Typically your first referee will be academic. This would be your course or personal tutor or some other member of staff who knows you well, such as a project supervisor. As well as being able to comment on your academic results and likely degree class, it would be helpful if they knew you well enough to be able to comment on your personal attributes as well. If your tutor isn't available and you can't think of anyone else to use, talk to the departmental office who should be able to suggest someone. All academic staff should have access to your marks.
Your second referee would typically be an employer for whom you had worked in the vacation. Alternatively it might be a family friend who has known you for a number of years. Ideally they should be working in some professional position - banker, teacher, doctor etc. Otherwise it might be a teacher with whom you were still in regular contact, or someone who supervised you in some way - church youth group leader, director of a youth orchestra you played for, sports coach for a team you've played for, supervisor of voluntary work etc.
References for postgraduate study. Employment references are less important here and you might put more than one academic referee - perhaps a tutor and a project or dissertation supervisor.
If you are asked for a third referee, it could be anyone from the above groups - a second employer or academic - preferably someone who will give a different perspective - a project supervisor, or someone who teaches on a different course.
The key point is that the referee should know you well enough to be able to write positively about you. They should also know you relatively recently - a teacher that you haven't seen for five years won't be able to say much about your present development. They should of course be someone who sees you in a favourable light.
Don't just give their phone number, unless your referee has told you they wish to be contacted in this manner: referees may get annoyed if phoned before they have been contacted by email or letter. It's a good idea to say what their role is (e.g. store manager) or the recruiter may not know if they are the managing director or the cleaner!
You would not get a reference like this nowadays due to legal constraints.
Not so much of a has-been, but more of a definitely won't be.
Would be out of his depth in a puddle.
Sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them.
Should go far: and the sooner he starts, the better.
Is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot.
Has reached rock bottom and has started to dig.
His staff would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity.
ASKING FOR A REFERENCE: HOW NOT TO DO IT!
Will you please be a referee for a job for which I am appalling?
I haven't given referees, but I could find somebody if it is necessary.
References available on request - if I give them a few quid.
Don't take the comments of my previous employer too seriously: they were unappreciative beggars and slave drivers.
what qualities you have that would make you capable of doing the job well - this might include your motivation, personal skills and qualities such as being able to work in a team, persuasiveness etc. You can use the section on SKILLS to help you with this.
what extra-curricular activities you have been involved in at UKC and what you have achieved during you time at university.
if you haven't seen them for some time, it would be wise to let them know what you have been doing since then.
The purpose of this is to help your referees to write a more detailed and accurate reference for you. Make sure you take a copy of your answers as it will help you to fill in application forms!
WHEN ARE REFERENCES TAKEN UP?
Sometimes it might be after receiving your application, but usually it is after the first interview, or at least after shortlisting candidates for interview. Sometimes it can be after selecting you for the post!
When you get a job or place on a course, make sure that you write to your referees to thank them for their help and to let them know what you are doing. Surprisingly few students seem to bother with this common courtesy. Writing references can be a difficult, long and involved process and you should at least thank them with a letter - who knows you may need to use them again!
You only need to supply references when the organisation you are applying for asks you for them. They could be supplied on a separate page if the job advert required these to be given. Normally applicants put the statement "I am happy to supply references on request" or a similar statement, but it's pretty obvious you will supply references when the time comes, so perhaps even this is redundant.
Taking responsibility Seeks out information and makes decisions on their own initiative. Willing to do what is required to get the task done. Tries to improve themselves. Unable to carry out work without constant supervision. Reluctant to make decisions. Unwilling to tackle demanding tasks.
Working under pressure Can cope with being thrown in the deep end. Can handle several tasks at once. Able to think on their feet. Works well to deadlines. Struggles to deliver when given several tasks at once. Not good at thinking logically when under pressure.
Facing challenges Focuses on tasks to be achieved and not easily distracted. Shows determination to continue even when things are going wrong. Shows little resilience and easily deflated when facing obstacles. Easily loses focus. Struggles to stand their ground.
Alternatively, it might be a general letter e.g.
Victoria Spice has applied to join our organisation as a graduate trainee and has given your name as a referee.
The candidate's academic record at university, and their expected class of degree.
Their personal characteristics and abilities and their ability to do the job they have applied for.
Whether this person is a fit and proper person to become an actuary given that our work requires the highest degree of professional probity and confidentiality.
Anything else you feel we should consider.
References should not normally contain negative information on the applicant, so it would be unlikely that your referee would write anything negative about you, although if they organisation asking for the reference did ask about how much time you had had off, your referee would have to answer this question truthfully.
Overseas students might more commonly be given an open testimonial. This is a type of reference which is given to the student by the referee and can be shown to whoever necessary. Because it can be read by the student, testimonials rarely contain negative information and so are generally considered to be of less value by employers. They reason that any referee who has written something that you will see is going to be less frank than one passing their reference directly to the employer.
Telephone references are becoming increasing common, and are preferred by some employers as they feel that they can get more detailed information than in a written reference.
Very well qualified: has committed no major blunders to date.
Leadership qualities: has a loud voice.
Unusually loyal: wanted by no-one else.
Will go far: managers son or daughter.
Effective time management: clock watcher.
Creative: finds reasons to do anything except work.
Excellent use of resources: delegates everything.
Unlimited potential: will stay until retirement.
Deals tactfully with superiors: knows when to keep mouth shut.
Good sense of humor: knows lots of dirty jokes.


Psuedonyms are discouraged – Own your thoughts by posting under your own name, so people can appreciate the experience and perspective you bring to a topic.
Respect your peers — Treat others and their contributions with respect and foster thoughtful and considerate dialogue.
Observe principles of civility — Inappropriate, crude, or abusive language is not only unacceptable, it's an ineffective way to convince anyone of your point.
There are no stupid questions — Everyone's input is welcomed and honored.
Report inappropriate behavior — Report behavior inconsistent with this code to mkuehne@ca-ilg.org.
Respect others' intellectual property — Don't publish content to which you have no rights.
Share the experience — Be an ambassador of the community by encouraging others to join in the discussion, promoting thoughtful sharing of information and discussion, and setting a good example.


Here at Ridebooker we have worked hard to secure the best transportation services from our providers in the Lexington - Blue Grass Airport (LEX) area, ensuring that you, our guests, can enjoy them for the best rates.
Check out the links below for transfers to and from Lexington - Blue Grass Airport (LEX). Our bus/shuttle options serve a number of specific locations in Lexington - Blue Grass Airport (LEX) as part of the price.
Do you have any questions about Lexington - Blue Grass Airport (LEX) transfers? Need some help getting to or from Lexington - Blue Grass Airport (LEX)?


The preserve is open to the public from dawn to dusk and is located on the south side of Pound Ridge Road (Route 172) near Tatomuck Road. Several well-marked trails are accessible from a small parking area.
• I-684 to exit 4, east on Rt. 172 to Bedford Village.
• Continue east on Rt. 172 approx. 2.4 miles.
• Preserve is on right, across from Tatomuck Road.
• Look for a small sign on the road and small parking area.
The Henry Morgenthau Preserve, Inc. is managed by its Board of Directors.


