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"Shine A Light" Story Contest
To celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Omaha Star, KETV and the Omaha World-Herald are coming together to provide one local high school student their chance to start their journalism career early. Over the past 75 years, the Omaha Star has shined a light on important issues that impact the people of Omaha. Now we are looking for up-and-coming journalism students wanting to do the same.
Now through Friday, March 29, KETV and the Omaha World-Herald are accepting story submissions from local high school students. The winning submission will be honored at the Omaha Star 75th Anniversary Gala on Friday, April 19.. KETV and the Omaha World-Herald will provide mentoring to the winner and a version of their story will be featured on KETV and in the Omaha World-Herald.
- Story should focus on an important issue local teen's face.
- Maximum 500 words.
- All research sources and interview information must be provided separately from 500 word story.
- All stories must be submitted by Friday, March 29, 2013
- See official contest rules
Stories can be submitted via email at email@example.com or mail at Omaha Star Story Submission, KETV, 2665 Douglas St., Omaha, NE 68131.
Submissions will be judged by a panel of professionals from KETV, Omaha World-Herald, Omaha Star and Mildred Brown Foundation Board Members. Rulings of the judges are final. Winner must be available to attend the Omaha Star 75th Anniversary Gala on Friday, April 19, 2013. All submissions become the property of KETV and the Omaha World-Herald. By submitting a story, you agree to allow KETV and the Omaha World-Herald to republish part or your entire story without compensation.


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Video: BDI Avion A/V furniture
Bill Becker, the founder and CEO of BDI, talks about their Avion audio/video furniture line and the improvements they made with Series II. Avion is perfect for anyone who wants a clean, linear design, and also wants to hide their components.
Read video transcript
Hi. I'm Bill Becker. I'm the CEO and founder of BDI. At BDI we're a design driven company so we really focus on how do we improve on products, how do we innovate, and how do we create something better.
Avion was our first cabinet, our first enclosed product. The Avion is a product that we're very proud of. It's a signature product for BDI. It's a very clean, linear design. It's offered in three finishes: cherry, walnut, and espresso. For Avion we developed these doors that would be IR compatible so that it would work with IR remotes.
Avion is in thousands of homes out there and many, many people have really enjoyed using that product. We've recently redesigned Avion to make it even better, and we've added a steel structure so that it no longer has a middle leg. We've changed some of the other hardware and we've incorporated slow-close doors. Since one of our core values at BDI is continual improvement it was really important to us with Avion to make it the best product it could be and so we took a really great product and we made it better.
We really want to make sure that the product that we produce is aligned with who we are as a company and so we're very focused on quality and we make sure that at all parts of the production of our furniture the people that are involved in it also are aligned with that core value of sweating the details.
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subset: commoncrawl


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By Culturekiosque Staff
HONG KONG, 12 OCTOBER 2013 The five sales of Sotheby's Hong Kong Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art concluded on 8 October with a combined total of HK$1.26 billion / US$161.5 million (total estimate: HK$750 million / US$96 million). Multiple records were set, including the top lot, A Massive Gilt-Bronze Figure of a Seated Shakyamuni Buddha which sold for HK$236.44 million / US$30.3 million (Expected to fetch in excess of HK$50 million / US$6.4 million) to Mr. Zheng Huaxing of Zhongshan Qujuezhai, Guangdong, to be returned to China, setting the World Auction Record For Chinese Sculpture.
Nicolas Chow, Sothebys Asia Deputy Chairman and International Head of
Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, said, " With the early 15th century
gilt-bronze Buddha, we have set a record for any Asian work of art. While
participation from our mainland clients was comparatively muted for the
last couple of seasons, they have made an extraordinary comeback this
season, with many of our top lots returning to China."
Related Culturekiosque Archives
GAO Brothers: Photographs and Sculptures
Exhibition review: The Seductions of the Palate
Maleonn (Ma Liang): Second-hand Tang Poem
The Warrior Emperor and China's Terracotta Army
Gilded Splendor: Treasures of China's Liao Empire (907 -1125)
Confucius: His Life and Legacy in Art
Tiananmen, Twenty Years Hence: What France Has Forgotten
Theatre: Luo Shen: Legend of the River Luo
Interview: Steve McCurry: Capturing the Face of Asia
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(What's left of) Shea
After spending an hour at (What's left of) Shea Stadium today, my fingers have only just thawed out enough to start typing again. A few days ago, word went out: Shea Stadium was near the end stages of demolition. If we were going to say a final goodbye to the old girl, this had to be it. Facebook and Metsblog helped get us all together, and then, on a bone-chillingly freezing Saturday afternoon, I was happy to experience some good ole' off-season Mets fan camaraderie. I would tip my (stocking) cap one last time to the stadium where I became a baseball fan.
I ran into buddy Brian right off the train, and a few steps later, this is what we saw, looming larger than pictures make it seem, and right smack dab in front of us. When you're used to hopping off the train and scampering to Gate E, checking the lineup cards over the ticket window on your way to see who's playing that day, well, yes, trudging to a demolition site feels very different. Like, for one thing, there is no Gate E.
Soon, Brian and I found Metsie and Mrs. Metsie, Dykstraw, and everyone's favorite senior editorial producer for SNY.tv, Ted Berg. I think at another time, we might have stood around telling stories, leisurely strolling to see every angle of what was once our former ballpark home. But people, oh it was cold. Literal finger-numbing cold. So we basically took lots of pics, kissed cheeks, and headed home.
I posted the full public album here on facebook, for anyone who might want to half cringe, half sigh. For instant gratification, here are a few doozies, below. The album has some warm-fuzzies, including two Mets dogs, Shea and Mikey P, and Mets fan friends posing, snapping pics, linking arms, and smiling during what could have been quite a gloomy moment–but in the end, since spent among brethren, wasn't too bad.


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Sports were created to bring people together, not tear them apart. There are enough things to argue about these days without athletics being one of them.
With a cowbell banging behind me and a woman screeching next to me, I tried to focus on what was taking place on the field.
Our eighth-grade football team was down 22-0 in the third quarter. Things weren't looking good for the home team.
The new bleachers haven't yet been installed, so my husband, friends and I opted to sit in the visiting section, along with a few other home-team fans. We made sure to sit to the side and not in the middle of things.
Talk about a hostile environment. You'd think I was wearing a Red Sox shirt and sitting with Yankees fans in Yankee stadium, not next to parents who live two towns over.
With plenty of space in front of us, one woman went as far as to rudely step directly on the bench in front of us where our feet were resting without so much as an "excuse me." It was clear we were not welcome.
We sat mostly in silence and clapped when our team did something well.
I don't really understand the mentality. Yes, our kids are playing against yours. Sure, it would be great if our team won, but aren't we all parents here? Don't we just want what's best for our kids? Rejoice in a win, but learn how to accept and handle defeat?
After the game, I was scrolling through social media and a video caught my attention.
An apparent foul ball landed in the stands at a Major League Baseball game. A guy in a Red Sox hat ended up with the stray ball. Instead of keeping it, he turned and gave it to a little girl decked out in a Yankees shirt. Excited, she began to walk away, paused, then headed back to the man and hugged him.
We aren't always going to root for the same team, but does that mean we have to treat each other disrespectfully?
Does the outcome of an eighth-grade football game really matter all that much? If the Red Sox don't win the pennant, does it mean our lives are shattered?
When you aren't in the stadium or in the bleachers, how do you conduct yourself?
We are all in this together, folks. Winning and watching our kids succeed certainly feels good. There's nothing wrong with cheering on your team, but try to keep in mind that the sports arena isn't supposed to be a negative experience.
Sports were created to bring people together, not tear them apart. There are enough things to argue about these days without athletics being one of them.
The parents sitting in the same stands as you, but wearing a different team color, are not the enemy. If you are lucky enough to watch your children perform in an athletic game, doing something they enjoy, be grateful. Try to keep it in perspective. At the end of the day, if our children are healthy, thriving and home, then that's all that really matters.
Heather Michonski is a columnist for Gatehouse Media New England. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Martin Brodeur stopped 23 shots for his 121st career shutout to keep New Jersey's slim playoff hopes alive with a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
Ryan Carter, Matt D'Agostini and Adam Henrique scored goals to help the Devils snap their 10 game winless streak (0-6-4).
The Devils entered the game eight points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They have five games left and need a lot of help to even think about a postseason berth. For one more night, at least, the Devils still have hope.
Brodeur wasn't seriously tested all game but did enough to earn his second shutout of the season. He got his 11th career shutout vs. the Flyers.
Neither team came out playing with the passion expected in a game badly needed to keep even a scant chance at playing for the Stanley Cup alive. The teams combined for six shots in the first 12 minutes of a plodding first period.
The Devils broke through in the second period when Carter's wrister beat Ilya Bryzgalov for his fifth goal of the season. Carter took a nice centering pass from Stephen Gionta to beat the Flyers on a 2-on-1 break.
His goal ended a New Jersey scoring drought that stretched just over 146 minutes. The Devils lost consecutive 2-0 games coming into Philadelphia.
Jakub Voracek had a potential tying goal waved off when a video review confirmed he kicked the puck into the net.
Bryzgalov kept it 1-0 after the puck shot off the post and knocked off his right skate before he smothered it just outside the crease.
Even with the sweet save, the Flyers couldn't build any momentum or generate offense against Brodeur.
The save came only moments after New Jersey's Andy Green flattened Scott Hartnell from behind and into the boards. The fans howled in protest for a whistle, but there was no penalty. The hit was replayed a few times on the big screen, which only made the fans more irate a boarding call was missed.
D'Agostini scored his third goal of the season when he slapped one past Bryzgalov late in the third.
Henrique added an empty-netter in the final minutes.
The Devils played without captain Bryce Salvador (right wrist) and Ilya Kovalchuk (right shoulder). The Devils hadn't won since Kovalchuk was injured on March 23. Kovalchuk is still second on the Devils with 27 points.
Notes: The Devils went 4-1 in the season series. ... Devils D Anton Volchenkov also sat out because of a suspension. ... The Devils had not gone winless in 11 straight games since 1990-91. ... The Flyers had scored 11 goals over the last two games.


