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Choosing A Starting Configuration For Particle Swarm Optimization, Mark Richards, Dan A. Ventura Jul 2004

Choosing A Starting Configuration For Particle Swarm Optimization, Mark Richards, Dan A. Ventura

Faculty Publications

The performance of Particle Swarm Optimization can be improved by strategically selecting the starting positions of the particles. This work suggests the use of generators from centroidal Voronoi tessellations as the starting points for the swarm. The performance of swarms initialized with this method is compared with the standard PSO algorithm on several standard test functions. Results suggest that CVT initialization improves PSO performance in high-dimensional spaces.

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Incremental Policy Learning: An Equilibrium Selection Algorithm For Reinforcement Learning Agents With Common Interests, Nancy Fulda, Dan A. Ventura Jul 2004

Incremental Policy Learning: An Equilibrium Selection Algorithm For Reinforcement Learning Agents With Common Interests, Nancy Fulda, Dan A. Ventura

Faculty Publications

We present an equilibrium selection algorithm for reinforcement learning agents that incrementally adjusts the probability of executing each action based on the desirability of the outcome obtained in the last time step. The algorithm assumes that at least one coordination equilibrium exists and requires that the agents have a heuristic for determining whether or not the equilibrium was obtained. In deterministic environments with one or more strict coordination equilibria, the algorithm will learn to play an optimal equilibrium as long as the heuristic is accurate. Empirical data demonstrate that the algorithm is also effective in stochastic environments and is able …

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Task-Focused Summarization Of Email, Eric K. Ringger, Richard Campbell, Simon Corston-Oliver, Michael Gamon Jul 2004

Task-Focused Summarization Of Email, Eric K. Ringger, Richard Campbell, Simon Corston-Oliver, Michael Gamon

Faculty Publications

We describe SmartMail, a prototype system for automatically identifying action items (tasks) in email messages. SmartMail presents the user with a task-focused summary of a message. The summary consists of a list of action items extracted from the message. The user can add these action items to their “to do” list.

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Sts Task Force On Information Literacy For Science And Technology, Virginia Baldwin, Sheila Young, Ibironke Lawal, Catherine Wong Jun 2004

Sts Task Force On Information Literacy For Science And Technology, Virginia Baldwin, Sheila Young, Ibironke Lawal, Catherine Wong

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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Exceptional Record Of Mid-Pleistocene Vertebrates Helps Differentiate Climatic From Anthropogenic Ecosystem Perturbations, Anthony D. Barnosky, Christopher J. Bell, Steven D, Emslie, H. Thomas Goodwin, Jim I. Mead, Charles A. Repenning, Eric Scott, Alan B. Shabel Jun 2004

Exceptional Record Of Mid-Pleistocene Vertebrates Helps Differentiate Climatic From Anthropogenic Ecosystem Perturbations, Anthony D. Barnosky, Christopher J. Bell, Steven D, Emslie, H. Thomas Goodwin, Jim I. Mead, Charles A. Repenning, Eric Scott, Alan B. Shabel

Faculty Publications

Mid-Pleistocene vertebrates in North America are scarce but important for recognizing the ecological effects of climatic change in the absence of humans. We report on a uniquely rich mid-Pleistocene vertebrate sequence from Porcupine Cave, Colorado, which records at least 127 species and the earliest appearances of 30 mammals and birds. By analyzing >20,000 mammal fossils in relation to modern species and independent climatic proxies, we determined how mammal communities reacted to presumed glacial-interglacial transitions between 1,000,000 and 600,000 years ago. We conclude that climatic warming primarily affected mammals of lower trophic and size categories, in contrast to documented human impacts …

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Use Of Collaborative Learning Exercises To Increase Student Motivation And Learning In An Introduction To Materials Engineering Course, Stacy Gleixner, Hilary Lackritz Jun 2004

Use Of Collaborative Learning Exercises To Increase Student Motivation And Learning In An Introduction To Materials Engineering Course, Stacy Gleixner, Hilary Lackritz

Faculty Publications

A collection of collaborative, in-class exercises have been designed for use in a freshmen/sophomore level Introduction to Materials Science and Engineering class. The activities are team based problems that include open ended design problems, calculation questions, and thought problems on unanswered research questions. The activities have been designed with the goal of having one or two a week embedded in a more traditional lecture setting. The exercises relate to the topics covered in most standard Introduction to Materials classes (crystal structure, mechanical properties, polymers, phase diagrams…). Each activity is designed specifically to engage the students in the lecture and excite …