text:
Queens DA launches new unit to suppress violent crime in borough
By Bill Parry
Via Linkedin
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the creation of a Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau that merges the former Narcotics Investigations Bureau and the Gang Violence bureaus.
The new unit will suppress violent crime in Queens by identifying and prosecuting drivers of violence, narcotics distribution operations, and firearms dealers engaged in organized criminal behavior, including members of violent street gangs.
The launch of the new bureau comes at the start of the summer season, a time of year that usually has an increase in gang activity. The July 4 holiday period has been an especially troublesome time in years past, with a rise in shootings and casualties as a result of violent gang activity.
"As your district attorney, I promised to do everything possible to rid our neighborhoods of violent gangs, gun runners and drug traffickers," Katz said. "My Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau will stomp out crews that profit from selling instruments of death in our communities. At the same time, my office will work with members of the community to try to make Queens a safer place, and to focus resources on helping our youths find meaningful outlets for their energy and hopeful opportunities for their futures."
Katz added that the bureau will aggressively pursue evidence through coordinated information gathering from law enforcement partners as well as from members of the community. The staff will analyze, retain and collect digital data that will help zero in on criminals and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.
"This reconfigured bureau will use every resource available to ensure criminal networks, gang activity and other organizations run by drivers of crime are dismantled and that the drugs and weapons they peddle will be taken off our streets."
To lead the bureau, Katz recruited longtime prosecutor Jonathan Sennett who most recently served as the First Deputy Bureau Chief of the Brooklyn DA's Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. Sennett also previously was a prosecutor with the Bronx DA's office and the state Attorney General's Organized Crime Task Force.
The Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau will operate within the Queens District Attorney's Investigation Division under the overall supervision of Executive District Attorney Gerard A. Brave.
Excellence Community SchoolsMiddle School Teachers (ELA, Math, Science, History) — Grades 6-8 (NY)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Order from the Navy Department enclosing Richard H. Leigh's commission.
A STUDY OF THE EVOLUTION OF CRITICAL DISCUSSION AND PRINCIPLES OF BAROQUEIN THE ARTS.
LAND-USE ADMINISTRATION EFFICIENCY: QUASI-JUDICIAL VERSUS QUASI-LEGISLATIVE SYSTEMS.
Show moreThis study examines local land-use decision making from the standpoint of efficiency by comparing quasi-judicial, hearing examiner decision systems with quasi-legislative, planning commission systems. It seeks to determine whether either of these two approaches to land-use decision making is better suited to high-growth or slow-growth communities from an efficiency perspective. The investigation was carried out by examining two local governments in the State of Florida that had used both approaches, one a slowly growing and the other a quickly growing community. The two jurisdictions were investigated quantitatively to determine which approach produced quicker decisions and qualitatively to determine which approach yielded the highest quality decisions.
Oh, Whisper What Thou Feelest!.
Rapid serial naming and reading ability: the role of lexical access..
Show moreRapid serial naming tasks are frequently used to explain variance in reading skill. However, the construct being measured by rapid naming is yet undetermined. The Phonological Processing theory suggests that rapid naming relates to reading because of similar demands of access to long-term stored phonological representations of visual stimuli. Some researchers have argued that isolated or discrete-trial naming is a more precise measure of lexical access than serial naming, thus it is likely that any shared variance between these two formats can be attributed to similar lexical access demands. The present study examined whether there remained any variance in reading ability that could be uniquely explained by the rapid naming task while controlling for isolated naming. Structural equation modeling was used to examine these relations within the context of the phonological processing model. Results indicated that serial naming uniquely predicted reading, and the relation was stronger with isolated naming controlled for, suggesting that isolated naming functioned as a suppressor variable in the relation of serial naming with reading.
Evaluation of a Novel Behavioral Indicator of Distress Intolerance.
Show moreDistress intolerance (DI) is a transdiagnostic individual difference variable reflective of the capacity to withstand aversive psychological states. DI is typically measured with self-report questionnaires or behaviorally via quit latency on distressing persistence tasks. Although both measurement methods have demonstrated predictive validity with respect to theoretically-related clinical problems, cross-method convergence of DI measures is generally not found, which may be due to the lack of theoretically-derived behavioral indicators of DI. Extant persistence tasks are face valid measures of DI, but they do not directly assess a theorized central feature of DI: the ability to inhibit prepotent responses to negative reinforcers under distress. The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the relations between a novel behavioral measure of this ability (i.e., Negative-Escape stop-signal reaction time (SSRT) on a modified stop-signal task) and DI self-report/persistence measures as well as DI-linked clinical problems (i.e., perseverative thought, :coping motives for substance use, stress-elicited substance use problems) in a large non-clinical sample (N = 199). Consistent with most prior literature, self-report and persistence measures of DI were non-significantly correlated, but, contrary to predictions, Negative-Escape SSRT was also unrelated to DI and associated clinical problems. However, exploratory analyses revealed that DI measured via self-report but not task persistence was associated with faster reaction time (RT) on Go trials with negative reinforcement relative to neutral stimuli (i.e., facilitated ΔEscapeRT). Further, facilitated ΔEscapeRT was related to some DI-linked clinical problems (i.e., perseverative thought, depression coping motives for alcohol use) and moderated the effect of stressful life events on change in alcohol use-related problems over a one-month follow-up period. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.
A Study of Environmental Health and Safety Programs at Research Colleges and Universities.
Show moreUniversities and colleges in the United States are vital communities, teeming with people and vast resources. Because of such factors as class schedules, on-going research, tight academic calendars and highly transient populations, these communities function with diverse operations that need a constant degree of normality for maximum effectiveness. Due to the specialized nature of higher education institutions, universities and colleges are vulnerable to a wide range of situations capable of upsetting normal day-to-day operations. For any university or college, the safe operation of campus is essential to the goals of the institution, the quality of the environment, and even its survival. Among higher education institutions, the issue of safety is a broad and encompassing concept but often with no clear lines of responsibility. In contrast to industries, which have special units or groups of people to plan and deal with disruptions or emergency situations, higher education institutions often overlook or even ignore safety concerns. Among most industries, especially those involving work with volatile chemicals or other substances as well as dangerous activities, safety is an essential element of sound management. To address the safe operation of a campus, every higher education institution in the United States has, in one form or another, has an environmental health and safety (EH&S) program. The main principle of an EH&S program is to support and advance the teaching and research activities of the institution through the promotion of a safe and healthy campus, by providing and coordinating services that minimize the risk of occupational illness, injury or environmental contamination. Given the diversity that characterizes the array of colleges and universities in the United States in the 21st century, it is important to know the structure of EH&S programs in higher education institutions and how they are implemented. However, few, if any, studies have been conducted to examine what EH&S programs are comprised of, what role they play in higher education institutions, how they are organized and structured, how they are funded and staffed, and what effect they have on the risk of accidents or the fiscal impact to institutions. This study have determined that for research institutions, the staff and funding of EH&S programs have significant impacts on the safe operation of the institution. In particular, EH&S staff number has a significant impact on the number of reported injuries and illnesses and the number of lost workdays. The study also found that there are two types of organizational structures for EH&S programs: a centralized EH&S program, where all the components are within a dedicated EH&S program; and a fragmented structure where the components are disjointed from one another and would report to the institution's higher administration directly and separately. However, the study found that the EH&S organization structures reporting schemes are not significant in ensuring the safe operation of the institution. Furthermore, the study found that EH&S program expenditures significantly affect the safety goal.
Structural Characterizations of Integral Membrane Proteins: The Nexus of Solution and Solid State NMR Spectroscopy.
Show moreMembrane proteins account for 1/3 of the proteins encoded within known genomes and at least 60% of current drug targets. While the field of structural biology has achieved remarkable success in determining the three dimensional structures of water soluble, globular proteins, conventional techniques for soluble protein structure determination have seen limited success when applied to integral membrane proteins. Improving the methods used for membrane protein structure determination is crucial to increasing the number of known membrane protein structures and to improving our understanding of these vital proteins. Herein we focus on tackling the tough issues facing á-helical integral membrane protein structure determination: expression, purification, sample preparation, and methodologies for characterization by solution and solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Membrane protein expression, purification and sample preparation techniques are examined and applied to two integral membrane proteins, KdpC (Rv1031) and Rv1761c from Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Two distinct sample preparation methods capable of producing homogeneous and reproducible high quality samples are discussed for solution NMR studies of membrane proteins. The use of these sample preparation methods has allowed for the backbone structures of Rv1761c and the transmembrane domain of KdpC to be determined. These structures and the effects of detergent micelles upon integral membrane proteins are discussed, and a method is proposed for circumventing some of the undesirable attributes of detergent micelle samples. Improvements in the analysis of solid state NMR experiments in oriented lipid bilayer samples are proposed including a torsion angle mapping method for examining torsion angles directly from two dimensional solid state NMR polarization inversion of spin exchange at the magic angle (PISEMA) spectra. The torsion angle mapping analysis is discussed in terms of enhancing the utility of solid state NMR spectroscopy for characterizing integral membrane proteins in synthetic lipid bilayers.
Corporate Governance and the Relation with Aggressive Accounting Practices.