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Walt Petersen is the Ground Validation Scientist for the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, based at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. He manages all of GPM's ground validation operations, the field campaigns that ensure that satellites measure rainfall and precipitation from space accurately.
From May 1 to June 15, he is leading the Iowa Flood Studies, or IFloodS campaign in eastern Iowa. He and his team, as well as their partners at the Iowa Flood Center at the University of Iowa are measuring rainfall with ground instruments, ground radar, and satellites, and then evaluating flood forecasting models. Over the next few weeks, Walt and others on the ground will be sending us their notes from the field.
4/29/2013, NPOL Radar Site near Traer, Iowa
This morning, my first full day around the area of Waterloo, Iowa. Quite appropriately, we were greeted by severe thunderstorms with some ping pong ball-sized hail in the area. Luckily for my rental car, and even more luckily for the NPOL and D3R antennas, that hail stayed north of the radar site (large hail, rental cars, and/or radar antennas not being the best mix). I thought it an appropriate welcoming to the experiment. I drove out to the radar for the first time this morning in my little Nissan rental car. I'll be curious to see how it does on the gravel/dirt road after it rains a few inches.
Things are impressive out here. The NPOL and D3R guys did a very nice job of getting the NPOL and D3R set up. We are still in the midst of tweaking small things prior to getting down to serious data collection. For example, we need to make certain that the NPOL is well-calibrated (doing that now), and then we need to test the timing of our scan sequences to make sure we are making the requirement that we sample the rain field in a 360 degree circle once every 3 minutes or less. The objective is to make rapid maps of rainfall (out to a range of say, 150 km, from the NPOL) at high time and space resolution, and then in between making those rain maps, do coordinated scanning of the precipitation in the vertical plane with the D3R radar or over other river basins of interest. The rapidly collected rain maps serve as a reference for doing our comparisons to satellite products and to test products for hydrologic modeling of runoff (e.g., flood forecasting).
The coordinated scanning with the D3R is done for a slightly different reason. These scans are collected along a line that has many raingauges and disdrometers located at different points so that we can connect the dots between the rainfall we are measuring near the ground (for example, rainfall rates and raindrop sizes, numbers and shapes) to the physics happening in the column of the atmosphere above those points (e.g., how the rain is made). We care about this from the perspective of testing algorithms designed to retrieve precipitation estimates from space using the GPM DPR radar (which has similar frequencies to the D3R) which will fly on the GPM Core satellite.


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as suggested in http://www.conquerclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=530&t=108831
What does it do?
Gives a floating notepad for writing notes to yourself about a game. It is independent of the main chat, so as to neither clutter up your friendly banter nor lose track of your strategies. Hidden by default, so as to not unnecessarily distract you. Works in both firefox and chrome.
Where do I get it?
Install the greasemonkey script from here: http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/92305
Changes in version 1.0.1:
- Updated version in menu header to link to the new forum post
- Changed the Update notification to work with Chrome
How do I use this?
- Click the "show notepad" link located next to the "load entire chat" link
- Resize the window by clicking and dragging the bottom-right corner
- Reposition the window by clicking and dragging the header bar
- Talk to yourself, without anyone thinking you are crazy!
- Click the "hide" link when done to hide the notepad again
Show Notepad link:
Notepad in action!:
Menu options:


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NEWS- Mac's out: McDonald resigns as 'Voice of the Cavs'
After 16 years at the mic at UVA football and men's basketball games, Mac McDonald announced Wednesday, April 30, that he's resigning his post with the Virginia Sports Network as radio play-by-play man for the Cavaliers.
"I know it seems sudden, but there's a project that came along after the season I want to sink my teeth into," says McDonald. "I wanted to give the University plenty of time, so I told them about a month ago, and we've had what's called in legalese 'a resignation by mutual consent.' This was entirely my decision."
McDonald says he can't say much about what's he's doing next "because it affects other people," but he does hint that it will keep him in sportscasting and that he'll remain in Charlottesville. But the new job does mean "lots of travel."
This marks the second time McDonald has left Grounds for greener pastures. The first was in 1985, when he went to Winston-Salem to call games for Wake Forest University. In 2006, he left the morning show with Jane Foy and the late Dick Mountjoy at the Virginia Sports Network flagship station, WINA-AM, to focus on his UVA duties.
McDonald's football broadcast partner, Frank Quayle, says the news took him aback.
"He sent me an e-mail, and I was surprised and disappointed," Quayle says. "He was the one who first asked me back in 1983 if I'd like to do this, and it's been a fun and meaningful activity for me."
Quayle wasn't the only one shocked by the announcement.
"His golf tournament got rained out, so when I saw he was calling, I thought it was to talk about the rescheduled date," says Jim Hobgood, McDonald's longtime color commentator for Cavalier men's basketball. "I was broadsided when it turned out not to be."
There's no word yet on who might succeed McDonald in the booth, or if it will affect Quayle's or Hobgood's status as commentators.
"I have no idea," says Quayle, whose full-time job is real estate, of his own broadcast future. "Mac and I used to always get together in August and test the level of enthusiasm, so I guess we'll just have to go from there."
"I would certainly like to continue doing it," says Hobgood, "but whoever they hire should have a chance to meet with me and with Frank and decide if he wants us."
Regardless of whether Quayle or Hobgood returns, they both say it's going to be difficult for either to hear another voice calling the games.
"I'm not sure I'd call it a challenge to find someone," says Quayle, "but Mac McDonald is extraordinarily professional and very good at what he does. It'll be interesting to see who they get."
"It's a terrible loss for University of Virginia athletics," says Hobgood. "In a lot of ways, the announcer is the one constant for fans. The players change. Sometimes the coaches change. It's going to be hard to get used to someone else after hearing Mac for so long."
Asked if he had any advice for his successor, McDonald says, "I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but he had better be ready to take on the world. What I've learned is that there's so much more to the job than showing up for a three-hour broadcast on game day. There's preparation, and time representing the University in every facet."
So who might Virginia Sports Properties find to sit in the booth at Scott Stadium and courtside at JPJ? The Hook has a few ideas:
Warren Swain: When McDonald left UVA for the first time in 1985, Swain came over from his alma mater, Drake University, to call games for the orange and blue. For the next 11 years, Swain was the steady voice at the mic, calling some of the most memorable moments in Cavalier history such as the football team's improbable 1990 winning streak that drove the Cavaliers to #1 in college football that year, and the Cavalier men's basketball team's run to the Elite Eight in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. Swain left in 1996 to call the play-by-play for the then-national champion Cornhuskers football team at the University of Nebraska.
He's presently the voice of the Division I-AA Ohio University Bobcats. Is Swain ready to return to the big-time of ACC athletics? Swain did not return the Hook's calls for comment.
Jed Williams: A McDonald protegé, Williams started calling Cavalier sports as an undergraduate intern at WINA. By the time he graduated, he was the voice of UVA women's basketball, WINA's sports director, and the original host of sports talk show The Best Seat in the House. Then he left for the bigger market of Mobile, Alabama. But Williams' unabashed sports passion is basketball, and in Alabama the two major sports are football and spring football. Could the lure of the hardwood tempt Williams back to Charlottesville?
Robert Fish: A former sideline reporter for UVA football games for WINA, Fish is just down the road in Richmond where he splits duties between calling Virginia Commonwealth University men's basketball games at Richmond Coliseum and describing the action for fans of minor league baseball's Richmond Braves at the Diamond. But the Braves are leaving town at the end of the season, and Fish is about to have a lot more time on his hands. Time enough to relocate an hour west, perhaps?
Adam Gottschalk: He's another McDonald understudy, the current play-by-play man for UVA baseball, and WINA's sports director. Considering his popularity among the college crowd moonlighting as the host of Internet radio's Midnight Barbecue, Gottschalk might be able to draw the much-coveted drunken-frat-boy-with-a-laptop demographic.
Melissa Stark: Though she's definitely in the gender minority of her profession, this member of the UVA class of 1995 is the most famous non-athlete sports personality to come out of Mr. Jefferson's University. She has experience on the world's biggest sports stages, from reporting from the sidelines on ABC's Monday Night Football (2001-2004), to covering the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino for NBC, not to mention filling in for fellow Wahoo Katie Couric on the Today show. Just as UVA lured Al Groh from the NFL to coach the football team, might the pull of the orange-and-blue bring Stark back to Grounds?
Joe Buck: Sure, he has a good gig as Fox Sports' top sportscaster, but isn't it possible he'd rather spend autumn in the relatively mild climate of Virginia than in such frigid NFL destinations as Chicago, Minneapolis, and Green Bay? Perhaps Fox colleague Howie Long should have a word with the Emmy-winner about a permanent relocation.
Colin Cowherd: This ESPN Radio personality already has a deep appreciation for Charlottesville's culinary and fashion scenes. In 2006, on his call-in show, The Herd, he said, "UVA football is the softest bunch of cream puff, bow-tie-wearing, brie cheese-eating, ascot-wearing wussies I've ever seen in my life! There's not a softer bunch of cookie dough-eating weenies than the UVA football program! Those guys wear makeup to games!"
George Allen: Following his historic re-election upset loss to Sen. Jim Webb (D), this former Republican governor and senator has declined to make another run for the governor's mansion in 2009. Always known as a rousing speaker on the stump (save the occasional campaign-sinking YouTube video), and an increasing presence on Fox News touting Sen. John McCain's candidacy for president, might his oratorical skill translate to the broadcast booth? It's possible, but the Hook is worried that Allen may get tongue-tied with names on the UVA roster like Chris Hinkebein, Zach Mendez-Zfass, or Curt Orshoski, and may instead make up a name that turns out to be a racist slur somewhere in North Africa.


