Digital Commons Network^™

Number 12, 2008, Palara Editor

PALARA: Publication of the Afro-Latin/American Research Association

Complete Issue

Mixed Methods For Mixed Reality: Overcoming Methodological Challenges To Understand User Activities In Virtual Worlds, David F. Feldon, Yasmin B. Kafai

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper examines the use of mixed methods for analyzing users’ avatar-related activities in a virtual world. Server logs recorded keystroke-level activity for 595 participants over a six-month period in Whyville.net, an informal science website. Participants also completed surveys and participated in interviews regarding their experiences. Additionally, the study included online ethnographic observations of Whyville and offline observations of a subset of 88 users in classroom and after-school settings during their participation. A mixed-methods analysis identified a major user emphasis on avatar appearance and customization that was invariant across user typologies. Implications for the use of mixed methods in online …

Communication On The Paper "A Reference-Dependent Regret Model For Deterministic Tradeoff Studies", Xiaoting Wang, Evangelos Triantaphyilou, Edouard Kujawski

Faculty Publications

This communication focuses on a fundamental problem related to the recently introduced Reference-Dependent Regret Model (RDRM) [E. Kujawski, Syst Eng 8(2) (2005), 119-1371 for deterministic multi-criteria decision-making. Kujawski asserted that the RDRM model satisfies three properties. The first of these properties, referred to as the "independence of dominated alternatives," seems to be an intuitive one. According to this property, the RDRM model preserves the ranking of two alternatives Ai and Aj with ranking Ai > Aj when a new alternative dominated by Ai is introduced or an old alternative dominated by Aj is dropped. In this communication it is demonstrated algebraically …

Manufactured Aluminum Oxide Nanoparticles Decrease Expression Of Tight Junction Proteins In Brain Vasculature, Lei Chen, Robert A. Yokel, Bernhard Hennig, Michal Toborek

Pharmaceutical Sciences Faculty Publications

Manufactured nanoparticles of aluminum oxide (nano-alumina) have been widely used in the environment; however, their potential toxicity provides a growing concern for human health. The present study focuses on the hypothesis that nano-alumina can affect the blood-brain barrier and induce endothelial toxicity. In the first series of experiments, human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) were exposed to alumina and control nanoparticles in dose- and time-responsive manners. Treatment with nano-alumina markedly reduced HBMEC viability, altered mitochondrial potential, increased cellular oxidation, and decreased tight junction protein expression as compared to control nanoparticles. Alterations of tight junction protein levels were prevented by cellular …

Candor, Zeal, And The Substitution Of Judgment: Ethics And The Mentally Ill Criminal Defendant , John D. King

American University Law Review

This Article explores the tension between autonomy and paternalism that characterizes the attorney-client relationship when a criminal defense attorney represents a mentally impaired client. Specifically, the Article analyzes the ethical frameworks that constrain the discretion of the attorney in this situation and proposes a new paradigm for ethical decisionmaking when an attorney represents a marginally competent client.

The criminal defense attorney is both a zealous advocate for her client and an officer of the legal system. In representing a marginally competent client, the initial ethical dilemma facing the attorney is whether she has an obligation to alert the court to …

Mercury Rising: The Omnibus Autism Proceeding And What Families Should Know Before Rushing Out Of Vaccine Court, Gordon Shemin

American University Law Review

This Comment sheds light on the “opt-out” provision of the Vaccine Act. It namely discusses the effect of short-form petitions and their impact on subsequent civil action, by examining consequences flowing from the Omnibus Autism Proceeding. In short, it argues that the Vaccine Court erred with its decision to permit short-form petitions by overlooking that procedure’s long-term implications on vaccine plaintiffs. In addition, this Comment lays out a scenario to illustrate the potential pitfalls of a hasty exit from the OAP and offers some guidance to plaintiffs to avoid this outcome. The final part of this Comment offers some ideas …

Reformed Worship (Rw) 90 - Lent / Easter (December 2008), Reformed Worship Editors