Show moreThe influence of corporate governance on financial reporting is of current interest because regulators are in the process of devising and evaluating substantial reforms in the wake of recent accounting scandals. This paper investigates the relation between corporate governance and aggressive accounting and tests the existence and strength of this association. This paper defines corporate governance more comprehensively than previous studies, acknowledging that the behavior of corporate officers is subject to many influences. Corporate governance is defined here as those measures and processes outlined by Jensen (1993): (1) legal and regulatory mechanisms, (2) internal control systems, (3) capital market mechanisms, and (4) product and factor market conditions. I test the relation between these measures of corporate governance and aggressive accounting for firms identified by the United States General Accounting Office (GAO) as having restated their financial statements because of aggressive accounting. Other researchers have simultaneously tested only selected corporate governance variables, and only against surrogates for earnings management (e.g. discretionary accruals or accounting principle choice).
Why Does The Magnitude Of Genotype-by-environment Interaction Vary?.
Show moreGenotype-by-environment interaction (GxE), that is, genetic variation in phenotypic plasticity, is a central concept in ecology and evolutionary biology. GxE has wide-ranging implications for trait development and for understanding how organisms will respond to environmental change. Although GxE has been extensively documented, its presence and magnitude vary dramatically across populations and traits. Despite this, we still know little about why GxE is so evident in some traits and populations, but minimal or absent in others. To encourage synthetic research in this area, we review diverse hypotheses for the underlying biological causes of variation in GxE. We extract common themes from these hypotheses to develop a more synthetic understanding of variation in GxE and suggest some important next steps.
The Effects of Lexical Cognitive Loading on Parameters of Gait in Neurotypical Young Adults.
Show moreThis study was conducted to discover the effects of specific language tasks on injurious falls. Injurious falls often have tragic consequences, such as traumatic brain injury, hip fractures, and/or high monetary costs. Previously, FSU has conducted research regarding the effects of language tasks on gait in elderly and Parkinson Disease populations. Currently, there is a lack of information regarding changes in gait in healthy young adults. This experiment set out to find the effects of lexical cognitive load tasks on gait in healthy young adults. Participants included 31 neurotypical young adults. Four gait variables were analyzed based on 3 trials for each participant. The GAITRite Walkway System detected each footfall as the subject walked across it. Functional Ambulatory Profile (FAP) was generated for each condition. FAP uses gait parameters to generate a composite score related to likelihood of fall risk. The following conditions were utilized: walking without talking (baseline), walking while saying the months forward (low load), and walking while saying the months backward (high load). Cognitive-linguistic load was manipulated while phonological, lexical, and semantic characteristics remained the same throughout each condition. As a result, both low load and high load simultaneous walking and talking tasks negatively impacted gait among all variables. The high load task had a greater affect on gait, however the low load task also negatively affected gait. The experiment offered awareness of healthy young adults as baseline to compare to susceptible elderly and muscle movement disorder populations.
The Effects of Simultaneous Lexical-Semantic Linguistic Load on Parameters of Gait in Healthy Young and Elderly Individuals.
Show moreThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of simultaneous lexical-semantic retrieval on parameters of gait in younger and older healthy adults. This simultaneous cognitive-linguistic loading has implications for alterations in ambulation and gait and has been related to risk for injurious falls in both normal and clinical populations with movement disorders. Two groups were compared; twenty healthy young (aged 20-40) and 20 healthy older (aged 50+) individuals, balanced for gender, with no reported history of communication, language, cognitive, physical and neurological movement disorders, participated in this study. Participants walked across a 16 foot mat while verbally retrieving members or exemplars of a given semantic category. This task of lexical semantic retrieval also has been called generative naming or verbal fluency. The GAITRite Walkway System was used to record gait measurements and generate a Functional Ambulation Profile (FAP) score. The FAP score ranges from 0 to 100; the lower the score, the higher the risks for a serious fall with performance between 95 and 100 considered within normal limits. Participants performed three trials of walks; first, a baseline of walking with no speaking; second, walking while naming types of precious stones aloud; and third, naming types of diseases aloud. FAP scores, accuracy of responses and total number of responses were recorded and were compared across the two age groups. Results showed that the younger group had higher average FAP scores across all walking and talking conditions compared to the older group. Indicating that the older group had increased difficulty performing the speaking task while maintaining a safe gait. The differences were not significant when comparing age groups, however the significant differences in FAP scores within groups was exceptional. Thus, backing up previous research indicating that a medium or difficult lexical-semantic load can adversely impact gait and increase the risk for experiencing a fall.
Principles for Creating Literature-Specific Instructional Materials for the Band Classroom.
Show moreThe purpose of this project was to create an original composition for high school level band, to create a set of teaching materials specific to the composition, and to provide an analytical method for the creation of literature-specific teaching materials others can use to develop similar projects for the band repertoire. The center of the project is the composition True Love of Mine—A Fantasy on Scarborough Fair for Symphonic Band. A rationale regarding choice of literature, a connection between the warm-up process and music rehearsal, and a creative design for concept teaching is discussed.
Individual Differences: Accounting for Variation in Embodied Language Processing Effect.
Show moreMany researchers have attempted to replicate different embodied language processing effects, with varying degrees of success. We wanted to know what, if any, individual differences might account for the observed variance for these embodied effects. Using the Action-sentence Compatibility Effect (ACE) paradigm from Sell and Kascahk (2012) as our dependent measure, individual differences measures of personality (Big Five Personality Traits, Morizot, 2014) and cognitive abilities (Need for Cognition – Short Form, Cacippo, Petty, and Kao, 1984; Modified Metacomprehension Scale, Mcginnis, Saunders, and Berns, 2007) were first correlated, and then investigated through linear mixed models regression. In both experiments presented, the dependent measure failed to replicate. However, in Experiment 2, we were able to explain the observed variance through a model building approach. From the personality measures, conscientiousness was found to interact with part of the ACE measure. Of the cognitive measures, Need for Cognition was found to significantly interact with the ACE measures, while regulation from the Modified Metacomprehension Scale and conscientiousness from the Big Five interacted with part of the ACE measures. A discussion about the findings follows the presented work.
Domain-Domain Interactions on the Activation Pathway of Diphtheria Toxin Repressor Protein (DTXR).
Show moreDiphtheria toxin repressor (DtxR) is an Fe(II)-activated transcriptional regulator of iron homeostatic and virulence genes in Corynebacterium diphtheriae and co-regulates expression of diphtheria toxin gene. DtxR contains an N-terminal metal- and DNA-binding domain that is connected by a proline-rich flexible peptide segment (Pr) to a C-terminal src homology 3 (SH3)-like domain. Transition metal ions are bound in two structurally and functionally distinct sites, and metal binding effects a disordered-to-ordered structural transition, changes the interactions between the two domains, and increases the affinity for dimer formation. Here we investigate the inactive state of the repressor and domain-domain interactions that are present in metal-free DtxR. We follow that study by investigation of the changes in the domain-domain interactions upon metal activation of the repressor. Genetic analysis shows that the SH3 C-terminal domain regulates the activity of the N-terminal domain. Structural studies suggest two possible mechanisms for interactions between the two domains. Here we establish that the SH3 domain of DtxR is required for optimal repressor activity using in vivo repressor assays. Solution NMR structure of the C-terminal PrSH3 construct shows that the Pr segment connecting the two domains is bound by the SH3 domain in a deep crevice lined by hydrophobic amino acids and does not resemble the eukaryotic polyprolyl type-II helix. NMR studies presented here confirm that this intramolecular complex is present in the apo-repressor. Isothermal equilibrium denaturation studies show that the intramolecular complex contributes to the stability of the aporepressor. From the structural and thermodynamic data, we conclude that the proline-rich segment of DtxR functions as a switch that modulates the activation of the repressor. Our study of the metal activated repressor shows that the apparent metal dissociation constants are 0.2 and 1.7 mM for two independent sites. These data were complemented by measuring the distances between specific backbone amide nitrogens and the first equivalent of metal through heteronuclear NMR relaxation measurements. Previous studies indicate that metal binding affects a disordered to ordered transition in the metal binding domain. The coupling between metal binding and structure was investigated using near-UV circular dichroism and 19F NMR spectroscopy. Together the data show that the first equivalent of metal is bound by the primary metal binding site. This binding orients the DNA binding helices and begins to fold the N-terminal domain. Subsequent binding at the ancillary site completes the folding of the N domain and formation of the dimerization interface. This model is used to explain the behavior of several mutants.
Revenue Management: The Use of Order Backlog to Meet Revenue Reporting Targets.
Show morePrior studies show that the market rewards companies that meet earnings and revenue reporting targets. While findings of earnings management are abundant, the extant literature does not show that managers can smooth revenue recognition without violating GAAP. This study investigates the use of order backlog to manage revenue reporting. My results show that managers use order backlog to report positive revenue growth, to smooth revenue reporting, and to meet analysts' revenue forecasts. Managers also use order backlog to limit the magnitude of large positive forecast surprises and in so doing delay revenue recognition. This study adds to the earnings management literature, which typically focuses on earnings, by showing that managers also manipulate reporting to meet revenue targets. An implication of this study is that more expansive order backlog disclosure requirements could bring greater transparency to this type of revenue manipulation.
Abbott Laboratories: Provisioning a Vision.
Show moreFrom 1935 to 1945, the Chicago pharmaceutical corporation Abbott Laboratories, the military's primary medical supplier during the Second World War, commissioned dozens of artists in a unique contractual agreement to produce hundreds of paintings and drawings creating advertisements and illustrations for both its medical journal What's New and for the United States Government's War Department. The contract specifically barred direct company profit from the imagery or advertisements created by commissioned artists yet simultaneously demonstrated Abbott's goodwill and "altruism" by donating the proceeds from public art exhibitions and the sales of color reproductions directly to the government's Treasury Department. Artists participating in the combat arts program received payment, travel expenses, and commissions as full-fledged active-duty military officers in exchange for works over a breadth of war subjects. Despite Abbott Laboratories' large expenditure for these projects, it fulfilled its contractual obligation to turn over all of the commissioned paintings and drawings to the federal government's War Department in June 1945. The terms and conditions of this contract, the tri-partite corporation-patron-artist relationship, the works created through Abbott Laboratories' various art initiatives, and the mass reproduction and mobilization of these images for popular culture constitute the focus of this dissertation. Abbott skillfully designed a system of corporate patronage that masked both its intentions and its benefits to result in artistically rich and commercially viable propaganda. In order to understand Abbott's wartime patronage, one must consider the company's need to rehabilitate its corporate image and its consequent negotiation of the projection of that image, its patronage within the context of 1940s corporate sponsorship and the broader context of wartime patronage, the circumstances surrounding the commission and creation of the individual words within its collection and the circumstances leading to the exhibition, distribution, and final ownership of the artwork. Finally, understanding Abbott's patronage is critical to providing insight into the 1940s American artist's mediation of art and advertising.
How Content Area Influences Choice of Instructional Methods: An Examination of One Component of Preservice Teacher Belief.
Show morePrior studies have examined preservice teachers' beliefs about instructional practices primarily from a qualitative perspective. Such studies indicated that preservice teachers believed effective teaching to be lecturing (Broekman and Wetering, 1987; Wubbels, 1992). Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this study examined preservice teachers' intended choice of instructional methods and how these choices vary across content areas. Utilizing the analysis of variance procedure to examine differences across the content areas of music, science, math, social science, and English, the results of this study suggest that lecture is not a predominant choice of instructional method, when either a range of choices or free choice is provided in the measuring instrument, and that preservice teachers in different content areas do not vary much in their intended use of instructional methods. Implications and the potential for future research are discussed.
Simulating Object Resolution during Language Comprehension.
Show moreThis thesis investigates how linguistic cues implying varying levels of object resolution are mentally represented in sentences such as Through the smoky/empty bar, the bartender could hardly/easily read the clock. Such sentences contain an adjective that implies a level of obscurity (smoky, empty) and an adverbial phrase (hardly, easily) that describes the perceptual availability of an object (clock) to the protagonist. An experiment was designed to address the following question: Is the visual resolution of a textually described object simulated during sentence processing? Participants read sentences describing a protagonist viewing an object through either an obscure or clear medium (e.g., smoky/empty bar). After reading each sentence, participants judged whether a picture of the object in question was mentioned in the sentence. Responses were faster when the resolution of the pictured object matched the resolution implied by the sentence than when it did not match. Thus, linguistic context can influence the ease of object recognition. These data suggest that readers perceptually simulate the visual resolution of objects during language comprehension. Furthermore, the finding suggests that comprehenders adopt the perspective of the protagonist during the simulation of a described situation, rather than a thirdperson perspective.
Competing Perspectives on Accountability, Authority and Autonomy as Sources of Organizational Change: The Case of Florida's State University System, 1998-2009.
Show moreThis dissertation research is a study of the dynamics of continuous change in Florida's public higher education system between 1998 and 2009. There are three subsidiary questions used to explore these events in greater detail: What is the impetus for changes in the structure of Florida's education system? What are the key dynamics of social change outlining this period of history of governance in the higher education system? How have these changes affected the ability of the individuals and boards responsible for education to be effective, legitimate, accountable, autonomous and authoritative? Since the Florida Legislature abolished the Board of Regents (the board statutorily directed to oversee the public state university system) in 2000, three separate entities were at one point or another charged with the task of overseeing the system before the Board of Governors and university boards of trustees were constitutionally created in 2002. Since that time, the myriad stakeholder groups have struggled to clearly define their own powers within the confines of constitutional and statutory law. Moreover, these groups have been unsuccessful in defining their own powers in such a way where agreement with other stakeholder groups is achieved. Through the use of semi-structured interviews, the perspectives of representatives of the various stakeholder groups on the historical changes of the system during this time period, their feelings about the changes and the results of these changes on the relationships between the stakeholder groups will be explored. Additionally, historical information outlining the events that have taken place in Florida will be obtained through the review and examination of documents, such as state laws, proposed and approved legislation, task force meeting minutes, relevant court cases and news articles. This study will employ grounded analysis and pattern matching as tools to inductively identify emergent patterns and relationships as identified by the examination of the behaviors and reactions of those individuals intimately involved in this issue.
The Role of Parafoveal Information in Rapid Letter Naming.
Show moreSeveral cognitive components are thought to explain the relation of rapid serial naming and reading ability including the constructs of phonological access, attention, automaticity, articulation, global processing speed, and visual acuity. One cognitive component that has gone understudied when investigating rapid serial naming is parafoveal processing . The goal of the present study was to examine the role that parafoveal information, information outside the direct visual focal point, plays in the rapid serial naming task. Two experiments explicitly varied the amount and type of information available to the right of the focal point in manipulated versions of the rapid serial naming task. The performance of forty-one first-grade students were examined for differences between manipulated conditions and relations with reading outcomes at three levels of processing, low-level visual processing, initial lexical access, and higher-order cognition. Results suggested that initial visual processing occurs for the letter directly in the focal area, as well as the letter immediately following it, and that children who were better at rapid naming were significantly more impaired by the lack of parafoveal preview than were the children at the lowest end of the distribution of rapid naming performance.
The Influential Role of Marriage and Family Composition on Financial Life Values.
Show moreFinancial management literature suggests that individuals manage money entering the household in a variety of ways which may be shaped by family composition. This dissertation addresses the influences of marital status, children and grandchildren residing inside and/or outside of the home, and gender on financial decision making. Two aspects of making financial decisions, psychological and sociological, serve as the focus of the study. Both of these important characteristics of making financial decisions were measured utilizing the National Endowment for Financial Education's Life Values study which characterizes psychological aspects as Inner Life Financial Values and sociological aspects as Social Life Financial Values. It was hypothesized that individuals in non-committed relationships, individuals with children or grandchildren residing outside of the home, and men with children or grandchildren outside of the home would demonstrate higher levels of Inner Financial Life Values. It was also hypothesized that individuals in committed relationships, individuals with children or grandchildren residing inside of the home, and women with children or grandchildren inside of the home would demonstrate higher levels of Social Financial Life Values. Results were analyzed utilizing one-way analysis of variance. Post hoc analyses were also examined. With respect to Inner Financial Life Values, results indicated significant differences between groups. This research suggests that psychological aspects of financial values may differ for individuals in committed relationships (i.e. married or living with a partner) as compared to individuals who are in non-committed relationships (i.e. divorced or have never been married). Additionally, the addition of children within a committed relationship may further contribute to the shaping of psychologically-based financial values. An examination of Social Financial Life Values indicated no significant differences between groups. A lack of differences between groups may be indicative of a reliance on social supports, such as extended family and friends, for individuals in non-committed relationships. Further examination of this measure is warranted.
Determination and Application of the Proton Chemical Shift Tensor by Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy.
Show moreOrientational restraints resulting from a wide range of anisotropic nuclear spin interactions such as chemical shifts, heteronuclear dipolar interactions, and quadrupolar interactions, have been widely used for determining the structures of peptides and proteins from aligned samples. The aligned samples have a unique orientation with respect to the magnetic field axis, such that the information from the orientation dependent nuclear spin interactions within a peptide plane allows for the characterization of the peptide plane orientation with respect to the alignment axis. By obtaining the orientations of all the peptide planes with respect to the same alignment axis, a model can be generated for the three-dimensional backbone conformation. Proton (1H) chemical shifts from solid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) have been underutilized as an orientational restraint for backbone conformations in peptides and proteins. This is largely due to discrepancies in the model for the chemical shift tensors. A two dimension heteronuclear correlation (HETCOR) sequence was developed to obtain accurate chemical shift tensors to form a useable model of the orientations of the principal axes of the amide 1H chemical shift. Further improvements to HETCOR were made to form the two dimensional pulse sequences, WIM-HETCOR and WIM-HETCOR Echo. Both WIM-HETCOR and WIM-HETCOR Echo pulse sequences incorporate a windowless isotropic mixing (WIM) sequence for cross polarization. WIM-HETCOR Echo was used to obtain the amide 1H CSA tensor element magnitudes for a representative dipeptide, alanyl-15N-leucine (AL). The orientation of the amide 1H CSA tensor was obtained by comparing simulated chemical shift correlation spectra with the experimental WIM-HETCOR Echo spectra. The variability and application of the 1H CSA tensor was explored using membrane peptides: gramicidin A and piscidin 1.
Dynamical Behavior of Scroll Rings in the Presence of Heterogeneities in the Belousov-Zhabotinsky Excitable Medium.
Show moreOne of the mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias is the self-organization of electrical waves in the heart. These waves can anchor to scar tissue, collagen fibers, and coronary vessels. The anchoring generates stationary electrical signals that compete with the heart's natural pacemakers. When anchored, the electrical wave acquires a geometry of a spiral in a two-dimensional system and of a scroll in three-dimensions. These patterns are also observed in the chemical medium provided by the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. These two systems share the property of excitability. Reason for which, the chemical system is used as a model medium to determine the effects and mechanisms during the anchoring of scroll waves. This dissertation describes experimental and numerical results of the dynamics of three-dimensional waves in heterogeneous Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction media. Here, the focus is on scroll rings which are scroll waves with circular geometry. These waves are characterized by their rotation around a closed filament loop. In a homogeneous medium with positive filament tension, these free filament rings contract and collapse at a rate that is a function of their curvature. In non-homogeneous media, scroll rings can anchor to hetero- geneities (i.e. unexcitable regions within the reaction medium); depending on the obstacle's size, the pinning can be a success or a failure. In this research cylindrical, spherical and toroidal-shaped heterogeneities are used to pin scroll rings. The pinning process affects the stability and the collapsing time of the filament loops. This stability means that the contraction and collapse of the filament are prevented; consequently the filament loop becomes stationary. The stabilization may be induced by filament-filament interaction in the proximity of the pinning sites. This interaction seems to induce the self-wrapping of the filament along the heterogeneity. In general, this dissertation reports the characterization of these stationary filaments and the discussion of the possible mechanism that allows the vortex stabilization. The dynamics of pinned scroll rings is also analyzed in terms of the curvature-flow model, the Burgers' equation and the Barkley model. The unpinning of filament loops anchored to spherical heterogeneities is also investigated. For this purpose electric fields of different strength are applied to the BZ-medium. In general, the electric field forces the pinned scroll ring to change its initial shape, unpin, rotate, and drift. Strong fields induces the scroll wave to expand instead of collapse and also the formation of new filaments by a wavebreak mechanism. More experimental and computational research is needed to a) explain in detail the mechanism behind the stabilization of vortices by pinning, b) understand the role of the excitability of the heterogeneity in the pinning process, and c) elucidate the robustness of the pinned structure and its dependence on the heterogeneity's characteristics.
Discrete Frenet Frame with Application to Structural Biology and Kinematics.
Show moreThe classical Frenet frame is a moving frame on a smooth curve. Connecting a sequence of points in space by line segments makes a discrete curve. The reference frame consisting of tangent, normal and binormal vectors at each point is defined as discrete Frenet frame (DFF). The DFF is useful in studying shapes of long molecules such as proteins. In this dissertation, we provide a solid mathematics foundation for DFF by showing the limit of the Frenet formula for DFF is the classical Frenet formula. As part of a survey of various ways to compute rigid body motion, we show the Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) conventions in robotics are a special case of the DFFs. Finally, we apply DFF to solve the kink angle problem in protein alpha helical structure using data from NMR experiments.
An Examination of Maximum Isometric Lingual Pressure and Total Oral Phase Duration in the Healthy Adult Swallow.
Show morePurpose: To examine maximum isometric lingual pressure (MIP) and total oral phase duration (oral preparation time + oral transport time) (TOP) in healthy adults, and to explore the relations among these variables. Method: One hundred healthy adults (50 males and 50 females), with no significant medical history affecting oral musculature or swallowing, volunteered to participate in this study. Lingual-palatal pressures were recorded via the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI) by placing a tongue bulb at both anterior and posterior locations to obtain maximum isometric lingual pressures generated by the anterior portion of the tongue (MIPa) and maximum isometric lingual pressures generated by the posterior portion of the tongue (MIPp). Surface electromyography (sEMG) using the Biopac MP150WSW System was utilized to record the onset and offset of swallowing muscle activity indicating TOP durations across six consistencies of food and liquid. Results: Significant negative correlations (p < 0.05) were observed between MIPa and all consistencies tested except for puree, and significant negative correlations were evident between MIPp and chewable solids (i.e., banana and graham cracker). MIPa was found to significantly predict TOP duration for thin liquid, mechanical soft and regular solids, and MIPp was found to significantly predict TOP duration for mechanical soft and regular solids. MIPa and MIPp values were significantly greater in males than in females. Age was discovered to significantly predict MIPa but not MIPp. There were no statistically significant differences in TOP durations between sexes. Age was revealed to have the strongest predictive value with TOP durations for liquids as opposed to TOP durations for food consistencies. Conclusion: This was the first study to demonstrate that strong relations exist between MIP and TOP duration in the healthy adult population. Sarcopenia is most likely responsible for the decrease in MIPa and longer TOP durations observed in older adults. Findings from this investigation lend support for implementing regular MIPa exercise in healthy adults to possibly combat lingual weakness and minimize or alleviate symptoms of oral phase dysphagia later in life.
Structural and Functional Studies of a RNA-Guided RNA Modification Enzyme: Box H/ACA RNP.
Show moreAs an RNA-guided RNA modification enzyme, the box H/ACA RNP recruits the guide RNA to recognize the substrate RNA, whereas the protein partners carry out the catalysis. Most intriguingly, box H/ACA RNPs share the same four conserved proteins, Cbf5, Nop10, L7Ae and Gar1, and are able to utilize more than 100 guide RNAs to guide posttranscriptional modifications in most stable RNAs. With respect to structural studies, archaeal box H/ACA ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) are probably one of the most extensively characterized ribonucleoprotein particles to this day. The dissertation presented here describes this work's contribution to the understanding of the nature of the RNA-guided RNA modification enzyme and of the most complex pseudouridine synthases. In chapter 2, we explored the structural basis of an archaeal box H/ACA protein complex comprised of three of the four essential proteins, Cbf5, Nop10 and Gar1. It was the first time we obtained molecular insights into these three proteins and the implications of a severe disease called dyskeratosis congenita (DC). We have also identified a DC mutation cluster site within a modeled dyskerin (Cbf5 homolog in humans) structure. In chapter 3, we further characterized the three-dimensional structure of a catalytically deficient archaeal box H/ACA RNP complex, including the guide RNA, the substrate RNA, Cbf5, Nop10 and Gar1. We devised a non-intrusive 2-aminopurine (2-AP) fluorescence assay which allowed us to determine the precise placement of the target uridine at the active site requires a conformational change of the guide-substrate RNA duplex by L7Ae. In chapter 4, we further examined the structural basis for accurate placement of substrate by accessory proteins using the 2-AP fluorescence assay. Our results revealed that each of the three accessory proteins, Nop10, L7Ae and Gar1, as well as an active site residue, have distinct effects on substrate conformations, suggesting the cooperative network of box H/ACA RNP. In chapter 5, we described a substrate-bound functional archaeal box H/ACA RNP that revealed detailed information about the active site. The substrate RNA containing 5-fluoruridine at the modification position is fully docked and rearranged in a manner similar to those of stand-alone pseudouridine synthases. The complementary biochemical studies further revealed the importance of a conserved protein loop and a guide-substrate RNA pocket in the binding to the substrate. With further comparison of available structures of stand-alone pseudouridine synthases-RNA complexes, we are able to summarize the common mechanism among all pseudouridine synthases, perhaps also a theme in other widespread RNA-guided enzymes. The accomplishments of this work greatly enhance our understanding of the enzymatic architecture of box H/ACA RNPs, unravel the many intriguing features of the most complex pseudouridine synthases, and shed light on the nature of the RNA-guided RNA modification and the assembly architecture of the telomerase holoenzyme.
Assessment of Preschool Vocabulary: Expressive and Receptive Knowledge of Word Meanings.
Show moreVocabulary knowledge is a critical aspect to an individual's ability to read, communicate, and acquire new knowledge. Deficits in vocabulary knowledge, which may appear as early as one year of age, are long-lasting and are associated with a number of negative academic outcomes (e.g., Biemiller & Slonim, 2001; Beitchman, Jiang, Koyama, Johnson, Escobar, Atkinson, Brownlie, & Vida, 2008.; Pearson, Hiebert, & Kamil, 2007). Understanding the developmental trajectory of vocabulary acquisition may permit early, targeted intervention to reduce or prevent costly vocabulary deficits. Current work on vocabulary acquisition calls for better understanding of what words children know, when children will learn certain words, and how well those words will be known. Biemiller and Slonim's work (2001) laid promising groundwork for answering such question in their examination of root word vocabulary knowledge and the evidence for sequential order in word acquisition in children grades K-6. The current study sought to explore the depth and breadth of preschool vocabulary knowledge by extending the work of Biemiller and Slonim to a non-reading preschool sample. Preschool children ages 3-5 were evaluated using the newly developed Preschool Assessment of Vocabulary: Expressive and Receptive (PAVER); this measure is unique in that it tests the same vocabulary word in both the expressive and receptive format. The findings of the study indicate that expressive and receptive approaches to vocabulary assessment are not interchangeable; both approaches were significantly associated with children's emergent literacy skill.
Slow Variable Dominance in Pancreatic β-Cell Models.
Show moreLike nerve and many other endocrine cells, pancreatic beta-cells are electrically excitable and produce electrical impulses in response to elevations in glucose. These electrical impulses typically come in the form of bursting. One type of bursting model with two or more slow variables has been called 'phantom bursting' since the burst period is a blend of the time constants of the slow variables. In this dissertation, the relative contributions that slow variables make to the bursting produced by two different phantom bursting models are quantified using a measure called the 'dominance factor'. Using this quantification, it is demonstrated that the control of different phases of the burst can be shifted from one slow variable to another by changing a model parameter. It is also demonstrated that the contributions that the slow processes make to bursting can be non-obvious. One application of the dominance factor is in making predictions about the resetting properties of the model cells. This application is demonstrated using a general phantom bursting model.
An Overview of the Oboe Works of Simon A. Sargon.
Show moreThe purpose of this treatise is to provide the first written research on the music for solo oboe and chamber settings of American composer Simon A. Sargon. It includes historical information about the composer and his oboe music in addition to musical analyses of his works:Sonic Portals Trio for Oboe, Horn, and Piano(2004),Homage to Hafiz for Oboe and Piano(2004),Sonata in A for Oboe and Piano(2005), and"Haas"Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano(2005). In the opinion of this author, Sargon's compositions for oboe are deserving of a place in the standard repertoire and with this document this author would like to encourage further study, performance, and recording of his music by teachers, students, and other performers. Chapter two contains information about the composer's upbringing, education, and professional experience as well as a brief background of Erin Hannigan, the oboist who premiered most of his works. Chapter three describes Sargon's compositional style and unique voice, his expertise in lyricism, and his adoption of specific compositional techniques from the nineteenth and twentieth-centuries. In chapters four through seven, each of the works is analyzed in detail taking into consideration form, pertinent thematic material, and particular compositional devices. Sketches of the formal structure of each movement are located in Appendices A through M. Interviews with Simon Sargon and Erin Hannigan provide insight to the circumstances surrounding the origins of each piece, the collaborative process between the two artists, and Sargon's musical influences. Interview transcripts are found in Appendices O and P. In Appendix N, there is a list of the composer's extensive compositional output, which demonstrates his ability to write in most genres of music including solo vocal and choral works, orchestral, chamber music, solo instrumental pieces, opera, and film music.
Third-Party Peace Enforcement and Civil War Termination Bargaining.
Show moreThis dissertation examines the interactive effect of power and third-party peace operations on the bargaining offers made by warring groups during civil war. Chapter 1 sets up the motivation for the research and provides a broad overview of the dissertation. Chapter 2 discusses previous lines of research that shed light on the relationship between power and bargaining and draws two hypotheses about the relationship between power and bargaining offers. Based on previous research on civil war and third party operations, chapter 3 explores how the expectation of successful implementation affects warring groups' bargaining offers. The hypothesis is drawn from a game theoretic model. Chapter 4 provides the research design for a statistical analysis and a case study. This chapter includes detailed information about definitions of concepts and measurement. Chapter 5 presents the results of the statistical analysis using ordinary least squares. Chapter 6 conducts a case study of civil war termination bargaining between warring groups in the Sierra Leone civil wars. Chapter 7 discusses the contribution of this dissertation for both the academic and policy realms, as well as the future plan for this line of research.
Modeling the Folding Pattern of the Cerebral Cortex.
Show moreThe mechanism for cortical folding pattern formation is not fully understood. Current models represent scenarios that describe pattern formation through local interactions and one recent model is the intermediate progenitor model. The intermediate progenitor (IP) model describes a local chemically-driven scenario, where an increase in intermediate progenitor cells in the subventricular zone (an area surrounding the lateral ventricles) correlates to gyral formation. This dissertation presents the Global Intermediate Progenitor (GIP) model, a theoretical biological model that uses features of the IP model and further captures global characteristics of cortical pattern formation. To illustrate how global features can effect the development of certain patterns, a mathematical model that incorporates a Turing system is used to examine pattern formation on a prolate spheroidal surface. Pattern formation in a biological system can be studied with a Turing reaction-diffusion system which utilizes characteristics of domain size and shape to predict which pattern will form. The GIP model approximates the shape of the lateral ventricle with a prolate spheroid. This representation allows the capture of a key shape feature, lateral ventricular eccentricity, in terms of the focal distance of the prolate spheroid. A formula relating domain scale and focal distance of a prolate spheroidal surface to specific prolate spheroidal harmonics is developed. This formula allows the prediction of pattern formation with solutions in the form of prolate spheroidal harmonics based on the size and shape of the prolate spheroidal surface. By utilizing this formula a direct correlation between the size and shape of the lateral ventricle, which drives the shape of the ventricular zone, and cerebral cortical folding pattern formation is found. This correlation is illustrated in two different applications: (i) how the location and directionality of the initial cortical folds change with respect to evolutionary development and (ii) how the initial folds change with respect to certain diseases, such as Microcephalia Vera and Megalencephaly Polymicrogyria Polydactyly with Hydrocephalus. The significance of the model, presented in this dissertation, is that it elucidates the consistency of cortical patterns among healthy individuals within a species and addresses inter-species variability based on global characteristics. This model provides a critical piece to the puzzle of cortical pattern formation.
Symbolic Perceptions of New Kingdom Watercraft: Building Boats from Gods.
Show moreIn ancient Egypt a proclivity existed for constructing analogies between divinities or corporeal elements of divinities and earthly objects. This thesis examines the specific relationship between analogous god parts and boat parts in Spell 99 from the Book of Dead. I provide a general discussion on the prevalence of watercraft in cosmology followed by an analysis of the individual elements of the mhnt boat described in Spell 99. I develop a predictive model for the relationship between corporeal elements of the gods and boat parts based upon primary and secondary associations of form, the location of the deity in mythical geography, and the boat part's placement relative to the deckline. Applying the anthropological theories of mimesis and liminality I attempt to demonstrate the use of sympathetic magic by the deceased to obtain power over that which he fears, in the process revealing core values of ancient Egyptian culture. I determine that the mhnt boat represents a microcosm of the ancient Egyptian cosmos and functions as a source of power for the deceased over impotency, chaos, and mortality.
Analysis of Orientational Restraints in Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance with Applications to Protein Structure Determination.
Show moreOf late, path-breaking advances are taking place and flourishing in the field of solid-state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (ssNMR)spectroscopy. One of the major applications of ssNMR techniques is to high resolution three-dimensional structures of biological molecules like the membrane proteins. An explicit example of this is PISEMA (Polarization Inversion Spin Exchange at Magic Angle). This dissertation studies and analyzes the use of the orientational restraints in general, and particularly the restraints measured through PISEMA. Here, we have applied our understanding of orientational restraints to briefly investigate the structure of Amantadine bound M2-TMD, a membrane protein in Influenza A Virus. We model the protein backbone structure as a discrete curve in space with atoms represented by vertices and covalent bonds connecting them as the edges. The oriented structure of this curve with respect to an external vector is emphasized. The map from the surface of the unit sphere to the PISEMA frequency plane is examined in detail. The image is a powder pattern in the frequency plane. A discussion of the resulting image is provided. Solutions to PISEMA equations lead to multiple orientations for the magnetic field vector for a given point in the frequency plane. These are duly captured by sign degeneracies for the vector coordinates. The intensity of NMR powder patterns is formulated in terms of a probability density function for 1-d spectra and a joint probability density function for the 2-d spectra. The intensity analysis for 2-d spectra is found to be rather helpful in addressing the robustness of the PISEMA data. To build protein structures by gluing together diplanes, certain necessary conditions have to be met. We formulate these as continuity conditions to be realized for diplanes. The number of oriented protein structures has been enumerated in the degeneracy framework for diplanes. Torsion angles are expressed via sign degeneracies. For aligned protein samples, the PISA wheel approach to modeling the protein structure is adopted. Finally, an atomic model of the monomer structure of M2-TMD with Amantadine has been elucidated based on PISEMA orientational restraints. This is a joint work with Jun Hu and Tom Asbury. The PISEMA data was collected by Jun Hu and the molecular modeling was performed by Tom Asbury.
The Life and Career of James Edwin Croft.
Show moreThis study examines both the personal life and professional career of James Edwin Croft, Director of Bands, Emeritus, The Florida State University. Croft established himself as a distinguished conductor and a champion of wind band music throughout a career marked by over fifty years of service to music performance and music education. This is supported by Croft's ability to establish notable wind band programs both at the public school and university levels, numerous publications authored by and written about him, an abundance of commissioned and premiered works for wind band, extensive national and international invited guest conducting and clinician appearances, and distinctions bestowed upon him by his peers. The purpose of this study is to establish a document that chronicles the life and accomplishments of James Edwin Croft so that future educators may come to better understand his influence on the music education and wind band fields.
Paying for Coverage: Conflict of Interest Among Company-Sponsored Research Firms.
Show moreThe Securities and Exchange Commission has recommended company-sponsored research to address the need for greater analyst following of smaller companies. Anecdotal evidence suggests company-sponsored research is more optimistic than research from traditional brokerage firms (Kalra 2004; Lee and Metaxas 2004; Richardson 2006). Using a sample of companies that are followed by both company sponsored analysts and traditional analysts, I examine whether the conflict of interest between the company-sponsored research firm and the client company leads to more optimistic recommendations and forecasts. In the first part of my dissertation, I find that analysts at company-sponsored research firms are more likely to issue favorable recommendations than analysts at traditional brokerage firms. This optimism appears to be a result of company-sponsored analysts upgrading their recommendation more quickly and downgrading their recommendations more slowly than analysts at traditional brokerage firms. Furthermore, recommendations issued by company-sponsored analysts appear to be overly optimistic since portfolios of stock based on their recommendations underperform relative to similar recommendations issued by traditional analysts. Finally, I find that the market does not appear to differentiate between recommendations issued by company-sponsored analysts and recommendations by traditional analysts. In the second part of my dissertation, I find that forecasts issued by company-sponsored analysts are not significantly different from forecasts issued by traditional analysts. I find neither a significant difference in bias or accuracy between forecasts issued by company-sponsored analysts and forecasts issued by traditional analysts. However, company-sponsored analysts appear to revise their forecasts less often then analysts at traditional brokerage firms. Finally, I find that the market reaction to forecast revisions issued by company-sponsored analyst is not significantly different from zero, but I cannot reject the hypothesis that the market reaction to forecast revisions issued by company-sponsored analysts is the same as the market reaction to forecast revisions issued by traditional analysts. The results of my dissertation suggest that the relationship between the company-sponsored research firm and the client company influences analysts' recommendations but not forecasts. These findings are consistent with Dechow, Hutton, and Sloan (2000) and Malmendier and Shanthikumar (2007) who suggest that analyst affiliation does not affect near-term EPS forecasts. The different results for company-sponsored recommendations and forecasts may be due to the fact that recommendations are more difficult to objectively evaluate than forecasts, and EPS forecasts tend to be geared toward sophisticated institutional investors who are more likely to recognize the conflict of interest (Malmendier and Shanthikumar 2007a; Mikhail, Walther, and Willis 2007). I also find that company-sponsored analysts revise their forecasts less often than analysts at traditional brokerage firms. This is consistent with Agrawal and Chen's (2005) theory that commissions from trading volume play an important role in shaping analysts' forecasting behavior. Analysts who are compensated by commission revenue appear to be more willing than company-sponsored analysts who are paid a fixed fee to issue timely revisions that reflect changing expectations about earnings. These findings suggest that company-sponsored research may not be an adequate substitute for research from analysts at traditional brokerage firms.