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Enjoy Our Manhattan Hotel's Location near SoHo The Holiday Inn Manhattan - Downtown / SoHo hotel is New York's best kept secret with an enviable location that borders Tribeca and SoHo and just steps from Little Italy and Greenwich Village. Whether you are in town for business or leisure, our Manhattan, NY hotel provides you with easy access to all the Big Apple has to offer. While our hotel's guests stay in New York City, we keep them connected to the office through a 24-hour business center with free high-speed Internet access, copy and print services and a PC. Conveniently located near business destinations in Manhattan, NY, our hotel is moments from Federal Plaza, the Financial District and Wall Street. Leisure travelers love being our hotel's guest in New York City because of our proximity to world-renowned attractions like the Statue of Liberty, Battery Park and Canal Street Shopping. While staying with us, you can spend your days enjoying the artistry of SoHo, the mystique of Chinatown and the charm of the Village. Each turn brings you to a street filled with eclectic shopping, outstanding cuisine and cultural diversity. When you are searching for places to stay in downtown Manhattan, consider our hotel's choice amenities that include an on-site fitness center, a full-service restaurant and free high-speed, wireless Internet access throughout the hotel. Book your reservations today to stay with the name that you can trust.
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After spending eight seasons in professional baseball with four Major League organizations, Brad Coon is entering his second season as a full-time assistant coach for the Lipscomb Bisons on Jeff Forehand's staff after spending the previous two years as a volunteer assistant.
Coon was a centerfield standout for Forehand at Trevecca Nazarene University in 2004-05 and was named the TranSouth Athletic Conference and NAIA Region XI Player of the Year in 2005. As a senior Coon hit .377 with four homeruns, 42 RBIs and stole 51-of-55 bases. For his career Coon swiped 96 of his 106 stolen base attempts, setting the school's career mark in both categories.
The NAIA All-American outfielder was selected in the 15th round (463rd overall) by the Anaheim Angels of the 2005 MLB Amateur Draft. He is this highest draft pick and one of only eight players to ever be drafted out of Trevecca.
Coon spent six years inside the Angels organization, reaching as high as Triple-A.
The 22 year old's pro debut was with the rookie level Orem Owlz, where he started his career posting a .300/.381/.359 line with 19 stolen bases in 61 games in helping lead the Owlz to the Pioneer League Championship in 2005.
In his next season with the Single-A Cedar Rapids Kernels, Coon led the Midwest League and was fourth in the minors with 55 stolen bases. He also finished fourth in the MWL with 79 runs scored.
In 2007, Coon spent time between High-A and Double-A where his smacked his first four professional homeruns and was selected to the California League All-Star game after ranking among the California League leaders in stolen bases. He led the entire Angels organization in swipes that season.
Coon primarily spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons at the Triple-A level with the Salt Lake Bees before being released early in 2010 from the Angels. He spent the remainder of the 2010 season playing for the Washington Nationals' Double-A affiliate, the Harrisburg Senators, where he hit a career-high six homeruns.
In 2011 Coon moved closer to home and split the season between Double-A and Triple-A inside the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.
At the age of 29, Coon signed his final professional contract with the Tampa Bay Rays where he was assigned to Double-A Montgomery.
Coon also played four years of Winter Ball in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
A graduate of Eastlake North High School in Eastlake, Ohio., Coon attended Lakeland Community College in Coles County, Ill. where he was an All-Region and two-time All-Conference selection before transferring to Trevecca.
Coon is married to former Trevecca women's basketball player Candice McCool. The two have live in Nolensville, Tennessee where they have one daughter, Harper (2).


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Freedom Of Expression Is Priceless... For Everything Else, There's Mastercard
from the plug-pulled deptThe title of this post is from Rinze, who perfectly sums up the ridiculousness of MasterCard blocking any payment systems that are working with Wikileaks from allowing people to use its card. MasterCard's excuse is even more ridiculous than Paypal, Amazon and others. Rather than drudging up some sort of "terms of service violation," MasterCard is now just making stuff up:
MasterCard said it was cutting off payments because WikiLeaks is engaging in illegal activity. "MasterCard rules prohibit customers from directly or indirectly engaging in or facilitating any action that is illegal," spokesman Chris Monteiro said.That's nice, but last we checked, for something to be found guilty of illegal activity, first they have to be charged and tried, and only after a court decides it's illegal, is it actually considered illegal. To date, Wikileaks hasn't been even charged with anything, let alone found guilty. Apparently MasterCard isn't a big believer in due process either. It's actually very unlikely that Wikileaks actually has done anything illegal. It is against the law to leak such documents but publishing those documents is still protected activity. Except to MasterCard.
Filed Under: free speech, mastercard, wikileaks
Companies: mastercard, wikileaks


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You are looking at 1-20 of 179 articles
Age-Period-Cohort Models
Zoë Fannon and Bent Nielsen
Outcomes of interest often depend on the age, period, or cohort of the individual observed, where cohort and age add up to period. An example is consumption: consumption patterns change over the lifecycle (age) but are also affected by the availability of products at different times (period) and by birth-cohort-specific habits and preferences (cohort). Age-period-cohort (APC) models are additive models where the predictor is a sum of three time effects, which are functions of age, period, and cohort, respectively. Variations of these models are available for data aggregated over age, period, and cohort, and for data drawn from repeated cross-sections, where the time effects can be combined with individual covariates.
The age, period, and cohort time effects are intertwined. Inclusion of an indicator variable for each level of age, period, and cohort results in perfect collinearity, which is referred to as "the age-period-cohort identification problem." Estimation can be done by dropping some indicator variables. However, dropping indicators has adverse consequences such as the time effects are not individually interpretable and inference becomes complicated. These consequences are avoided by instead decomposing the time effects into linear and non-linear components and noting that the identification problem relates to the linear components, whereas the non-linear components are identifiable. Thus, confusion is avoided by keeping the identifiable non-linear components of the time effects and the unidentifiable linear components apart. A variety of hypotheses of practical interest can be expressed in terms of the non-linear components.
Aging and Healthcare Costs
Martin Karlsson, Tor Iversen, and Henning Øien
An open issue in the economics literature is whether healthcare expenditure (HCE) is so concentrated in the last years before death that the age profiles in spending will change when longevity increases. The seminal article "aging of Population and HealthCare Expenditure: A Red Herring?" by Zweifel and colleagues argued that that age is a distraction in explaining growth in HCE. The argument was based on the observation that age did not predict HCE after controlling for time to death (TTD). The authors were soon criticized for the use of a Heckman selection model in this context. Most of the recent literature makes use of variants of a two-part model and seems to give some role to age as well in the explanation. Age seems to matter more for long-term care expenditures (LTCE) than for acute hospital care. When disability is accounted for, the effects of age and TTD diminish. Not many articles validate their approach by comparing properties of different estimation models. In order to evaluate popular models used in the literature and to gain an understanding of the divergent results of previous studies, an empirical analysis based on a claims data set from Germany is conducted. This analysis generates a number of useful insights. There is a significant age gradient in HCE, most for LTCE, and costs of dying are substantial. These "costs of dying" have, however, a limited impact on the age gradient in HCE. These findings are interpreted as evidence against the red herring hypothesis as initially stated. The results indicate that the choice of estimation method makes little difference and if they differ, ordinary least squares regression tends to perform better than the alternatives. When validating the methods out of sample and out of period, there is no evidence that including TTD leads to better predictions of aggregate future HCE. It appears that the literature might benefit from focusing on the predictive power of the estimators instead of their actual fit to the data within the sample.
Antitrust Law as a Problem in Economics
Chris Sagers
"Antitrust" or "competition law," a set of policies now existing in most market economies, largely consists of two or three specific rules applied in more or less the same way in most nations. It prohibits (1) multilateral agreements, (2) unilateral conduct, and (3) mergers or acquisitions, whenever any of them are judged to interfere unduly with the functioning of healthy markets. Most jurisdictions now apply or purport to apply these rules in the service of some notion of economic "efficiency," more or less as defined in contemporary microeconomic theory.
The law has ancient roots, however, and over time it has varied a great deal in its details. Moreover, even as to its modern form, the policy and its goals remain controversial. In some sense most modern controversy arises from or is in reaction to the major intellectual reconceptualization of the law and its purposes that began in the 1960s. Specifically, academic critics in the United States urged revision of the law's goals, such that it should serve only a narrowly defined microeconomic goal of allocational efficiency, whereas it had traditionally also sought to prevent accumulation of political power and to protect small firms, entrepreneurs, and individual liberty. While those critics enjoyed significant success in the United States, and to a somewhat lesser degree in Europe and elsewhere, the results remain contested. Specific disputes continue over the law's general purpose, whether it poses net benefits, how a series of specific doctrines should be fashioned, how it should be enforced, and whether it really is appropriate for developing and small-market economies.
Bayesian Statistical Economic Evaluation Methods for Health Technology Assessment
Andrea Gabrio, Gianluca Baio, and Andrea Manca
The evidence produced by healthcare economic evaluation studies is a key component of any Health Technology Assessment (HTA) process designed to inform resource allocation decisions in a budget-limited context. To improve the quality (and harmonize the generation process) of such evidence, many HTA agencies have established methodological guidelines describing the normative framework inspiring their decision-making process. The information requirements that economic evaluation analyses for HTA must satisfy typically involve the use of complex quantitative syntheses of multiple available datasets, handling mixtures of aggregate and patient-level information, and the use of sophisticated statistical models for the analysis of non-Normal data (e.g., time-to-event, quality of life and costs). Much of the recent methodological research in economic evaluation for healthcare has developed in response to these needs, in terms of sound statistical decision-theoretic foundations, and is increasingly being formulated within a Bayesian paradigm. The rationale for this preference lies in the fact that by taking a probabilistic approach, based on decision rules and available information, a Bayesian economic evaluation study can explicitly account for relevant sources of uncertainty in the decision process and produce information to identify an "optimal" course of actions. Moreover, the Bayesian approach naturally allows the incorporation of an element of judgment or evidence from different sources (e.g., expert opinion or multiple studies) into the analysis. This is particularly important when, as often occurs in economic evaluation for HTA, the evidence base is sparse and requires some inevitable mathematical modeling to bridge the gaps in the available data. The availability of free and open source software in the last two decades has greatly reduced the computational costs and facilitated the application of Bayesian methods and has the potential to improve the work of modelers and regulators alike, thus advancing the fields of economic evaluation of healthcare interventions. This chapter provides an overview of the areas where Bayesian methods have contributed to the address the methodological needs that stem from the normative framework adopted by a number of HTA agencies.
Bayesian Vector Autoregressions: Applications
Silvia Miranda-Agrippino and Giovanni Ricco
Bayesian vector autoregressions (BVARs) are standard multivariate autoregressive models routinely used in empirical macroeconomics and finance for structural analysis, forecasting, and scenario analysis in an ever-growing number of applications.
A preeminent field of application of BVARs is forecasting. BVARs with informative priors have often proved to be superior tools compared to standard frequentist/flat-prior VARs. In fact, VARs are highly parametrized autoregressive models, whose number of parameters grows with the square of the number of variables times the number of lags included. Prior information, in the form of prior distributions on the model parameters, helps in forming sharper posterior distributions of parameters, conditional on an observed sample. Hence, BVARs can be effective in reducing parameters uncertainty and improving forecast accuracy compared to standard frequentist/flat-prior VARs.
This feature in particular has favored the use of Bayesian techniques to address "big data" problems, in what is arguably one of the most active frontiers in the BVAR literature. Large-information BVARs have in fact proven to be valuable tools to handle empirical analysis in data-rich environments.
BVARs are also routinely employed to produce conditional forecasts and scenario analysis. Of particular interest for policy institutions, these applications permit evaluating "counterfactual" time evolution of the variables of interests conditional on a pre-determined path for some other variables, such as the path of interest rates over a certain horizon.
The "structural interpretation" of estimated VARs as the data generating process of the observed data requires the adoption of strict "identifying restrictions." From a Bayesian perspective, such restrictions can be seen as dogmatic prior beliefs about some regions of the parameter space that determine the contemporaneous interactions among variables and for which the data are uninformative. More generally, Bayesian techniques offer a framework for structural analysis through priors that incorporate uncertainty about the identifying assumptions themselves.
Behavioral and Social Corporate Finance
Henrik Cronqvist and Désirée-Jessica Pély
Corporate finance is about understanding the determinants and consequences of the investment and financing policies of corporations. In a standard neoclassical profit maximization framework, rational agents, that is, managers, make corporate finance decisions on behalf of rational principals, that is, shareholders. Over the past two decades, there has been a rapidly growing interest in augmenting standard finance frameworks with novel insights from cognitive psychology, and more recently, social psychology and sociology. This emerging subfield in finance research has been dubbed behavioral corporate finance, which differentiates between rational and behavioral agents and principals.
The presence of behavioral shareholders, that is, principals, may lead to market timing and catering behavior by rational managers. Such managers will opportunistically time the market and exploit mispricing by investing capital, issuing securities, or borrowing debt when costs of capital are low and shunning equity, divesting assets, repurchasing securities, and paying back debt when costs of capital are high. Rational managers will also incite mispricing, for example, cater to non-standard preferences of shareholders through earnings management or by transitioning their firms into an in-fashion category to boost the stock's price.
The interaction of behavioral managers, that is, agents, with rational shareholders can also lead to distortions in corporate decision making. For example, managers may perceive fundamental values differently and systematically diverge from optimal decisions. Several personal traits, for example, overconfidence or narcissism, and environmental factors, for example, fatal natural disasters, shape behavioral managers' preferences and beliefs, short or long term. These factors may bias the value perception by managers and thus lead to inferior decision making.
An extension of behavioral corporate finance is social corporate finance, where agents and principals do not make decisions in a vacuum but rather are embedded in a dynamic social environment. Since managers and shareholders take a social position within and across markets, social psychology and sociology can be useful to understand how social traits, states, and activities shape corporate decision making if an individual's psychology is not directly observable.
Behavioral Experiments in Health Economics
Matteo M. Galizzi and Daniel Wiesen
The state-of-the-art literature at the interface between experimental and behavioral economics and health economics is reviewed by identifying and discussing 10 areas of potential debate about behavioral experiments in health. By doing so, the different streams and areas of applications of the growing field of behavioral experiments in health are reviewed, by discussing which significant questions remain to be discussed, and by highlighting the rationale and the scope for the further development of behavioral experiments in health in the years to come.
The Biological Foundations of Economic Preferences
Nikolaus Robalino and Arthur Robson
Modern economic theory rests on the basic assumption that agents' choices are guided by preferences. The question of where such preferences might have come from has traditionally been ignored or viewed agnostically. The biological approach to economic behavior addresses the issue of the origins of economic preferences explicitly. This approach assumes that economic preferences are shaped by the forces of natural selection. For example, an important theoretical insight delivered thus far by this approach is that individuals ought to be more risk averse to aggregate than to idiosyncratic risk. Additionally the approach has delivered an evolutionary basis for hedonic and adaptive utility and an evolutionary rationale for "theory of mind." Related empirical work has studied the evolution of time preferences, loss aversion, and explored the deep evolutionary determinants of long-run economic development.
Boom-Bust Capital Flow Cycles
Graciela Laura Kaminsky
This article examines the new trends in research on capital flows fueled by the 2007–2009 Global Crisis. Previous studies on capital flows focused on current account imbalances and net capital flows. The Global Crisis changed that. The onset of this crisis was preceded by a dramatic increase in gross financial flows while net capital flows remained mostly subdued. The attention in academia zoomed in on gross inflows and outflows with special attention to cross-border banking flows before the crisis erupted and the shift towards corporate bond issuance in its aftermath. The boom and bust in capital flows around the Global Crisis also stimulated a new area of research: capturing the "global factor." This research adopts two different approaches. The traditional literature on the push–pull factors, which before the crisis was mostly focused on monetary policy in the financial center as the "push factor," started to explore what other factors contribute to the co-movement of capital flows as well as to amplify the role of monetary policy in the financial center on capital flows. This new research focuses on global banks' leverage, risk appetite, and global uncertainty. Since the "global factor" is not known, a second branch of the literature has captured this factor indirectly using dynamic common factors extracted from actual capital flows or movements in asset prices.
The Business Cycle and Health
Cristina Bellés-Obrero and Judit Vall Castelló
The impact of macroeconomic fluctuations on health and mortality rates has been a highly studied topic in the field of economics. Many studies, using fixed-effects models, find that mortality is procyclical in many countries, such as the United States, Germany, Spain, France, Pacific-Asian nations, Mexico, and Canada. On the other hand, a small number of studies find that mortality decreases during economic expansion. Differences in the social insurance systems and labor market institutions across countries may explain some of the disparities found in the literature. Studies examining the effects of more recent recessions are less conclusive, finding mortality to be less procyclical, or even countercyclical. This new finding could be explained by changes over time in the mechanisms behind the association between business cycle conditions and mortality.
A related strand of the literature has focused on understanding the effect of economic fluctuations on infant health at birth and/or child mortality. While infant mortality is found to be procyclical in countries like the United States and Spain, the opposite is found in developing countries.
Even though the association between business cycle conditions and mortality has been extensively documented, a much stronger effort is needed to understand the mechanisms behind the relationship between business cycle conditions and health. Many studies have examined the association between macroeconomic fluctuations and smoking, drinking, weight disorders, eating habits, and physical activity, although results are rather mixed. The only well-established finding is that mental health deteriorates during economic slowdowns.
An important challenge is the fact that the comparison of the main results across studies proves to be complicated due to the variety of empirical methods and time spans used. Furthermore, estimates have been found to be sensitive to the use of different levels of geographic aggregation, model specifications, and proxies of macroeconomic fluctuations.
Capital Controls: A Survey of the New Literature
Alessandro Rebucci and Chang Ma
This paper reviews selected post–Global Financial Crisis theoretical and empirical contributions on capital controls and identifies three theoretical motives for the use of capital controls: pecuniary externalities in models of financial crises, aggregate demand externalities in New Keynesian models of the business cycle, and terms of trade manipulation in open-economy models with pricing power. Pecuniary and demand externalities offer the most compelling case for the adoption of capital controls, but macroprudential policy can also address the same distortions. So capital controls generally are not the only instrument that can do the job. If evaluated through the lenses of the new theories, the empirical evidence reviewed suggests that capital controls can have the intended effects, even though the extant literature is inconclusive as to whether the effects documented amount to a net gain or loss in welfare terms. Terms of trade manipulation also provides a clear-cut theoretical case for the use of capital controls, but this motive is less compelling because of the spillover and coordination issues inherent in the use of control on capital flows for this purpose. Perhaps not surprisingly, only a handful of countries have used capital controls in a countercyclical manner, while many adopted macroprudential policies. This suggests that capital control policy might entail additional costs other than increased financing costs, such as signaling the bad quality of future policies, leakages, and spillovers.
Challenges in Financing Universal Health Coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa
Diane McIntyre, Amarech G. Obse, Edwine W. Barasa, and John E. Ataguba