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Description And Assessment Of A Business Plan Competition And New Venture Fair At San José State University, Malu Roldan, Asbjorn Osland, Michael Solt, Burton Dean Jun 2004

Description And Assessment Of A Business Plan Competition And New Venture Fair At San José State University, Malu Roldan, Asbjorn Osland, Michael Solt, Burton Dean

Faculty Publications

After the first business plan competition, in May 2003, San José State University (SJSU) faculty and community entrepreneurs serving on the university’s Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship (SVCE) concluded that the process should be spread over an academic year. Hence, the New Venture Fair (NVF) was born, which was held Dec. 16, 2003. The feedback from all sources has been very positive regarding the NVF. A significant NVF exhibit was the Hewlett Packard Mobile Computing Grant (HPMCG). All teams completed projects that were impressive to most observers from the university and greater community but additional lessons were learned that will …

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Accountability And The Promise Of Performance: In Search Of The Mechanisms, Melvin J. Dubnick Jun 2004

Accountability And The Promise Of Performance: In Search Of The Mechanisms, Melvin J. Dubnick

Faculty Publications

This document critically examines the assumed relationship between accountability and performance in public administration reforms, particularly within the context of New Public Management.

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Stickiness And The Adaptation Of Organizational Practices In Cross-Border Knowledge Transfers, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski Jun 2004

Stickiness And The Adaptation Of Organizational Practices In Cross-Border Knowledge Transfers, Robert J. Jensen, Gabriel Szulanski

Faculty Publications

The re-use of organizational practices in multiple locations is a fundamental way MNCs leverage knowledge to seek competitive advantage. Scholars approaching the issue of adaptation from both a market and an institutional perspective argue that, in order to achieve fit with the local environment, some degree of adaptation is advisable with the need for adaptation increasing as the institutional distance between source and recipient locations increases. However, arguments to date have examined the effect of adaptation primarily on a subsidiary's long term performance. A necessary precursor is to understand the effect of adaptation on the transfer process itself as transfer …

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Health Care Barriers For Latino Children And Provision Of Culturally Competent Care, Jane H. Lassetter, Joan H. Baldwin Jun 2004

Health Care Barriers For Latino Children And Provision Of Culturally Competent Care, Jane H. Lassetter, Joan H. Baldwin

Faculty Publications

The demography of the United States is rapidly changing. The impressive growth rate of Latino populations within the United States has great impact on health care. This article includes discussion of a significant increase from 1988 to 2000 in Latino utilization of emergency department and inpatient services at a pediatric medical center in Salt Lake City, Utah, information on health care barriers for Latinos, and suggestions for providing culturally competent care.

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Correlation And Covariance Of Satellite Scatterometer Measurements, David G. Long, Peter K. Yoho Jun 2004

Correlation And Covariance Of Satellite Scatterometer Measurements, David G. Long, Peter K. Yoho

Faculty Publications

Capable scatterometer designs have been developed that seek improved resolution through the use of higher pulse sampling rates. The high sampling rates bring the traditional scatterometry assumption of measurement independence into question. This paper uses fundamental scattering theory to derive general expressions for correlation and covariance between scatterometer measurements and provides practical analysis using current and future instruments as examples. The paper derives expressions for the measurement variance parameter Kp when measurement correlation due to Rayleigh fading effects is present and relates Kp to the statistics of multiple pulse measurements. A function of the transmit signal modulation and receive processing, …

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Rationale For A New Generation Of Indicators For Coastal Waters, Gerald Niemi, Denice Wardrop, Robert Brooks, Susan Anderson, Valerie Brady, Hans Paerl, Chet Rakocinski, Marius Brouwer, Barbara Levinson, Michael Mcdonald Jun 2004

Rationale For A New Generation Of Indicators For Coastal Waters, Gerald Niemi, Denice Wardrop, Robert Brooks, Susan Anderson, Valerie Brady, Hans Paerl, Chet Rakocinski, Marius Brouwer, Barbara Levinson, Michael Mcdonald

Faculty Publications

More than half the world'S human population lives within 100 km of the coast, and that number is expected to increase by 25% over the next two decades. Consequently, coastal ecosystems are at serious risk. Larger coastal populations and increasing development have led to increased loading of toxic substances, nutrients and pathogens with subsequent algal blooms, hypoxia, beach closures, and damage to coastal fisheries. Recent climate change has led to the rise in sea level with loss of coastal wetlands and saltwater intrusion into coastal aquifers. Coastal resources have traditionally been monitored on a stressor-by-stressor basis such as for nutrient …

