3,187 research outputs found

    The Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector: Structure and Functions

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    Describes the role and financing of the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority, an agency created to help small businesses and individuals buy affordable, high-quality insurance. Considers its potential as a model for national reform

    Adolescent Perceptions of Nutrition: Identifying Memorable Messages

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    Research is necessary to uncover ways to improve adolescent nutrition and reduce obesity rates, particularly in the Appalachian region, which has high rates of food insecurity and adolescent obesity. The current study examines rural cultural norms about food, memorable messages adolescents received about nutrition, and the sources of identified memorable messages. Adolescents shared memorable messages during comprehensive, semi-structured, small group interviews in which participants revealed their individual experiences. Thematic framework analysis is used to present the range and nature of memorable messages about nutrition and to develop strategies for future health campaigns and interventions. This qualitative method of sequential inductive analysis provides transparency of data and resulting interpretations through thematic identification and indexing. Analysis revealed themes of messages that featured critical pieces of the rule-structure of memorable messages – specifically, adherence and consequence regarding nutritional behaviors. Prominent memorable messages of adherence included topics of balance (e.g., MyPlate), type (e.g., junk food), and timing (e.g., “don’t eat after 7 p.m.”). Messages with elements of consequence included communication of short-term (e.g., “breakfast gets your blood flowing) and long-term consequence (e.g., obesity, etc.). Adolescents identified family members, educators, and media as salient sources of memorable messages

    Apollo experience report guidance and control systems: Primary guidance, navigation, and control system development

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    The primary guidance, navigation, and control systems for both the lunar module and the command module are described. Development of the Apollo primary guidance systems is traced from adaptation of the Polaris Mark II system through evolution from Block I to Block II configurations; the discussion includes design concepts used, test and qualification programs performed, and major problems encountered. The major subsystems (inertial, computer, and optical) are covered. Separate sections on the inertial components (gyroscopes and accelerometers) are presented because these components represent a major contribution to the success of the primary guidance, navigation, and control system

    Thermodynamic graph-rewriting

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    We develop a new thermodynamic approach to stochastic graph-rewriting. The ingredients are a finite set of reversible graph-rewriting rules called generating rules, a finite set of connected graphs P called energy patterns and an energy cost function. The idea is that the generators define the qualitative dynamics, by showing which transformations are possible, while the energy patterns and cost function specify the long-term probability π\pi of any reachable graph. Given the generators and energy patterns, we construct a finite set of rules which (i) has the same qualitative transition system as the generators; and (ii) when equipped with suitable rates, defines a continuous-time Markov chain of which π\pi is the unique fixed point. The construction relies on the use of site graphs and a technique of `growth policy' for quantitative rule refinement which is of independent interest. This division of labour between the qualitative and long-term quantitative aspects of the dynamics leads to intuitive and concise descriptions for realistic models (see the examples in S4 and S5). It also guarantees thermodynamical consistency (AKA detailed balance), otherwise known to be undecidable, which is important for some applications. Finally, it leads to parsimonious parameterizations of models, again an important point in some applications

    Youth smoking and anti-smoking policies in North Dakota: a system dynamics simulation study

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    Background: The current study utilizes system dynamics to model the determinants of youth smoking and simulate effects of anti-smoking policies in the context of North Dakota, a state with one of the lowest cigarette tax rates in the USA. Methods: An explanatory model was built to replicate historical trends in the youth smoking rate. Three different policies were simulated: 1) an increase in cigarette excise taxes; 2) increased funding for CDC-recommended comprehensive tobacco control programs; and 3) enforcement of increased retailer compliance with age restrictions on cigarette sales. Results: The explanatory model successfully replicated historical trends in adolescent smoking behavior in North Dakota from 1992 to 2014. The policy model showed that increasing taxes to $2.20 per pack starting in 2015 was the most effective of the three policies, producing a 32.6% reduction in youth smoking rate by 2032. Other policies reduced smoking by a much lesser degree (7.0 and 3.2% for comprehensive tobacco control program funding and retailer compliance, respectively). The effects of each policy were additive. Conclusions: System dynamics modeling suggests that increasing cigarette excise taxes are particularly effective at reducing adolescent smoking rates. More generally, system dynamics offers an important complement to conventional analysis of observational data.publishedVersio
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