Reformed Worship Magazine

Features

The Wild Olive Tree by Steve Caton....3

"Who Do You See?" by Valerie Van Kooten....6

Jesus' Last Words by Erica L. Schemper....8

Praying the Psalms in Lent by James Hart Brumm....10

From Despair to Praise by Carol Veldman Rudie....14

Signs of Hope and Joy by Alex Gondola and Alfred Schroeder....28

N.T. Wright on Word and Sacrament: Baptism (Part 2 of 3) by N.T. Wright....31

Symbols of the Atonement by Paul Ryan....36

Why Bev Called It Quits by Jeff Baker....40

Congregational Songs for Weddings by Norma de Waal Malefyt....42

Departments …

Entretien Avec Véronique Tadjo, Écrivaine Ivoirienne, Micheline Rice-Maximin, K. Anyinefa

French & Francophone Studies Faculty Works

Dans cet entretien enregistré en 2004 (actualisé pour les besoins de cette publication), l'écrivaine ivoirienne Véronique Tadjo, Grand Prix Littéraire d'Afrique Noire en 2005, médite d'abord sur les problèmes sociopolitiques de l'Afrique du Sud et sur le potentiel économique, sur le capital symbolique de ce pays où elle vit depuis 2001. Elle parle ensuite de son œuvre romanesque et poétique, de ses grands thèmes, de son écriture influencée surtout par l'oralité traditionnelle ainsi que de ses textes destinés à la jeunesse, textes qu'elle illustre très souvent ellemême. C'est sans doute cette versatilité formelle qui la distingue entre autres parmi les …

Review Of Why Welfare States Persist: The Importance Of Public Opinion In Democracies. Clem Brooks And Jeff Manza. Reviewed By Allan Brawley., Allan Brawley

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

Book review of Clem Brooks and Jeff Manza, Why Welfare States Persist: The Importance of Public Opinion in Democracies. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2007. $45.00 hardcover, $18.00 papercover.

Parallel Trade In Prescription Medicines In The European Union: The Age Of Reason?, Ian S. Forrester, Anthony Dawes

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

No abstract provided.

Controlled Chaos With Consumer Welfare As The Winner – A Study Of The Goals Of Polish Antitrust Law, Dawid Miąsik

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

This article presents the main issues relating to the goals of modern Polish competition law. It examines the relationship between the subject-matter of competition law, its function and its goals. It identifies various goals of competition law as well as their acceptance in the legal doctrine and jurisprudence. The study shows that the goals of Polish competition law have always been limited to enhancing efficiency and consumer welfare, with this latter term being understood in a post-Chicago-school fashions, rather than accordingly to its Chicago-school origin. This article shows how an 18-years competition law system, rather accidentally than deliberately, took the …

Antitrust Private Enforcement – Case Of Poland, Agata Jurkowska

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

This article presents the main difficulties surrounding private enforcement of antitrust law in Poland, currently the key implementation problem in the field of antitrust law. Whereas the basic standards concerning the public pillar of antitrust enforcement have already been established, either in the European Community (EC) or in its Member States, the private pillar of antitrust enforcement has not yet been fully developed. The fact that private enforcement of antitrust law is possible, and in fact equal, to public enforcement is not yet commonly recognized. In response to the European Commission’s White Paper on Damages actions for breach of the …

Investment And Regulation In Telecommunications, Stanisław Piątek

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

This article presents the difficulties associated with the implementation of the regulatory goal of promoting investment and innovation within the area of sector specific regulation in telecoms. The encouragement of efficient investment is one of the major goals reflected in the EC and domestic legal rules on telecoms access as well as price- and rate of return regulation. The law and the interplay of the interests of incumbents and alternative operators create a fertile soil for the emergence of various regulatory concepts of stimulating investment and facility-based competition. Considered here are the concepts most frequently referred to in this context …

Does A Selection Of Contractors In A Public Tender Constitute An Infringement Of A Prohibition Of Competition Restricting Agreements? Case Comment To The Judgment Of The Supreme Court Of 25 April 2007 – Stalexport – Transroute (Ref. No. Iii Sk 3/07), Rafał Poździk

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

No abstract provided.

The Economic Approach In Polish Courts: Permitted Agency Agreements Or Prohibited Price Fixing? Case Comment To The Judgment Of The Appeal Court In Warsaw Of 13 February 2007 – Roche And Hand-Prod (Ref. No. Vi Aca 819/06), Marcin Kolasiński

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

No abstract provided.

What Is The Link Between Article 6 Section 3a Of The Energy Law Act And Article 490 Of The Civil Code Regarding The Right Of A Grid Operator To Suspend The Supply Of Electricity? Case Comment To The Judgment Of The Supreme Court Judgment Of 5 June 2007 – Gze (Ref No. Iii Sk 11/07), Michał Będkowski-Kozioł

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

No abstract provided.

Should A Fee For Mobile Phone Number Portability Be Determined Solely By Subscriber Preferences? Comments To The Judgments Of The Court Of Competition And Consumers Protection Of 8 January 2007 (Ref. No. Xvii Amt 29/06) And 6 March 2007 (Ref. No. Xvii Amt 33/06) – Portability Fee, Marlena Wach

Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies

No abstract provided.

'Purification Of Memory': The Ritual Acknowledgement Of Social Sin And The Penitential Celebration, Corran T. Pike

Theses

The Sacrament of Penance in the Australian Catholic Church is experiencing a pastoral decline. Concurrently, in the secular world, increasingly people are demanding and experiencing rituals of communal apology for social sin. Secular communal apologies (and rituals of forgiveness) appear to be speaking to people in a way that existing liturgical rituals in the church are not. There are no communal rituals for the acknowledgement of social sin currently included in the Rite of Penance. This is a lacuna in the church’s ritual complex that needs to be addressed. This dissertation will analyse several recent communal apologies for social sin …

Farm-Level Contracting For Production Process Attributes: An Analysis Of Rbst In Milk Production, Clayton Cook-Mowery, Nicole J. Olynk, Christopher A. Wolf

Journal of Food Law & Policy

On November 5, 1993, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rBST), also JOURNAL OF FOOD LAW & POLICY called Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rbGH), for commercial use to increase milk production in dairy cattle. The FDA determined that milk from cows which have been treated with rBST was safe for human consumption and that there was no significant impact on the environment from the production and use of rBST. In February 1994 the Monsanto Corporation (Monsanto) introduced POSILACO bovine somatotropin, making rBST commercially available to United States dairy farmers.

The Effects Of Catholic And Protestant Schools: A Meta-Analysis, William H. Jeynes

Journal of Catholic Education

A meta-analysis was undertaken including 41 studies to determine the influence of Catholic and Protestant schools. The analysis examined studies undertaken at both the elementary and secondary school level. The results indicate that both Catholic and Protestant school students do better than their counterparts in public schools. In addition, Protestant school students excelled more than their Catholic counterparts on most standardized tests, but Catholic school students did better than their Protestant school counterparts on non-standardized measures. The significance of these results is discussed.

Nurturing Spirituality And Vocation: A Catholic Approach To New Teacher Induction, Richard Shields

Journal of Catholic Education

The Catholic school system in Ontario, Canada, is fully funded by the government. Recently Ontario’s Ministry of Education mandated an induction year, the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP), for all new teachers. This legislation provides an opportunity for Catholic school boards to take the lead and shape creative and effective programs for new teacher induction. The mission of the Catholic school and the vocation of a Catholic teacher give meaning and direction to the new teacher’s professional educational practice. This article first explores some of the pastoral theological concerns that those charged with developing a Catholic approach to NTIP need …

An Introduction To Value-Added Analysis, Ron Costello, Peggy Elson, John Schacter

Journal of Catholic Education

For the last 3 years, more than 80% of the respondents to Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward The Public Schools have stated that they would rather see a school’s performance measure based upon “improvement shown by students” than the “percentage passing the test” (Rose & Gallip, 2007, p. 35). If this were to become the norm, the next question would be what “improvement” is significant? Educators need to understand “value-added” if they are going to use “improvement” to show that schools are improving student achievement.

Catholic Schools, Catholic Education, And Catholic Educational Research: A Conversation With Anthony Bryk, Anthony Bryk

Journal of Catholic Education

Anthony Bryk is President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Previously, he held the Spencer Chair in Organizational Studies in the School of Education and the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University as well as the Marshall Field IV Professor of Urban Education and Sociology at the University of Chicago. Dr. Bryk received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his doctorate from Harvard University. His main areas of expertise are school organization, education reform, Catholic schools, and educational statistics. He founded and directed efforts to support and inform educational improvements in the Chicago public schools. …

Editors’ Comments, Lorraine Ozar, Joseph M. O’Keefe, Michael James

Journal of Catholic Education

No abstract provided.

Transforming Inmate Character Within A Correctional Setting By Experiencing Spiritual Formation Through The Conventional Relationship With God, Ron D. Borden

Doctor of Ministry

Historically, the correctional system was concerned with locking up criminals and keeping them off the streets. Society's safety was, and still is, of primary importance. Unfortunately, most felons complete their sentencing and are released back into the community with the same belief systems and character traits that brought them to prison. Christian programming within the correctional setting is succeeding only at changing surface behavior, not genuine character transformation. This results in recidivism rates that are identical to those of non-Christian imnates. In order to address this problem, I propose that spiritual formation focused upon a covenantal relationship with Jesus Christ …

Continuous Microwave Processing Of Peanut Beverages, Cristina M. Sabliov, Dorin Boldor, Pablo Coronel, Timothy H. Sanders

Faculty Publications

The feasibility of peanut beverage sterilization by continuous microwave heating as an alternative to conventional ultrahigh temperature (UHT) system processing was studied. Dielectric properties of two products, Peanut Punch (Nestle Trinidad and Tobago Ltd., Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Jamaican Irish Moss Peanut Drink (distributed by Eve Sales Co., Bronx, NY) were measured. The products had similar dielectric properties. Values for the dielectric constant (average of 60) and dielectric loss (average of 23) indicated that the two products were good candidates for rapid microwave heating. The products were processed in a 5 kW focused microwave unit, at two …

The Concepts And Practice Of Risk-Based Supervision., J. A. Afolabi

Economic and Financial Review

This paper seeks to examine the concept and practice of Risk-Based Supervision (RBS). For ease of discussion, the paper has been segmented into five sections. After the introduction, sections 2 and 3 examine the Conceptual Issues in Risk-Based Supervision and Country Experiences. Section 4 looks at the framework of RBS in Nigeria while section 5 concludes the paper.

Implementation Of Basel Ii: Any Role For International Financial Institutions?, C. E. Nwandikom

Economic and Financial Review

This paper examines the three pillars of Basel II which provide a broad and coherent framework for linking regulatory capital to risk, for improving internal risk measurement and management and for enhancing supervisory and market discipline at large, complex and internationally-active banks.

How Relevant Is Risk-Based Supervision For Pension Funds: The Regulators Perspective., Musa A. Ibrahim

Economic and Financial Review

Over the past two decades, privately managed pension systems have expanded greatly to play a central role in the provision of retirement income worldwide. The design and operation of these systems vary extensively, but the basic reason for their adoption remains unique across the board: countries need to provide affordable and sustainable income for their retired citizens. Achieving this objective becomes a challenging task in the face of the uncertainties created by globalization and rapid integration of financial markets. The utilization of risk-based methods originates primarily in the supervision of banks. In recent years, it has increasingly been extended to …

Overview Of Financial Sector Developments In Nigeria., S. N. Ibeabuchi

Economic and Financial Review

The objective of this paper is to review the various developments (reforms) in the Nigerian financial sector since 1986, including the recent banking industry consolidation.