Within the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is important to critically review research on healthcare financing in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from the perspective of the universal health coverage (UHC) goals of financial protection and access to quality health services for all. There is a concerning reliance on direct out-of-pocket payments in many SSA countries, accounting for an average of 36% of current health expenditure compared to only 22% in the rest of the world. Contributions to health insurance schemes, whether voluntary or mandatory, contribute a small share of current health expenditure. While domestic mandatory prepayment mechanisms (tax and mandatory insurance) is the next largest category of healthcare financing in SSA (35%), a relatively large share of funding in SSA (14% compared to <1% in the rest of the world) is attributable to, sometimes unstable, external funding sources. There is a growing recognition of the need to reduce out-of-pocket payments and increase domestic mandatory prepayment financing to move towards UHC. Many SSA countries have declared a preference for achieving this through contributory health insurance schemes, particularly for formal sector workers, with service entitlements tied to contributions. Policy debates about whether a contributory approach is the most efficient, equitable and sustainable means of financing progress to UHC are emotive and infused with "conventional wisdom." A range of research questions must be addressed to provide a more comprehensive empirical evidence base for these debates and to support progress to UHC.
Changes in Hospital Financing and Organization and Their Impact on Hospital Performance
Jonas Schreyögg
Since the 1980s policymakers have identified a wide range of policy interventions to improve hospital performance. Some of these have been initiated at the level of government, whereas others have taken the form of decisions made by individual hospitals but have been guided by regulatory or financial incentives. Studies investigating the impact that some of the most important of these interventions have had on hospital performance can be grouped into four different research streams. Among the research streams, the strongest evidence exists for the effects of privatization. Studies on this topic use longitudinal designs with control groups and have found robust increases in efficiency and financial performance. Evidence on the entry of hospitals into health systems and the effects of this on efficiency is similarly strong. Although the other three streams of research also contain well-conducted studies with valuable findings, they are predominantly cross-sectional in design and therefore cannot establish causation. While the effects of introducing DRG-based hospital payments and of specialization are largely unclear, vertical and horizontal cooperation probably have a positive effect on efficiency and financial performance. Lastly, the drivers of improved efficiency or financial performance are very different depending on the reform or intervention being investigated; however, reductions in the number of staff and improved bargaining power in purchasing stand out as being of particular importance.
Several promising avenues for future investigation are identified. One of these is situated within a new area of research examining the link between changes in the prices of treatments and hospitals' responses. As there is evidence of unintended effects, future studies should attempt to distinguish between changes in hospitals' responses at the intensive margin (e.g., upcoding) versus the extensive margin (e.g., increase in admissions). When looking at the effects of entering into a health system and of privatizations, there is still considerable need for research. With privatizations, in particular, the underlying processes are not yet fully understood, and the potential trade-offs between increases in performance and changes in the quality of care have not been sufficiently examined. Lastly, there is substantial need for further papers in the areas of multi-institutional arrangements and cooperation, as well as specialization. In both research streams, natural experiments carried out using program evaluation design are lacking. One of the main challenges here, however, is that cooperation and specialization cannot be directly observed but rather must be constructed based on survey or administrative data.
Choice Inconsistencies in the Demand for Private Health Insurance
Olena Stavrunova
In many countries of the world, consumers choose their health insurance coverage from a large menu of often complex options supplied by private insurance companies. Economic benefits of the wide choice of health insurance options depend on the extent to which the consumers are active, well informed, and sophisticated decision makers capable of choosing plans that are well-suited to their individual circumstances.
There are many possible ways how consumers' actual decision making in the health insurance domain can depart from the standard model of health insurance demand of a rational risk-averse consumer. For example, consumers can have inaccurate subjective beliefs about characteristics of alternative plans in their choice set or about the distribution of health expenditure risk because of cognitive or informational constraints; or they can prefer to rely on heuristics when the plan choice problem features a large number of options with complex cost-sharing design.
The second decade of the 21st century has seen a burgeoning number of studies assessing the quality of consumer choices of health insurance, both in the lab and in the field, and financial and welfare consequences of poor choices in this context. These studies demonstrate that consumers often find it difficult to make efficient choices of private health insurance due to reasons such as inertia, misinformation, and the lack of basic insurance literacy. These findings challenge the conventional rationality assumptions of the standard economic model of insurance choice and call for policies that can enhance the quality of consumer choices in the health insurance domain.
Clearinghouses and the Swaps Market: A Decade On
Yesha Yadav
In the wake of the 2008 financial collapse, clearinghouses have emerged as critical players in the implementation of the post-crisis regulatory reform agenda. Recognizing serious shortcomings in the design of the over-the-counter derivatives market for swaps, regulators are now relying on clearinghouses to cure these deficiencies by taking on a central role in mitigating the risks of these instruments. Rather than leave trading firms to manage the risks of transacting in swaps privately, as was largely the case prior to 2008, post-crisis regulation requires that clearinghouses assume responsibility for ensuring that trades are properly settled, reported to authorities, and supported by strong cushions of protective collateral. With clearinghouses effectively guaranteeing that the terms of a trade will be honored—even if one of the trading parties cannot perform—the market can operate with reduced levels of counterparty risk, opacity, and the threat of systemic collapse brought on by recklessness and over-complexity.
But despite their obvious benefit for regulators, clearinghouses also pose risks of their own. First, given their deepening significance for market stability, ensuring that clearinghouses themselves operate safely represents a matter of the highest policy priority. Yet overseeing clearinghouses is far from easy and understanding what works best to undergird their safe operation can be a contentious and uncertain matter. U.S. and EU authorities, for example, have diverged in important ways on what rules should apply to the workings of international clearinghouses. Secondly, clearinghouse oversight is critical because these institutions now warehouse enormous levels of counterparty risk. By promising counterparties across the market that their trades will settle as agreed, even if one or the other firm goes bust, clearinghouses assume almost inconceivably large and complicated risks within their institutions. For swaps in particular—whose obligations can last for months, or even years—the scale of these risks can be far more extensive than that entailed in a one-off sale or a stock or bond. In this way, commentators note that by becoming the go-to bulwark against risk-taking and its spread in the financial system, clearinghouses have themselves become the too-big-to-fail institution par excellence.
The Cointegrated VAR Methodology
Katarina Juselius
The cointegrated VAR approach combines differences of variables with cointegration among them and by doing so allows the user to study both long-run and short-run effects in the same model. The CVAR describes an economic system where variables have been pushed away from long-run equilibria by exogenous shocks (the pushing forces) and where short-run adjustments forces pull them back toward long-run equilibria (the pulling forces). In this model framework, basic assumptions underlying a theory model can be translated into testable hypotheses on the order of integration and cointegration of key variables and their relationships. The set of hypotheses describes the empirical regularities we would expect to see in the data if the long-run properties of a theory model are empirically relevant.
Competition and Quality in Healthcare
Peter Sivey and Yijuan Chen
Quality competition between alternative providers is an increasingly important topic in the health economics literature. This literature includes theoretical and empirical studies that have been developed in parallel to 21st-century policies to increase competition between doctors or hospitals. Theoretical studies have clarified how competitive markets can give healthcare providers the incentive to improve quality. Broadly speaking, if providers have an incentive to attract more patients and patients value quality, providers will raise quality until the costs of raising quality are equal to the additional revenue from patients attracted by the rise in quality. The theoretical literature has also investigated how institutional and policy parameters determine quality levels in equilibrium. Important parameters in models of quality competition include the degree of horizontal differentiation, the level of information about provider quality, the costs of switching between providers, and the time-horizon of quality investment decisions.
Empirical studies have focused on the prerequisites of quality competition (e.g., do patients choose higher quality providers?) and the impact of pro-competition policies on quality levels. The most influential studies have used modern econometric approaches, including difference-in differences and instrumental variables, to identify plausibly causal effects. The evidence suggests that in most contexts, quality is a determinant of patient choice of provider, especially after greater patient choice is made available or information is published about provider quality.
The evidence that increases in competition improve quality in healthcare is less clear cut. Perhaps reflecting the economic theory of quality competition, showing that different parameter combinations or assumptions can produce different outcomes, empirical results are also mixed. While a series of high-quality studies in the United Kingdom appear to show strong improvements in quality in more competitive areas following pro-competition reforms introducing more choice and competition, other studies showed that these quality improvements do not extend to all types of healthcare or alternative measures of quality.
The most promising areas for future research include investigating the "black box" of quality improvement under competition, and behavioral studies investigating financial and nonfinancial motivations for quality improvements in competitive markets.
Considering Health-Systems Constraints in Economic Evaluation in Low- and Middle-Income Settings
Anna Vassall, Fiammetta Bozzani, and Kara Hanson
In order to secure effective service access, coverage, and impact, it is increasingly recognized that the introduction of novel health technologies such as diagnostics, drugs, and vaccines may require additional investment to address the constraints under which many health systems operate. Health-system constraints include a shortage of health workers, ineffective supply chains, or inadequate information systems, or organizational constraints such as weak incentives and poor service integration. Decision makers may be faced with the question of whether to invest in a new technology, including the specific health system strengthening needed to ensure effective implementation; or they may be seeking to optimize resource allocation across a range of interventions including investment in broad health system functions or platforms. Investment in measures to address health-system constraints therefore increasingly need to undergo economic evaluation, but this poses several methodological challenges for health economists, particularly in the context of low- and middle-income countries.
Designing the appropriate analysis to inform investment decisions concerning new technologies incorporating health systems investment can be broken down into several steps. First, the analysis needs to comprehensively outline the interface between the new intervention and the system through which it is to be delivered, in order to identify the relevant constraints and the measures needed to relax them. Second, the analysis needs to be rooted in a theoretical approach to appropriately characterize constraints and consider joint investment in the health system and technology. Third, the analysis needs to consider how the overarching priority- setting process influences the scope and output of the analysis informing the way in which complex evidence is used to support the decision, including how to represent and manage system wide trade-offs. Finally, there are several ways in which decision analytical models can be structured, and parameterized, in a context of data scarcity around constraints. This article draws together current approaches to health system thinking with the emerging literature on analytical approaches to integrating health-system constraints into economic evaluation to guide economists through these four issues. It aims to contribute to a more health-system-informed approach to both appraising the cost-effectiveness of new technologies and setting priorities across a range of program activities.
Contemporary Views on Economics of Patents
Shubha Ghosh
A patent is a legal right to exclude granted by the state to the inventor of a novel and useful invention. Much legal ink has been spilled on the meaning of these terms. "Novel" means that the invention has not been anticipated in the art prior to its creation by the inventor. "Useful" means that the invention has a practical application. The words "inventor" and "invention" are also legal terms of art. An invention is a work that advances a particular field, moving practitioners forward not simply through accretions of knowledge but through concrete implementations. An inventor is someone who contributes to an invention either as an individual or as part of a team. The exclusive right, finally, is not granted gratuitously. The inventor must apply and go through a review process for the invention. Furthermore, a price for the patent being granted is full, clear disclosure by the inventor of how to practice the invention. The public can use this disclosure once the patent expires or through a license during the duration of the patent.
These institutional details are common features of all patent systems. What is interesting is the economic justification for patents. As a property right, a patent resolves certain externality problems that arise in markets for knowledge. The establishment of property rights allows for trade in the invention and the dissemination of knowledge. However, the economic case for property rights is made complex because of the institutional need to apply for a patent. While in theory, patent grants could be automatic, inventions must meet certain standards for the grant to be justified. These procedural hurdles create possibilities for gamesmanship in how property rights are allocated.
Furthermore, even if granted correctly, property rights can become murky because of the problems of enforcement through litigation. Courts must determine when an invention has been used, made, or sold without permission by a third party in violation of the rights of the patent owner. This legal process can lead to gamesmanship as patent owners try to force settlements from alleged infringers. Meanwhile, third parties may act opportunistically to take advantage of the uncertain boundaries of patent rights and engage in undetectable infringement. Exacerbating these tendencies are the difficulties in determining damages and the possibility of injunctive relief.
Some caution against these criticisms through the observation that most patents are not enforced. In fact, most granted patents turn out to be worthless, when gauged in commercial value. But worthless patents still have potential litigation value. While a patent owner might view a worthless patent as a sunk cost, there is incentive to recoup investment through the sale of worthless patents to parties willing to assume the risk of litigation. Hence the phenomenon of "trolling," or the rise of non-practicing entities, troubles the patent landscape. This phenomenon gives rise to concerns with the anticompetitive uses of patents, demonstrating the need for some limitations on patent enforcement.
With all the policy concerns arising from patents, it is no surprise that patent law has been ripe for reform. Economic analysis can inform these reform efforts by identifying ways in which patents fail to create a vibrant market for inventions. Appreciation of the political economy of patents invites a rich academic and policy debate over the direction of patent law.
Contests: Theory and Topics
Qiang Fu and Zenan Wu
Competitive situations resembling contests are ubiquitous in modern economic landscape. In a contest, economic agents expend costly effort to vie for limited prizes, and they are rewarded for "getting ahead" of their opponents instead of their absolute performance metrics. Many social, economic, and business phenomena exemplify such competitive schemes, ranging from college admissions, political campaigns, advertising, and organizational hierarchies, to warfare. The economics literature has long recognized contest/tournament as a convenient and efficient incentive scheme to remedy the moral hazard problem, especially when the production process is subject to random perturbation or the measurement of input/output is imprecise or costly. An enormous amount of scholarly effort has been devoted to developing tractable theoretical models, unveiling the fundamentals of the strategic interactions that underlie such competitions, and exploring the optimal design of contest rules. This voluminous literature has enriched basic contest/tournament models by introducing different variations to the modeling, such as dynamic structure, incomplete and asymmetric information, multi-battle confrontations, sorting and entry, endogenous prize allocation, competitions in groups, contestants with alternative risk attitude, among other things.


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Dear Myrtle created an online calendar for coordinating these webinars.
The new website is GeneaWebinars.com and it is a place where webinar hosts can post information on their programs including topics, presenters, dates, times and links to registration information. Genealogists can check the calendar and find programs of interest that will fit their schedules. Most of these webinars are free programs if you attend the live session. Some of the webinars are archived for viewing at a later date and are either available for a limited time or to the host society's members. There are also some that are available by purchasing a CD after the live program, such as from Legacy Family Tree.
Thanks Myrt for setting up this new site!


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When a pre-programmed 2-tone/5-tone code or call from a specific user (MDC mode only) is received, the radio vibrates powerfully enough to be felt through heavy clothing.
When a pre-programmed 2-tone/5-tone code or a SelCall (MDC mode only) is received, the voice recorder automatically starts recording the incoming message. You will not miss an important call even when you are temporarily away from the radio. You can manually start recording incoming calls and also your own message. It records up to a maximum of 8 minutes (Or up to 48 calls of 10 sec. recording time).
The IC-F60V delivers a loud 700mW* audio output with the built-in BTL amp. The built-in audio compander provides clear, low noise communications. Improved bass characteristics also betters the audio quality. * Typical with internal speaker.
When the radio is not operated for a preset period (1 to 255 min.), the radio sounds a beep and requires you to push the emergency button. If the emergency button is not pushed for a preset time (1 to 255 sec.), an emergency signal automatically transmits and informs your co-worker or dispatcher that something may have happened to the individual worker.
The IC-F50V has outstanding protection against dust and water that is equivalent to IP67. The IC-F50V can withstand submersion in 1m depth of water for up to 30 minutes and has dust-tight construction that prevents the ingress of dust.
Use the built-in CTCSS, DTCS, 2-Tone, 5-Tone and MDC signaling capabilities to set up your talk group or selective calling. The IC-F50V can decode ten 2-Tone codes or eight 5- Tone codes on a channel. When a matched tone is received, the following actions are programmable for each code.
The following selective calling and ANI features are available with the built-in MDC signaling.
In the mode dependent setting, the scanning setting is dependent on the operating channel. When you change the operating channel, the scanning list automatically changes to the operating channel setting. It is convenient when you move to a different operating area and change an operating channel, you don't have to change the scanning setting.
The Tx channel while scanning can be programmed per scanning list. The talk back function allows you to transmit on the channel detected after scanning resumes after a preset time, prior to the Tx channel setting. The nuisance delete function temporarily deletes a busy channel from the scanning list. Backlight at stop scan automatically turns on the LCD backlight when the scan stops.
56(W)×97(H)×36.4(D) mm* compact body with durable, dependable construction, has been tested to MIL standard specifications.* 27⁄32(W)×313⁄16(H)×17⁄16(D) in
The large capacity 1700mAh Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery pack, BP-227 provides a practical 9–10 hours* of operating time.* Typical operation Tx:Rx: Stand-by=5:5:90


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Classes are currently being taught online. All physical facilities are closed to the public at this time, and employees are working remotely.Please visit
dcccd.edu/coronavirus for additional information and to
find contact information for various departments.If you need additional assistance, please visit
My Community Services and our
Community Employment Resources.
While content on this site is accessible with older web browsers, the website is designed to support
Internet Explorer 10+ as well as the latest versions of
Chrome and
The DCCCD.edu website launched Feb. 28, 2017.
Its main goal is to help students navigate district and college websites more easily than before. The website features navigation that is common to the district website and the websites of the seven colleges of DCCCD.
Common navigation means that as students move from one college website to another college website, information will reside in the same location, making it easier to find.
General Questions/Answers
Website Comments/Questions/Suggestions
Website creation was overseen by the Unified Student Experience (USE) Tri-Chairs:
Employees in district and college marketing, web, Internet technology, Educational Policy, Business Services and other areas helped make the creation of the website possible. They include:
Madeline Bottoni
Meridith Danforth
Rebecca Hertz
Raymond Imaican
Kristina Saar
Henry Martinez
Brad Smith
Preston Cooper
Donielle Johnson
Ryan Scott
Priscilla Staley
Cynthia Vargas
Zharro Webb
Jill Lain
Yoriko Sosa-Nakata
Alice Rios
Jake Wangner
Susan Adams
Jessica Estrada
Michael Pope
Brian Reinhart
Tremaya Reynolds
Mark Murray
Pablo Pascal
Whitney Rosenbalm
Deborah Wells
Belinda Benson
Esther Canales
Valerie Cavazos
Sal Chavez
Kathy Cook
Belinda Cuellar
Eva de Gutiérrez
Pete Hernandez
Ramon Herrera
Lea Holland
Nivasha Howery
Kimberly Jones
Joanna Jordan
Marc Knox
William Laws III
Bobby Lewis
Kathy McFatter
Daniel Medford
Perla Molina
Cody Ridgeway
Glenn Stone
David Tyler
Brenda Welcome
Barbara Woster
Monica H. Young
In addition to the main USE website, other teams were involved in the redesign and implementation of additional web services, including the online catalog, the Browsable Class Schedule and eConnect.


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HTC Rhyme Brushed Aluminium Case - Gold
HTC Rhyme Brushed Aluminium Case - Gold
Constructed with polycarbonate and plated with brushed aluminium, this HTC case is the ultimate HTC Rhyme companion
- 6103
Constructed with durable polycarbonate and plated with brushed aluminium, the HTC Brushed Aluminium Case is the ultimate companion to your Rhyme.
Specially designed to fit the Rhyme, it's thin yet tough profile helps to protect your phone against the dangers of everyday use – bumps, scratches, dust and dirt particles.
The user-friendly design features full access to all controls, sockets and the camera. What's more, the HTC Case features a stylish layered design that adds visual dimension to your Rhyme without making it bulky or awkward.
- Brushed aluminium plating and polycarbonate design
- Helps protect against bumps, scratches, and dust and dirt particles
- Full access to all controls, sockets and the camera
- Smooth feel
- Stylish layered design for added visual dimension
Package includes:
- One HTC Rhyme Brushed Aluminium case
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Edward Dougherty
Phone: 607.962.9483
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Office: Chemung 214
One of Edward Dougherty's students said that he "has enthusiasm, is hardworking, and loves teaching." Another said that, "Class is hardly ever boring. Because he is a writer himself, he knows writing is a struggle." Dougherty believes it is hard for students to clarify their thoughts and make them clear to readers. In his classes, he gets students engaged in a process that generates material, then evaluates it so that students can see ways to improve it. In this way, he believes all writing can be creative.
The artist Henry Moore said, "The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do." I believe the art of writing (in my case, poetry, but also essays) and the art of teaching is like this. I pursue excellence, knowing that there is so much more to learn. I hope to convey this passion to my students.
Edward A. Dougherty enjoys teaching writing courses (ENGL 0950, 0990, 1010, and 1020), Creative Writing (ENGL2490), and Modern Poetry (ENGL2190).
Edward A. Dougherty has had several projects published throughout his career, including:
- Part Darkness, Part Breath. Plain View Press (poetry collection)
- Pilgrimage to a Ginkgo Tree. WordTech Communications (poetry collection)
- Backyard Passages. FootHills Publishing (poetry collection)
- The Luminous House. Finishing Line Press. (poetry collection)
- Small Galaxies. Winner of the New Eden Chapbook Award. (poetry collection)
- The Metal of My Mouth. FootHills Publishing (poetry collection)
- Pilgrimage to a Ginkgo Tree. Hiroshima, Japan: World Friendship Center (poetry collection with two others, in Japanese + English)
- Double Bloom: Exercises for Poets. Longman. (a textbook for writing poetry) Co-authored with Scott Minar.


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Sean Corcoran
Sean Corcoran began producing investigative series for WCAI in 2005, after moving to Cape Cod. In 2006 his 20-part series "Two Cape Cods: Hidden Poverty on the Cape and Islands,"
won the Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award, considered the highest award in broadcast journalism. Since then his work has received more than a dozen national and regional awards, including several PRNDI and Edward R. Murrow awards. Recent series' topics include the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant; wind power; Alzheimer's Research and caregiving; military groundwater pollution; Special Education; and various science, health and ecology-related stories.
For the first nine years of his career Corcoran worked as a staff reporter for various New England newspapers. His radio stories have appeared on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered. He is a graduate of The George Washington University and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he was younger, Corcoran hiked the Appalachian Trail and rode a bicycle across the United States with his dog, Fea. He is a former 3rd grade teacher and adjunct journalism professor. He occasionally performs onstage with his father, an accomplished Irish entertainer. He lives on Cape Cod with his wife, Linda Corcoran, who is heard on-air on Friday mornings in her capacity as the Sunday Editor at the Cape Cod Times. The couple has a young son, Seamus.


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Elephants marching? Capshaw digs have folks hearing things
"Enter a place where lifestyle takes on a new dimension... eclectic, exciting, and original. Unique surroundings with distinctive advantages are yours to experience at Riverbend Apartment Homes."
Riverbend, which is located behind Rose's at Pantops, is Charlottesville's newest "luxury" apartment complex. It boasts many attractive features, such as spacious and well-designed floor plans, nine-foot ceilings, oversized windows, and garden tubs. Those are the things that sold James and Amy Vergis on Riverbend when they moved to Charlottesville last July.
"We could not have been happier," James emailed me, describing their early days in the apartment. "However, this feeling of joy was short-lived when our neighbors began to move in." The Vergises soon had people living above, below, and to one side of them, and with each new arrival, the noise level went up.
For example, Vergis wrote, "Our downstairs neighbor's stereo/TV was so loud at one point that the glass on our coffee table would shake out of its frame." That problem, fortunately, was resolved by asking the neighbors to tone it down. Not so fortunately, it was the only instance where volume alone was the problem: The rest of the noise, Vergis claims, has come from the people around them simply walking, talking, and generally inhabiting the space.
At night in the master bedroom, for instance, "When the [next-door] neighbor is on the phone, I can hear the entire conversation as if I were sitting across the table from him. The worst noise comes from our upstairs neighbors. They are not being loud at all... when they just walk, it sounds like a herd of elephants."
I visited the couple on a Monday evening and could indeed hear the people above us walking around, although I would never mistake them for a herd of elephants. After talking with the Vergises, I set out to interview the neighbors.
The couple above them agreed that noise seems to travel freely and said they can not only hear neighbors talking, but even, at times, sneezing. Overall, though, they're happy at Riverbend and plan to stay for their entire three years in law school.
The Vergises' next-door neighbor said he has no problems with noise. The tenant below them didn't answer the door, but his neighbor, whose bedroom wall adjoins the building's breezeway, told me the noise from people going up and down the outside stairs is intrusively loud.
I spoke with property manager Robin Hughes, who believes that the two parties complaining about noise– i.e., the Vergises and the woman on the level below them, who complained about noise from the breezeway– are themselves noisy and, therefore, the problem. Their neighbors, however, deny this.
Next, I talked to Nathan Metzger, who (with partner Coran Capshaw, manager of the Dave Matthews Band) developed the property. Metzger said that sound insulation "is of extreme importance" to him. Like Hughes, he ascribed the complaints to a "fondness for partying" and said, "I really don't think we have a sound problem."
After we spoke, I went back to the complex and interviewed eight more residents from other buildings. Two said they had no problems with noise, but the rest75 percent– said they did. One case was described as extreme, one relatively minor (she could hear people walking above her), and the rest fell in between.
What gives? Are the walls, floors, and ceilings at Riverbend unacceptably flimsy? To get the answer, I met with Jay Schlothauer, Albemarle County building official, and we pored over Riverbend's architectural plans and specifications. Schlothauer gave me a crash course in sound insulation, defining such terms as "sound transmission class" (STC) and "impact insulation class" (IIC).
A wall's construction– e.g., how much space separates the two sides, whether fiberglass batting is used, etc.– and similar factors in the design of the floor/ceiling result in numerical ratings for STC and IIC, respectively.
Riverbend's STC and IIC ratings are in the neighborhood of 50 to 54, which are above the code's minimum requirement of 45. Schlothauer praised Metzger, saying that "He did a lot of stuff that's above the code" and "was very conscientious."
That means, in effect, that no one's to blame– except perhaps for the code itself. That's cold comfort, alas, for James and Amy Vergis.
Do you have a consumer problem or question? Email the Fearless Consumer, write her at 100 Second Street NW, 22902, or call 295-8700 ext. 406.


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KAY-BEE STANDARD RESPONSE: "All we have is 1990's 'Robocop' toys."WHICH MEANS: "Holy ******* ****, please shoot m
I just don't get it. I got the Vader with no problem. I log on to get the stormtrooper and it automatically sends me to the wait list?Arggh!
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"Don't let your ego boil over"
In the drug thriller Sicario 2, Benicio Del Toro firms up his tough-guy persona. But for the Puerto Rican actor, Hollywood itself has been tough.
Mr. Del Toro, drug crime has been a theme throughout your career. Why do you focus so intensely on this difficult subject?
It's not that I or my family were every directly affected by drug crime, but I would say that the fact that this problem continues to exist is a sign that it's one of the big issues of our time. Perhaps it's evem one of the biggest international conflicts of our generation.
That doesn't explain why you have played in practially of all these major drug thrillers – from Traffic and Escobar: Paradise Lost to the Sicario films.
I'm simply a child of this generation, but of course my Hispanic roots play a role as well. What was most important to me, however, was playing completely different characters in each of these films. I've played investigators and merciless killers, a drug kingpin and a small-time drug user. There's probably nothing I don't know about the drug wars, and I understand all of these men, each in their own way.
The well-received thriller Sicario, in which you played the lead, was based on a novel without a sequel. Were you surprised to learn that the story was being spun further for the big screen?
I wasn't just surprised, I was somewhat concerned. Sicario was special, not the kind of film you make every day. It would be a hard act to follow, I knew, which is why I was skeptical. But I also had lots of faith in Taylor Sheridan, the scriptwriter. When the screenplay was finished, all my doubts vanished into thin air. Even more than in the first film, some of the scenes in the sequel Sicario: Day of the Soldado really took my breath away.
What drew you to the unsavory character of Agent Alejandro Gillick, a killer deeply involved in organized crime on the border between the U.S. and Mexico?
I always find it most interesting to play characters who do things that are removed from my own experience. This definitely applies here because I have never killed anyone and certainly don't intend to. I was also fascinated by the man's aloofness, something that is always attractive to an actor. Perhaps it was just a little bit in my blood to play a representative of the law: My paternal grandfather and some of his brothers were cops. What I like about Sicario: Day of the Soldado is that Gillick shows sides of himself that he didn't in the first film.
It's quite noticeable, however, that you keep playing bad guys or at least dubious characters. Don't you feel constrained by these roles?
Not at all. I don't feel like all my characters are cut from the same cloth, even if they are not the most endearing. But even if they were, so what! The crucial thing for me is being surrounded by so many wonderful, talented people in my work.
That's a very modest thing to say, especially considering that actors all supposedly have big egos.
There's nothing wrong with that! They just shouldn't get too big. When an ego boils over, it scalds everything around it and creates unpleasantness. But don't confuse ego with self-confidence. For an actor, the latter is essential.
As as Oscar winner, that's surely not something you lack. But as a young, up-and-coming actor, what did you draw on for confidence?
If I'm honest, I drew on my own stupidity for a long time, or shall we say: my own ignorance. Not really thinking about things can work wonders. Many an obstacle is easier to overcome if you don't even realize it's there.
Latinos in Hollywood start from the end of the line
Are you referring to your heritage? You're originally from Puerto Rico and as everyone knows, Hollywood doesn't exactly throw its doors wide open to Latinos …
You can say that again. But I'm obviously not the first Latino to have struggled to gain entrance and lots of people supported me along the way. But there's no point in sugarcoating the facts: My background was a disadvantage. Latinos in Hollywood start from the end of the line.
Did your success eventually change that?
Sure, things have become easier over the years. I've been allowed to play many fascinating characters, many of which were not even Latino. And that is what going beyond a person's background, skin color or gender is all about: being offered complex, interesting roles. But even if Hollywood is slowly starting to open up, things are still difficult for Latinos and I have to keep battling the clichés.
Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens by birth. Was moving to the U.S. still a culture shock for you?
Absolutely! I was 13 when we moved to Pennsylvania. My mother had died a few years earlier and my father sent me to a boarding school although I hardly spoke any English. The only way I could communicate was through sports – basketball became my language. It was later followed by music and painting.
Until you eventually discovered acting?
Exactly. To me, it was the best vehicle for expressing my emotions. But my father was not at all pleased when I told him I had found my vocation. He was happy enough for me to study acting in college, but for him, the outcome was too vague. When you study law, you become a lawyer, when you study medicine, a doctor. But when you study acting? What exactly are your options? I found his objections extremely parochial at the time, but I have to admit that since becoming a father, I can understand him much better.


