Amorphization and evolution of magnetic properties during mechanical alloying of Co62Nb6Zr2B30: Dependence on starting boron microstructure

Co62Nb6Zr2B30 composition was mechanically alloyed using three different types of boron powders in the starting mixture: crystalline β-B, commercial amorphous B and optimized amorphous B via ball milling. Using optimized amorphous B, amorphization process of the alloy is more efficient but milling to optimize amorphous B introduces some iron contamination. Boron inclusions (100-150 nm in size) remain even after long milling times. However, using amorphous boron reduces the fraction of boron distributed as inclusions to ∼40% of the total B. Thermal stability at the end of the milling process is affected by the initial boron microstructure. Coercivity is reduced a half using amorphous B instead of crystalline B in the starting mixture. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe

The Project of Democracy

This article is an address given at the May 2002 Maine Town Meeting sponsored by the Margaret Chase Smith Library in Skowhegan. Alexander Keyssar chronicles the advances and contractions of democratic political rights in American history. While on balance, this is a story of progress, it is not, Keyssar argues, unilinear, nor one that is completed. Although arguably late for the world’s “greatest democracy,” by the 1970s the United States had achieved universal suffrage. Today, however, the tug between democratic and anti-democratic forces continues. The contest is no longer over voting rights but over the procedures and rules governing elections (i.e., election reform and redistricting). Keyssar argues we must continue to fight for the expansion of democratic rights; it is an ongoing project, one in which we will never be finished

Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?

The Ohio State University Mershon Center for International Security StudiesAlexander Keyssar is Matthew W. Stirling Jr. Professor of History and Social Policy in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. An historian by training, he has specialized in the explanation of issues that have contemporary policy implications. His current research interests include election reform, the history of democracies, and the history of poverty.Mershon Center for International Security StudiesOhio State University. Moritz College of LawEvent Web Page, Streaming Vide

Le chômage et son histoire aux États-Unis

Quoiqu'en pensent les économistes américains, dont les théories sont antihistoriques et ignorent l'histoire, le phénomène du chômage a une longue histoire aux États-Unis. Cette dernière se divise en trois périodes. La première (vers 1820-1870) a vu l'émergence du phénomène moderne du chômage. La deuxième (vers 1870-1935) pourrait s'appeler « l'ère de l'incertitude ». La troisième enfin, qui va de 1935 à nos jours, est une période de gestion du chômage ; elle se subdivise en deux sous-périodes..

Can incarcerated felons be (re)integrated into the political system? Results from a field experiment

How does America’s high rate of incarceration shape political participation? Few studies have examined the direct effects of incarceration on patterns of political engagement. Answering this question is particularly relevant for the 93% of formerly incarcerated individuals who are eligible to vote. Drawing on new administrative data from Connecticut, we present evidence from a field experiment showing that a simple informational outreach campaign to released felons can recover a large proportion of the reduction in participation observed following incarceration. The treatment effect estimates imply that efforts to reintegrate released felons into the political process can substantially reduce the participatory consequences of incarceration

The economics and politics of women's rights

Women’s rights and economic development are highly correlated. Today, the discrepancy between the legal rights of women and men is much larger in developing compared to developed countries. Historically, even in countries that are now rich women had few rights before economic development took off. Is development the cause of expanding women’s rights, or conversely, do women’s rights facilitate development? We argue that there is truth to both hypotheses. The literature on the economic consequences of women’s rights documents that more rights for women lead to more spending on health and children, which should benefit development. The politicaleconomy literature on the evolution of women’s rights finds that technological change increased the costs of patriarchy for men, and thus contributed to expanding women’s rights. Combining these perspectives, we discuss the theory of Doepke and Tertilt (2009), where an increase in the return to human capital induces men to vote for women’s rights, which in turn promotes growth in human capital and income per capita

Franchises lost and gained: post-coloniality and the development of women’s rights in Canada

The Canadian constitution is to some extent characterised by its focus on equality, and in particular gender equality. This development of women’s rights in Canada and the greater engagement of women as political actors is often presented as a steady linear process, moving forwards from post-enlightenment modernity. This article seeks to disturb this ‘discourse of the continuous,’ by using an analysis of the pre-confederation history of suffrage in Canada to both refute a simplistic linear view of women’s rights development and to argue for recognition of the Indigenous contribution to the history of women’s rights in Canada. The gain of franchise and suffrage movements in Canada in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century are, rightly, the focus of considerable study (Pauker 2015), This article takes an alternative perspective. Instead, it examines the exercise of earlier franchises in pre-confederation Canada. In particular it analyses why franchise was exercised more widely in Lower Canada and relates this to the context of the removal of franchises from women prior to confederation

Jim Crow 2.0?: Why States Consider and Adopt Restrictive Voter Access Policies

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in state legislation likely to reduce access for some voters, including photo identification and proof of citizenship requirements, registration restrictions, absentee ballot voting restrictions, and reductions in early voting. Political operatives often ascribe malicious motives when their opponents either endorse or oppose such legislation. In an effort to bring empirical clarity and epistemological standards to what has been a deeply charged, partisan and frequently anecdotal debate, this paper uses multiple specialized regression approaches to examine factors associated with both the proposal and adoption of restrictive voter access legislation from 2006-11. Our results indicate that proposal and passage are highly partisan, strategic, and racialized affairs. These findings are consistent with a scenario in which the targeted demobilization of minority voters and African Americans is a central driver of recent legislative developments. We discuss the implications of these results for current partisan and legal debates regarding voter restrictions and our understanding of the conditions incentivizing modern suppression efforts. Further, we situate these policies within developments in social welfare and criminal justice policy that collectively reduce electoral access among the socially marginalized

An overview of domestic aspects in US climate policy

The article shows how domestic aspects influence the United States national and international climate policy. To accomplish the task, the authors analyzes the discussions when Bill Clinton was ruling the country, a time during which global discussions were forwarded. The paper recalls the debate in the Bush administration and the growing polarization since Barack Obama took office