read the original paper or because they did not fully understand its implications. To address the problem of omissions, we recommend that journals include a section on their websites to list all relevant papers that have been overlooked and show how the omitted paper relates to the published paper. In general, authors should routinely verify the accuracy of their sources by reading the cited papers. For substantive findings, they should attempt to contact the authors for confirmation or clarification of the results and methods. This would also provide them with the opportunity to enquire about other relevant references. Journal editors should require that authors sign statements that they have read the cited papers and, when appropriate, have attempted to verify the citations.citation errors; evidence-based research; nonresponse bias; quotation errors; surveys

Land Quality and International Agricultural Productivity: A Distance Function Approach

Agricultural productivity measurement has been of great interest in recent years. Although analysts have long recognized that land quality plays an important role in agricultural productivity, land quality has been difficult to quantify and include in productivity models due to d ata limitations. Poor land quality, in the form of desertification, erosion, and poor soil quality, as well as climate and precipitation may limit growth in productivity over time. A Malmquist productivity index is proposed that decomposes productivity into efficiency change, technical change and land quality components and accounts for inter-country differences in land quality. The index is then applied to a 109-country data set covering 1980 to 2003. Many countries with lower productivity growth are limited by their resource endowment, and thus require policies and technology that reflect the needs of those environments.Land Economics/Use, Productivity Analysis,

USING RIGHTS OF FIRST REFUSAL FOR FARMLAND RETENTION

How can rights of first refusal protect prime agricultural land? This paper develops a theory for valuing rights of first refusal based on compensation for foreclosing future demand, information asymmetry, and advance purchase of market share. A procedure is developed for governments to use these rights to prevent conversion.Land Economics/Use,

Local effects of ultraviolet radiation on cutaneous immune responses

Depletion of stratospheric ozone and changes in lifestyles have led to increased concern about the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Exposure to UVR has been shown to induce both local and systemic suppression of immune responses initiated through the skin. The mechanism of dysregulation of immune responses following UV exposure is complex, and is initiated by chromophores. One such chromophore is urocanic acid (UCA), which is isomerised from the trans- to the cis-isoform by UVR, in the epidermis. The primary antigen presenting cell (APC) of the skin, the Langerhans cell (LC), plays a critical role in cutaneous immune responses. UVR alters LC frequency within the irradiated epidermis, and also exerts effects on the mature form of LC, the dendritic cells (DC), within lymph nodes draining irradiated sites. These changes appear to be concurrent with an alteration in T cell cytokine profiles. UVR suppresses immune responses which are normally characterised by Th1 -like cytokine profiles, possibly by immune deviation to Th2 -like cytokine profiles.The contact hypersensitivity (CH) response is commonly used to demonstrate cutaneous immunity. A model of CH in C3H/HeN mice was established. This model was utilised to examine the effects of local UVB irradiation before induction of contact sensitisation. Cytokine profiles within lymph nodes draining the site of elicitation of CH, or the site of contact sensitisation were investigated. Results suggest that UVB has no effect on cytokine production during the sensitisation phase of CH, but that it downregulates Th1 -like cytokine production upon elicitation of CH.Effects of UVR and UCA application were examined in relation to LC frequency within the epidermis. UVA1 (340- 400nm) irradiation, or trans-UCA application, did not alter the LC numbers within the exposed site. UVB (280-315nm) irradiation and cis-UCA application depleted LC, and timecourses for LC depletion were established for both treatments. Injection of antibodies against either IL-1ß or TNF-α before UVB irradiation or cis-UCA treatment completely abrogated their effects on LC numbers. Thus, the UVB-mediated reduction of LC is dependent on the cytokines IL-1P and TNF-α. Despite reports that UVA1 irradiation protects mice from subsequent immunosuppression by UVB exposure, UVA1 irradiation did not affect the decrease in LC numbers induced by UVB.Despite the differences in effects on LC frequency, both UVA1 and UVB induced an accumulation of DC within lymph nodes draining the site of irradiation. For both irradiation regimens, the accumulation of DC was dependent on IL-1ß. This was identified by injecting neutralising IL-1ß antibodies before irradiation, which inhibited the accumulation of DC within draining lymph nodes following irradiation. Similar experiments indicated that accumulation of DC following UVB irradiation, but not following UVA1 irradiation, was also dependent upon TNF-α.Induction of cytokines within irradiated skin was examined. UVB exposure increased the expression of IL-10 and TNF-α proteins at the irradiated site. Attempts to identify the source of these cytokines were inconclusive, as both keratinocyte (PAM-212) and melanocyte (B16) cell lines failed to secrete these cytokines following UVB irradiation. Intracellular stores of TNF-α decreased as the dose of radiation increased. The technique of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT -PCR) was established to examine expression of cytokine mRNA in irradiated skin. Following UVB irradiation, TNF -a mRNA was upregulated and there was induction of IL-10 mRNA. UVA1 irradiation did not result in such changes. There were also differences in the timecourse of IL-1ß mRNA upregulation. IL-1ß mRNA expression peaked transiently 4h after UVB irradiation. Following UVA1 irradiation, IL-1ß mRNA expression did not peak until 24h, and remained upregulated at 48h, after exposure

Faith, Belief and Fictionalism

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Finlay Malcolm and Michael Scott, ‘Faith, Belief and Fictionalism’, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, December 2017, which has been published in final form at DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/papq.12169. Under embargo until 5 August 2018. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.Is propositional religious faith constituted by belief? Recent debate hasfocussed on whether faith may be constituted by a positive non-doxastic cognitivestate, which can stand in place of belief. This article sets out and defends thedoxastic theory. We consider and reject three arguments commonly used infavour of non-doxastic theories of faith: (1) the argument from religious doubt;(2) the use of ‘faith’ in linguistic utterances; and (3) the possibility of pragmaticfaith. We argue that belief is required to maintain a distinction between genuinefaith, pretend faith, and fictionalist faith.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio