An important parameter that defines the effectiveness and efficiency of any optical or infrared sky survey is the atmospheric characteristics of the observing site. Of prime importance is the sky spectral brightness, which determines the sensitivities and the observing time required to complete a particular survey. This paper presents observations of the near-infrared sky spectral brightness me...

IC ER SPTIVES On contentious issues such as gun control, where advocacy groups on both sides claim to have the weight of public opinion behind them, polling can help clarify what Americans really think. Three decades of polling have painted a clear picture of public opinion about gun control. These polls show that public support for the regulation of firearms is strong, deep, and widespread. La...

This paper studies completed parity distributions for all the industrialized and developing countries that participated in the World Fertility Survey. This is done by means of a table based on parity calculated for all ever-married women above age 40 by educational and residential subcategories. The information is also used to compare mean family and mean sibship sizes and to study changes in...

Usability testing, commonly conducted for commercial software to ensure that it meets the needs of the end user, is likewise vital to creating effective training software employing VR technologies. However, developers often limit software testing to expert evaluation (by other developers or subject matter experts [SMEs]) to identify potential problems that might impede the usability or acceptab...

For many years we have heard rumors of the downfall and death of GSS research. In this paper we will argue that the nay-sayers are wrong, as many have been in other disciplines in the past and that they would propose to stop seeking answers before the most important questions may have even been asked. We describe some of the many unanswered research questions left to be addressed in Group Suppo...

INTRODUCTION This study describes the uses of a control chart in the malaria surveillance at the local level, signaling whether there is a need to intensify or adapt control measures. METHODS The districts of Cruzeiro do Sul (n=14), State of Acre, Brazil, were classified into three groups: I) those with an incidence lower than expected; II) those with an incidence within the expected range; a...

Policy-makers often rely on public opinion polls to decide which political projects to pursue. We study how the use of opinion polls influences policy outcomes if respondents feel pressured to offer ”socially desirable” views when answering the pollsters’ questions. Our results indicate that this type of social pressure can lead to second-best policy outcomes even if politicians are aware of th...

AIM The aim of the study is to evaluate the changes of the kinetic parameters of gait in patients with supratentorial unilateral stroke in the chronic period (SUSChP). MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted with 67 patients with SUSChP (56 patients included in the experimental group - 32 men and 24 women, with duration of disease 7.8 ± 2.0 months, and 11 patients in the control group - ...

OBJECTIVE Our objective was to pilot collaborations between two urban farms with two corner stores to increase access to fresh produce in low-income neighbourhoods. DESIGN We conducted a pre-post evaluation of two farm-store collaborations using quantitative distribution and sales data. Using semi-structured interviews, we qualitatively assessed feasibility of implementation and collaboration...