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Cichlid Biogeography: Comment And Review, Prosanta Chakrabarty Jun 2004

Cichlid Biogeography: Comment And Review, Prosanta Chakrabarty

Faculty Publications

Phylogenetic analyses dealing with disjunct distributions (distributions that require marine dispersal or vicariant events) are reviewed for the Cichlidae. The most corroborated relationship between clades across a Gondwanan disjunction is the sister relationship between Indian and Malagasy cichlids. The minimum age of the Cichlidae as implied by the fossil record is at odds with the timing of the Cretaceous break of the Indian-Madagascar landmass. All well sampled phylogenies for this group fit a pattern reflecting Gondwanan break-up. Grounds for strictly dispersalist hypotheses are not well founded for any cichlid disjunct distribution, leaving vicariance alternatives as the only explanation.

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Hopf Algebras Of Dimension Pq, Siu Hung Ng Jun 2004

Hopf Algebras Of Dimension Pq, Siu Hung Ng

Faculty Publications

Let H be a non-semisimple Hopf algebra with antipode S of dimension pq over an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0 where p ≤ q are odd primes. We prove that Tr(S2p) = p2d where d ≡ pq (mod 4). As a consequence, if p, q are twin primes, then any Hopf algebra of dimension pq is semisimple. © 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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President's Page, Samantha K. Hastings Jun 2004

President's Page, Samantha K. Hastings

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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The Impact Of Species Concept On Biodiversity Studies, Keith A. Crandall, Paul-Michael Agapow, Olaf R. P. Bininda-Emonds, John L. Gittleman, Georgina M. Mace, Jonathon C. Marshall, Andy Purvis Jun 2004

The Impact Of Species Concept On Biodiversity Studies, Keith A. Crandall, Paul-Michael Agapow, Olaf R. P. Bininda-Emonds, John L. Gittleman, Georgina M. Mace, Jonathon C. Marshall, Andy Purvis

Faculty Publications

Species are defined using a variety of different operational techniques. While discussion of the various methodologies has previously been restricted mostly to taxonomists, the demarcation of species is also crucial for conservation biology. Unfortunately, different methods of diagnosing species can arrive at different entities. Most prominently, it is widely thought that use of a phylogenetic species concept may lead to recognition of a far greater number of much less inclusive units. As a result, studies of the same group of organisms can produce not only different species identities but also different species range and number of individuals. To assess the …

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Long-Term Study Of The Seismic Environment At Ligo, E. J. Daw, J. A. Giaime, D. Lormand, M. Lubinski, J. Zweizig May 2004

Long-Term Study Of The Seismic Environment At Ligo, E. J. Daw, J. A. Giaime, D. Lormand, M. Lubinski, J. Zweizig

Faculty Publications

The LIGO experiment aims to detect and study gravitational waves using ground-based laser interferometry. A critical factor to the performance of the interferometers, and a major consideration in the design of possible future upgrades, is isolation of the interferometer optics from seismic noise. We present the results of a detailed programme of measurements of the seismic environment surrounding the LIGO interferometers. We describe the experimental configuration used to collect the data, which were acquired over a 613 day period. The measurements focused on the frequency range 0.1-10 Hz, in which the secondary microseismic peak and noise due to human activity …

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Dynamics Of Pectoral Fin Rowing In A Fish With An Extreme Rowing Stroke: The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), Jeffrey A. Walker Phd May 2004

Dynamics Of Pectoral Fin Rowing In A Fish With An Extreme Rowing Stroke: The Threespine Stickleback (Gasterosteus Aculeatus), Jeffrey A. Walker Phd

Faculty Publications

The dynamics of pectoral fin rowing in the threespine stickleback are investigated by measuring the instantaneous force balance on freely swimming fish throughout the stroke cycle and comparing the measured forces with fin motions and an unsteady, blade-element model of pectoral fin propulsion. Both measured and modeled forces suggest that attached vortex and circulatory forces and not inertial (added mass) forces dominate the force balance. Peak forces occur at midstrokes. There is no evidence for large force peaks at the stroke transitions due to either rapid fin rotation (supination) or rapid fin closure against the body. The energetics of pectoral …

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Properties And Performance Of The Prototype Instrument For The Pierre Auger Observatory, J. Abraham, M. Aglietta, I. C. Aguirre, M. Albrow, D. Allard, I. Allekotte, P. Allison, J. Alvarez Muñiz, M. G. Do Amaral, M. Ambrosio, L. Anchordoqui, R. Andrews, M. Anguiano, J. C. Dos Anjos, C. Aramo, S. Argiro, K. Arisaka, J. C. Arteaga, S. Atulugama, M. Ave, G. Avila, R. Baggio, X. Bai, A. F. Barbosa, H. M.J. Barbosa, D. Barnhill, S. L.C. Barroso, P. Bauleo, J. Beatty, T. Beau, K. H. Becker, J. A. Bellido, P. Bello May 2004