text: Workhorse Irons' Tattoo Machine Video [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6MBA8511Fw] Original content provided by www.tattoo.now. What is WHI? WHI is a parent company, representing several of the most recognized and respected tattoo machine builders in the trade today. Our current builder lineup includes SOBA, Seth Ciferri, Aaron Cain, and Cory Rogers. As time goes on, we will be adding to our roster of builders, the likes of a few additional well known craftsmen who straight up know their shit. Who actually builds the machines? Each tattoo machine is designed, built, and tuned by the tattooer whose name is associated with it. If a machine is advertised as an Aaron Cain liner, then it is built by Aaron Cain. Who uses machines built by you? Quite a few people have been using machines built by us for many years. A very short list of these people: Timothy Hoyer, Jennifer Billig, Tom & Mick Beasley, Henning Jorgenson, Little Vinnie Myers, Dan Higgs, Scott Harrisson, Corey Miller, Jack Rudy, Hannah Aitchison, Dave Fox, Adam Barton, Adrian Lee, Phil Holt, Chris O'Donnell, GRIME, TIN TIN, Tom Strom, Joe Johns, Kevin Le Blanc, Aaron Coleman, Mike Dorsey, Jeff Rassier, Steve Moore, Dave Waugh, Richard Stell, Chris Trevino, Josh Brown, Brad Fink, Mike Rubendall, Mike Austin, Oliver Peck, Mike Schweigart, Matt Rinks, Brady Duncan, Nate Drew, Chad Soner, William Thideman, Jerry Ware, Kevin Starai, Sean Crofoot, Eric Merril, Kat Von D, etc etc... (For this and more information about WHI please visit their web page: www.workhorseirons.com)


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3:00- 5:00 pm Egan Library 211
Present Chuck Craig President, Cathy Connor Pres. Elect (minutes), Tony Martin Career ED, Jill Dumesnil Natural Sciences, Jane Terzis Humanities, Virgil Fredenberg Education, Lynn Shepherd Library, Eric Niewohner CIOS, Lisa Hoferkamp at Large, Tim Ewest . Ketchikan, Ex Officio-Robbie StellNot PresentYuliya Ivanova BPADM, David Noone Social Sciences , Joe Liddle Sitka
1. Call to order 3:00-Quorum with 3:10
2. Approval of minutes of last meeting ( DEC 1.) ATTACHMENT 2.1
Corrections of Dec 1 minutes.
- c-1, c-2, c-3 #10? Refereeing to source mentioned by Robbie, previous Wilson Fund usage
- will have GERS all faculty meeting sometime in the future, did not talk about at mini Convocation
3. Approval of today's agenda
4. Assembly member's comments
5. (3:30 pm) Provost's comments
Executive Provost Council Report
Provost Stell distributed the Fall 06 report to Faculty Senate
Thanks for Convocation participation. Break through with End of Courses
Student Surveys Institutional data that will help with decision making and assessment of student ratings for future planning.
It is hoped that departments will scrutinize their respective data and explore what it might mean at the classroom level. Pivot tables are cool!Need other means of evaluating competencies.
- Degree Programs-interview graduates-(e.g. professional behavior, computer competency)
- Forums with students (Frosh and Senior)
- Forums with Departments
RS guesses that assessment teams will probably interview faculty and students on campus. AT will probably pre-view course syllabi on the web to evaluate integration of UAS competencies into courses. Join in online sessions and interview distance students.
Eric - Dec Assessment meetings how to do outcomes strategies……
Larry Harris will head up Assessment of Academic and Institutional Effectiveness (has NCATE evaluator experience) Gerken Facilities, Hyde Finance, Student Services.
Draft UA Student Success.
Faculty Alliance - Shirish Patel and Dave Veazey distributed.
President Hamilton identified the need for UA to help better prepare K-12 students and teachers for college as well as identify what students need to know when they leave college.
This document is a response to President Hamilton's Charge to Faculty Alliance.
Lynn commented that this document doesn't articulate the need to assess a student's competency in information literacy that is the ability to find and synthesize knowledge in electronic formats.
Lynn inquired about UAS request for portion of Statewide potential $1.5 million for specific innovative programs from each MAU. She emphasized the need to submit well-articulated projects that address student college readiness and success.
Previously mentioned by Robbie and now underway
- Plans for Summer Academic Camps (Joe Nelson geometry camp JDHS students)
- Jill Dumesnil will teach Math 105 and 107 next fall downtown at the Bill Ray Center, targeting JDHS students who might otherwise not take High School math as juniors and seniors.
- University outreach to High School teachers (Math).
- Joe Nelson has 5-6 SEAK HS superintendents on board to implement math placement tests at their schools. (larger southeast towns)
- Possibilities of assisting math instructors in smaller SE communities
- Need to hold forums for parents to inform them about test results meaning.
Virgil F. suggested Offering Math placement tests during Junior Day on UAS campus.
Eric N, reiterated President Hamilton's idea of rewarding through special tuition discounts, students for taking 4 yrs of math at UA (gray shirt scenario…early UA entry as spring HS seniors)
Student success
Lynn suggested that the Faculty Senate create a couple of good proposals for student success e.g. interdisciplinary 1 credit courses……..that work on student competencies(Enviro policy and chem., Art and biology) share interests learn some skills or college readiness-academic camps
Lynn, Jill, Cathy will form an Ad Hoc committee #12 and come up with some SS suggestions.
6. (3:15 pm) Chair's report: Alliance update
- Human Resources Units function have merged at UA System merged with UAF
- Distance Ed Steering Board (DESB) ceased to exist. Old DESB members have joined ETT (Ed Techno Team), will be enhanced Sachi Oba, Karen Perdue will co-run, Ramona MacAfee will be contact interim Org director. RFPs for dist ed project spring 2007 to solicit campus dist ed projects. Steve Hamilton represents Distance Ed function on Faculty Alliance as well as Karen Schmidt
- Alliance thoughts about how to reduce cost for student's to attend UAA/strengthen residential body
- 4 year tuition rate lock in at entry year
- 4 year housing rate lock in
- if you take 15 credits you pay 12 credit rate
- rebate if you finish in 4 years rather than 6
7. ACTION ITEM: Final approval of the changes made to the online faculty evaluation handbook wording from last meeting. ATTACHMENT 7.1
Unanimously approved as written by Faculty Senate!!!
Ad Hoc discussion……
JT - How do students forward email to personal accounts
EN - Skype links on his course pages
VF - Eluminate sessions will be available on faculty portfolio pages. Virgil will use for office hours.
RS will repeat Mini Convocation sessions-Effective use of technology expand to 1.5 hours.
8. Student Success Dave Veazey - Strategic Planning attachment sent around See # 5 section above.
9. Next meeting Feb 2, 2007. Chuck will be absent. Cathy will chair.
10. More ad hoc discussion
Foreign students who come to Juneau on student visa, move to Anchorage, take BBA online and get in trouble with INS because they need 3 face to face courses.
Online - JDs, Face to face J01s, same course
Get UD accounting courses back in the class room, now most are distance CIOS most courses online…bites into retention of 18-25 year olds who prefer face to face courses. CIOS/Management programs need a separate curriculum for older students?
Fate of Education TV broadcasting….
UATV UAS Satellite is being shipped to Fairbanks for Distance ED. Internet to UAF/KUAC and then sent off transponder from KUAC. Formerly Alaska 3 (5 agency group collaborated to make original satellite-TV system since 1991…..$200,000 resource/yr.
Saved in the 1990s by US Military program needs for MPA, BBA in remote Alaska locations
Could UA TV (Channel 18) be used in future to teach rural HS courses? Type A qualified HS teacher/University Master teacher team teachers? Worked in .Bethel area 26 classrooms with Sue Kocyba. ED 593 courses.
IPY research info dispersion
Useful medium for instruction.
Meeting Adjourned at 5 pm.