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Commentary and Opinion
Voices for Education Choice
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Charter SchoolsEducation ResearchFundingParental ChoicePrivate SchoolsSchool ChoiceTeacher QualityTesting and AccountabilityUnionism
Tough-minded approach needed for Obama's pre-K expansion
Peter H. Hanley February 25, 2013
Peter H. Hanley
I am more politically incorrect than your average guy, so when I heard President Obama call for universal pre-K for 4-year olds in the State of the Union, I cringed. With all the raucous enthusiasm ringing around this issue since the speech, adapting Warren Buffet's investment approach to public policy might be wise: when everyone is bold, it's time to be cautious.
In 2006, when I was with California Parents for Educational Choice, we were part of a coalition of organizations that defeated Rob Reiner's ballot initiative to bring universal pre-K to the state. It was introduced to widespread public approval, but by Election Day garnered only 39 percent of the vote. The electorate came to understand three major elements they did not like:
* Expanding pre-K to everyone, including middle class and upper income families, is hugely expensive and precious little, if any evidence, supports much educational value added for the middle class and wealthy.
* The initiative vastly expanded the existing public school monopoly, which hardly has a resounding record of educational success, especially with poor and minority students. It also mandated collective bargaining, swelling the ranks and economic power of the California Teachers Association, an organization that systematically stands in the way of innovation and reform.
* The academic outcomes were questionable. A Reason Foundation analysis found from 1965 to 2005, 4-year old participation in preschool programs had grown nationwide from 16 percent to 66 percent, but we had virtually no evidence of increased student learning on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) by fourth grade. Oklahoma, with a universal program since 1998, finished dead last on the 2005 NAEP, actually losing four points.
But that was close to seven years ago and admittedly, I haven't followed the pre-K issue regularly. So I spent the last few days reviewing some studies and data. The key word in the Obama proposal is quality.
We likely can justify a highly targeted effort on kids in failed families or families that simply have no resources – financial, social, emotional, or cultural – to allow their children to mature and develop normally. But when Obama declares, "We know this works," he overstates and simplifies our experience.
Blog AdministrationCharter SchoolsSchool ChoiceUnionism
Parents and charter schools have shaken up the old order
Special to redefinED October 31, 2012
Special to redefinED
"It is this parents movement that has shifted the tectonic plates of education reform."
by Gloria Romero
Even while Gov. Jerry Brown and the California Teachers Association barnstormed the state, urging voters to raise taxes with Proposition 30 to support public education and predicting doomsday if the measure fails, a fascinating report from the California Charter Schools Association was released on the growth of charter schools in the Golden State.
Data from the report clearly reveal that change has come to California's public education system.
Charter schools are public schools. They are publicly funded but operate with greater independence, autonomy and flexibility from the burdensome state Education Code which micromanages even the minutia of education practices. Charter schools are typically nonunion, although they can be unionized if teachers vote for a union.
Charter schools were first established in the nation two decades ago, with California becoming the second state to authorize them. Hailed as opportunities for innovation and reform, charter schools began to grow.
Even beyond becoming recognized as "petri dishes for educational reform," the underlying philosophy of parental choice in public education began to take root. In a system where ZIP code is the sole criteria of school assignment, charters began to become a sort of "promised land" for high-poverty, minority families whose children were too often assigned to chronically under performing schools.
One-hundred nine new charters opened in California just this academic year, bringing the number of charter schools to 1,065, the most in the nation. Still, there are still 70,000 pupils on waiting lists.
Blog AdministrationEducation and Public PolicyFundingParental ChoiceSchool Choice
California's toe in the water on school "vouchers"?
Peter H. Hanley May 14, 2012
Editor's note: Progress in the parental school choice movement is measured not only by big gains in states like Indiana and Louisiana, but by the flurry of incremental developments in more states every year. Peter Hanley, executive director of the California-based American Center for School Choice, offers a look at encouraging developments in his home state.
California has the nation's largest charter school program, with 982 charter schools serving 412,000 students. But with nearly a two-thirds Democratic legislature heavily influenced by the California Teachers Association, tax credit scholarships or vouchers have been entirely off the table. In fact, charter schools' flexibility is under near constant attack. Now, though, two legislators have introduced innovative approaches that address a unique feature in California's constitution and attempt to bring educational tax credits to the state.
Unlike any other state, California has a voter-initiated constitutional amendment (Prop. 98) that sets a floor on the percent of general fund monies that must be spent on education. Anything that removes money from the general fund will instantly trigger the public education coalition to oppose it. So these legislators, one Democrat and one Republican, have proposed models that benefit both public and private schools.
Senate Bill 1542, introduced by Democratic Sen. Gloria Negrete McCloud, provides individual and corporate tax credits to Local Educational Advancement Program (LEAP) organizations. They will assist K-12 students from families with demonstrated financial needs to receive critical services before or after school, on weekends, or during the summer. SB 1542 precisely aims to ensure academic services – such as diagnostic evaluations, tutoring, summer school, and college and career planning and counseling – that have been heavily damaged by the extraordinary recession California has experienced since 2008. Although many more fortunate families in the state continue to be able to provide such services for their children, those with low and moderate incomes cannot and are disproportionately suffering. Children from public and private schools would be eligible for these services.
The Senate Governance and Finance Committee is expected to hold a hearing on this bill within the next few weeks. The future likely depends on whether it can be fit into the state's budget, with questions now revolving around whether both individuals and corporations will be eligible for the credit, how large the credit will be, and whether it will be a straight credit or a percentage of a donation. Notably, the committee has not raised any objections about private school participation.
Assembly Bill 2582, sponsored by Republican Assemblyman Brian Nestande, takes a more traditional approach.
Blog AdministrationEducation and Public PolicySchool BoardsUnionism
The disturbing result from dark of night legislation
Peter H. Hanley July 21, 2011
Editor's note: This guest column comes from Peter H. Hanley, the executive director of the American Center for School Choice and a board member of the San Mateo Union High School District outside San Francisco.
When I was first elected to my school board ten years ago and was puzzled about why certain things were the way they were, a veteran board member told me that understanding public education policy is much easier once one realizes the adults within the system, not the kids, are the first priority.
The California legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown reinforced that truth with a stealth law passed late the night of June 30 with no hearings or debate to prohibit school districts from laying off any teachers this year, even if they anticipate reduced funding and a deficit. With nearly 15 percent of all school districts on the California Department of Education's financial "watch list" as of mid-June, this law also recklessly suspends the legislation requiring county superintendents to certify the current and future financial viability of school districts.
That same day, the state lost $4 billion of revenue when temporary taxes expired. Yet the budget somehow anticipates that $4 billion will magically reappear. If it doesn't, another $2.5 billion in education funding cuts could automatically kick in around the middle of the school year.
No one questions that teachers are a key to educational success, but they are also around 50 percent of most school districts' budgets. If you take teachers off the table, your ability and options to manage the organization are significantly reduced.
Unbelievably, the legislature's and governor's alternative suggestion is to throw our kids under the bus by cutting the shortest school year in the industrialized world further by seven days. Well over half of the K-12 population qualifies as economically disadvantaged and performs far below other students. Moreover, about 40 percent of all students are below proficient in English and 70 percent are below proficient in high school mathematics. With this situation, incomprehensibly, California public policy now is to preserve, at the cost of children's educations and the real risk of school district bankruptcies, the jobs of college-educated adults.
Blog AdministrationCharter SchoolsEducation and Public PolicyParent Empowerment
California board gives OK to parent trigger rules
Adam Emerson July 13, 2011
Adam Emerson
From the Sacramento Bee's Capitol Alert:
The State Board of Education today gave tentative approval to rules outlining how parents may petition to dramatically restructure their children's low-performing schools.
The nine-member board voted unanimously to provide a final 15-day comment period before they vote in September to officially adopt the regulations. But board president Michael Kirst doubted members would make any significant changes to what was approved today.
The rules reflect a give-and-take between the powerful California Teachers Association and the well-funded advocacy group Parent Revolution. The regulations would fill in the gaps of the controversial "parent trigger" law signed last year by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after it squeaked through the Legislature.
The law allows parents to demand one of four school overhauls if a majority of parents at the school or from feeder schools petition for the change.
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And eyes would open in gladness.
Souls to serve Him for life!
Is going for ever after!!!!
This entry was posted in "imagineering", a blessing to all!, a Caswell limerick poem, a consumation highky to be wished (Jeeves), a family together, A FRIEND APPRECIATED, A GENEROUS ACT, a limerick poem, a Master Painter leads, a mystery, a new day, a satisfying Saturday., a search for beauty!, a special relationship with Father God, about the gifts, according to God's Word, all in good fun, AN ACTIVE SHOOTER, an intern who is making good., an opinion piece, and fellow bloggers!, appreciating wisdom! and tagged drawing believers and unbelievers alike, free gift, Hey disciples of Christ!, pointing toward Jesus Christ, spreading God's love, the crux of the matter on September 30, 2017 by Jonathan Caswell.