Properties And Performance Of The Prototype Instrument For The Pierre Auger Observatory, J. Abraham, M. Aglietta, I. C. Aguirre, M. Albrow, D. Allard, I. Allekotte, P. Allison, J. Alvarez Muñiz, M. G. Do Amaral, M. Ambrosio, L. Anchordoqui, R. Andrews, M. Anguiano, J. C. Dos Anjos, C. Aramo, S. Argiro, K. Arisaka, J. C. Arteaga, S. Atulugama, M. Ave, G. Avila, R. Baggio, X. Bai, A. F. Barbosa, H. M.J. Barbosa, D. Barnhill, S. L.C. Barroso, P. Bauleo, J. Beatty, T. Beau, K. H. Becker, J. A. Bellido, P. Bello

Faculty Publications

Construction of the first stage of the Pierre Auger Observatory has begun. The aim of the Observatory is to collect unprecedented information about cosmic rays above 1018 eV. The first phase of the project, the construction and operation of a prototype system, known as the engineering array, has now been completed. It has allowed all of the sub-systems that will be used in the full instrument to be tested under field conditions. In this paper, the properties and performance of these sub-systems are described and their success illustrated with descriptions of some of the events recorded thus far. © 2003 …

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Impossibility Of C∞ Variation Or Formal Power Series Variation In Solutions To Hilbert's 17th Problem, Charles N. Delzell May 2004

Impossibility Of C∞ Variation Or Formal Power Series Variation In Solutions To Hilbert's 17th Problem, Charles N. Delzell

Faculty Publications

No matter how a positive semidefinite polynomial f ∈ ℝ[X1,...,Xn] is represented (according to E. Artin's 1926 solution to Hilbert's 17th problem) in the form f = ∑ piri2 (with 0 ≤ Pi ∈ ℝ and ri ∈ ℝ(X1,..., Xn), the pi and the coefficients of the ri cannot be chosen to depend in a C∞ (i.e., infinitely differentiable) manner upon the coefficients of f (unless deg f ≤, 2); formal powers series variation is also impossible. This answers a question we had raised in 1990 [Contemp. Math., vol. 155, Amer. Math. Soc., 1994, pp. 107-117], where we had already …

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Simple Entanglement Measure For Multipartite Pure States, Feng Pan, Dan Liu, Guoying Lu, J. P. Draayer May 2004

Simple Entanglement Measure For Multipartite Pure States, Feng Pan, Dan Liu, Guoying Lu, J. P. Draayer

Faculty Publications

A simple entanglement measure for multipartite pure states is formulated based on the partial entropy of a series of reduced density matrices. Use of the proposed new measure to distinguish disentangled, partially entangled, and maximally entangled multipartite pure states is illustrated. © 2004 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

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A Politically Viable Approach To Sovereign Debt Restructuring, A. Mechele Dickerson May 2004

A Politically Viable Approach To Sovereign Debt Restructuring, A. Mechele Dickerson

Faculty Publications

The failure to enact a statutory system to restructure sovereign debt suggests that the international community is still unwilling to adopt a unified global response to insolvency issues. Since nations refused to enact uniform legislation to facilitate more orderly business insolvencies within a sovereign, it is not surprising that recent attempts to create uniform legislation that addresses the insolvency of sovereigns themselves have been unsuccessful. While a comprehensive statutory approach can predictably and efficiently restructure all of a sovereign's debts, the failed experience with uniform cross-border insolvency legislation suggests that sovereigns will not accept an inflexible statutory scheme that contains …

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Control Strategies For Active Power Sharing In A Fuel-Cell-Powered Battery-Charging Station, Zhenhua Jiang, Roger A. Dougal May 2004

Control Strategies For Active Power Sharing In A Fuel-Cell-Powered Battery-Charging Station, Zhenhua Jiang, Roger A. Dougal

Faculty Publications

This paper presents an effective system design for a fuel-cell-powered battery-charging station and three control strategies for active power sharing among the batteries. This battery-charging station allows multiple batteries to be simultaneously charged. Three control strategies were investigated to coordinate the active power distribution among the battery-charging branches. The baseline control strategy Was equal rate charging. Two advanced control strategies, proportional rate charging and pulse current charging, were compared to the baseline strategy. These control strategies were realized in MaTLaB/Simulink, and the current and voltage regulations were implemented using the classical proportional-integral control approach. The system simulation was conducted in …