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text:
package cn.leancloud.chatkit;

import android.content.Context;
import android.text.TextUtils;

import com.avos.avoscloud.AVCallback;
import com.avos.avoscloud.AVException;
import com.avos.avoscloud.AVOSCloud;
import com.avos.avoscloud.SignatureFactory;
import com.avos.avoscloud.im.v2.AVIMClient;
import com.avos.avoscloud.im.v2.AVIMException;
import com.avos.avoscloud.im.v2.AVIMMessageManager;
import com.avos.avoscloud.im.v2.AVIMTypedMessage;
import com.avos.avoscloud.im.v2.callback.AVIMClientCallback;

import cn.leancloud.chatkit.cache.LCIMConversationItemCache;
import cn.leancloud.chatkit.cache.LCIMProfileCache;
import cn.leancloud.chatkit.handler.LCIMClientEventHandler;
import cn.leancloud.chatkit.handler.LCIMConversationHandler;
import cn.leancloud.chatkit.handler.LCIMMessageHandler;

/**
 * Created by wli on 16/2/2.
 * LeanCloudChatKit 的管理类
 */
public final class LCChatKit {

  private static LCChatKit lcChatKit;
  private LCChatProfileProvider profileProvider;
  private String currentUserId;

  private LCChatKit() {
  }

  public static synchronized LCChatKit getInstance() {
    if (null == lcChatKit) {
      lcChatKit = new LCChatKit();
    }
    return lcChatKit;
  }

  /**
   * 初始化 LeanCloudChatKit,此函数要在 Application 的 onCreate 中调用
   *
   * @param context
   * @param appId
   * @param appKey
   */
  public void init(Context context, String appId, String appKey) {
    if (TextUtils.isEmpty(appId)) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("appId can not be empty!");
    }
    if (TextUtils.isEmpty(appKey)) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("appKey can not be empty!");
    }

    AVOSCloud.initialize(context.getApplicationContext(), appId, appKey);

    // 消息处理 handler
    AVIMMessageManager.registerMessageHandler(AVIMTypedMessage.class, new LCIMMessageHandler(context));

    // 与网络相关的 handler
    AVIMClient.setClientEventHandler(LCIMClientEventHandler.getInstance());

    // 和 Conversation 相关的事件的 handler
    AVIMMessageManager.setConversationEventHandler(LCIMConversationHandler.getInstance());

    // 默认设置为离线消息仅推送数量
    AVIMClient.setOfflineMessagePush(true);
  }

  /**
   * 设置用户体系
   *
   * @param profileProvider
   */
  public void setProfileProvider(LCChatProfileProvider profileProvider) {
    this.profileProvider = profileProvider;
  }

  /**
   * 获取当前的用户体系
   *
   * @return
   */
  public LCChatProfileProvider getProfileProvider() {
    return profileProvider;
  }

  /**
   * 设置签名工厂
   *
   * @param signatureFactory
   */
  public void setSignatureFactory(SignatureFactory signatureFactory) {
    AVIMClient.setSignatureFactory(signatureFactory);
  }

  /**
   * 开启实时聊天
   *
   * @param userId
   * @param callback
   */
  public void open(final String userId, final AVIMClientCallback callback) {
    if (TextUtils.isEmpty(userId)) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("userId can not be empty!");
    }
    if (null == callback) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("callback can not be null!");
    }

    AVIMClient.getInstance(userId).open(new AVIMClientCallback() {
      @Override
      public void done(final AVIMClient avimClient, AVIMException e) {
        if (null == e) {
          currentUserId = userId;
          LCIMProfileCache.getInstance().initDB(AVOSCloud.applicationContext, userId);
          LCIMConversationItemCache.getInstance().initDB(AVOSCloud.applicationContext, userId, new AVCallback() {
            @Override
            protected void internalDone0(Object o, AVException e) {
              callback.internalDone(avimClient, e);
            }
          });
        } else {
          callback.internalDone(avimClient, e);
        }
      }
    });
  }

  /**
   * 关闭实时聊天
   *
   * @param callback
   */
  public void close(final AVIMClientCallback callback) {
    AVIMClient.getInstance(currentUserId).close(new AVIMClientCallback() {
      @Override
      public void done(AVIMClient avimClient, AVIMException e) {
        currentUserId = null;
        if (null != callback) {
          callback.internalDone(avimClient, e);
        }
      }
    });
  }

  /**
   * 获取当前的实时聊天的用户
   *
   * @return
   */
  public String getCurrentUserId() {
    return currentUserId;
  }

  /**
   * 获取当前的 AVIMClient 实例
   *
   * @return
   */
  public AVIMClient getClient() {
    if (!TextUtils.isEmpty(currentUserId)) {
      return AVIMClient.getInstance(currentUserId);
    }
    return null;
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Mazraeh-ye Madan (Persian: مزرعه معدن, also Romanized as Mazra'eh-ye Ma'dan; also known as Bāgh-e Ma'dan, Bāgh Ma'dan, Bâq-ma'dan, and Ma'dan) is a village in Meshkan Rural District, Poshtkuh District, Neyriz County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 53, in 14 families.
Farsø is a town with a population of 3,299 (1 January 2014) in Region Nordjylland in Denmark in the Vesthimmerland municipality.
Until January 1, 2007, Farsø was also a municipality (Danish, kommune) in North Jutland County. The municipality covered an area of 201 km², and had a total population of 7,991 (2005). Its last mayor was H. O. A. Kjeldsen, a member of the Venstre (Liberal Party) political party.
Farsø municipality ceased to exist as the result of Kommunalreformen ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007). It was merged with Løgstør, Aalestrup, and Aars municipalities to form the new Vesthimmerland municipality. This created a municipality with an area of 815 km² and a total population of 39,176 (2005).
Farsø was the birthplace of Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1944.
Fars Province (/fɑːrs/; Persian: استان فارس Ostān-e Fārs, pronounced [ˈfɒː(ɾ)s]) also known as Pars or Persia in historical context, is one of the thirty-one provinces of Iran and known as the cultural capital of Iran. It is in the south of the country, in Iran's Region 2, and its administrative center is Shiraz. It has an area of 122,400 km². In 2011, this province had a population of 4.6 million people, of which 67.6% were registered as urban dwellers (urban/suburbs), 32.1% villagers (small town/rural), and 0.3% nomad tribes. The etymology of the word "Persian" (From Latin Persia, from Ancient Greek Περσίς (Persis)), found in many ancient names associated with Iran, is derived from the historical importance of this region.
The ancient Persians were present in the region from about the 10th century BC, and became the rulers of the largest empire the world had yet seen under the Achaemenid dynasty which was established in the late 6th century BC, at its peak stretching from Thrace-Macedonia, Bulgaria-Paeonia and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in its far east. The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, are located in Fars.