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Discerning Trends, Contours, And Boundaries In Comparative Education: A Survey Of Comparativists And Their Literature, Steven J. Hite, Bradley J. Cook, Erwin H. Epstein May 2004

Discerning Trends, Contours, And Boundaries In Comparative Education: A Survey Of Comparativists And Their Literature, Steven J. Hite, Bradley J. Cook, Erwin H. Epstein

Faculty Publications

Surely the health and vitality of any academic field relies on the periodic review of its intellectual history, evolving theoretical frameworks, and thematic shifts. Attempts to define a field typically involve lively debates over boundary maintenance. Indeed, the question of whether cooperative education is a "discipline" has been debated at least since the earliest issues of the Comparative Education Review and has continued to be debated in different forums. Leon Tikly and Michael Crossley believe that a comparative and international canon is discernible, although it is one that is "continually being challenged by new theories and approaches from the arts, …

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Impact Of Stock Option Expensing On Small Businesses, Stephen F. Diamond, United States Senate, Committee On Small Business And Entrepreneurship Apr 2004

Impact Of Stock Option Expensing On Small Businesses, Stephen F. Diamond, United States Senate, Committee On Small Business And Entrepreneurship

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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On Noncoherent Detection Of Cpm, Michael D. Rice, Erik Perrins Apr 2004

On Noncoherent Detection Of Cpm, Michael D. Rice, Erik Perrins

Faculty Publications

This work was supported under a grant from the Air Force ARTM program (Contracts F04700-02-P-0080 and F04700-02-P-0081). It is well understood that the performance of noncoherent receivers with multi-symbol observation intervals approaches that of coherent receivers as the observation interval grows arbitrarily large. However, since complexity also grows exponentially with observation length, there are practical limits to this approach. In this paper we present a noncoherent receiver for continuous phase modulation (CPM) whose structure is a hybrid between existing coherent and noncoherent receiver architectures. The presentation is given in the most general M-ary multi-h terms, with some emphasis on the …

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Noble Metal Nanostructures Synthesized Inside Mesoporous Nanotemplate Pores, J. Arbiol, E. Rossinyol, A. Cabot, F. Peiro, A. Cornet, J. R. Morante, Fanglin Chen, Meilin Liu Apr 2004

Noble Metal Nanostructures Synthesized Inside Mesoporous Nanotemplate Pores, J. Arbiol, E. Rossinyol, A. Cabot, F. Peiro, A. Cornet, J. R. Morante, Fanglin Chen, Meilin Liu

Faculty Publications

Noble metal impregnation has resulted in the inclusion of metal nanostructures within the SBA-15 mesoporous silica hexagonal pores (from nanoclusters to nanowires). A bright-field transmission electron microscopy three-dimensional reconstruction is proposed to analyze the localization of nanostructures within the pores of mesoporous nanotemplates. The method allows corroboration whether the nanostructures are synthesized inside the pores or they are synthesized alternatively on the nanotemplate aggregates exterior surface.

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Accountability Through Thick And Thin: Preliminary Explorations, Melvin J. Dubnick Apr 2004

Accountability Through Thick And Thin: Preliminary Explorations, Melvin J. Dubnick

Faculty Publications

This document explores the concepts of thick and thin accountability, their theoretical distinctions, and implications for governance and democratic responsibility.

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Pour Encourager Les Autres? The Curious History And Distressing Implications Of The Criminal Provisions Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act And The Sentencing Guidelines Amendments That Followed, Frank O. Bowman Iii Apr 2004

Pour Encourager Les Autres? The Curious History And Distressing Implications Of The Criminal Provisions Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act And The Sentencing Guidelines Amendments That Followed, Frank O. Bowman Iii

Faculty Publications

This Article presents a legislative history of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the subsequent amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. It explains the surprising interaction between the civil and criminal provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley. The Article also provides a dramatic and detailed account of the interplay of political interests and agendas that ultimately led to large sentence increases for serious corporate criminals and blanket sentence increases for virtually all federal fraud defendants. The tale illuminates the substance of the new legislation and sentencing rules, but is more broadly instructive regarding the distribution of power over criminal sentencing between the three branches and …

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Evolution, Theology, And Method - Part 3: Evolution And Adventist Theology, Fernando L. Canale Apr 2004

Evolution, Theology, And Method - Part 3: Evolution And Adventist Theology, Fernando L. Canale

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

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