A Hypothetical Cohort Model of Human Development

This research provides a model of growth of the human development index (HDI) by examining past changes and levels of HDI and creates four ÒcohortsÓ of countries. Using a hypothetical cohort approach reveals a model of HDI growth. Generalized Estimating Equations are used to determine the impact that country characteristics have on HDI. The analysis shows that conflict has a significant impact on HDI. Further, while in 1970, the countries whose HDI was most impacted by conflict were developing nations, currently, conflict is most detrimental to the least developed countries. The research also shows that the 1990s presented particular challenges to the least developed countries, perhaps attributable to ramifications of the AIDS crisis. The research then uses the model to predict HDI in the future and compares results from the prediction with projections that result when Ðrecalculating HDI using components that various agencies have separately projected.human development index, conflict, hypothetical cohorts

Repair Priorities

The nation's roads are deteriorating, contributing to a looming financial problem. When we released the first edition of Repair Priorities in 2011, the poor condition of the nation's road network was a direct reflection of decades of decisions to underinvest in repair. In the years since, policymakers continue to pay lip service to the notion of prioritizing repair and "fix-it-first," yet we have little to show for the rhetoric. The latest data in this report shows that the conditions of our roadways have not improved, perpetuating a costly backlog of roads in poor condition. Congress provides states with billions in formula funding that they are free to use for maintenance. Yet, despite the backlog, states continue to spend a significant portion of funding to build new roads, creating costly new maintenance liabilities in the form of new roads and lane-miles. We need to take much stronger action as a nation to reverse the deterioration of our infrastructure. We need a different set of priorities—not simply a higher level of overall investment. We now have years of evidence that simply increasing funding for highways does not solve the problem—the same spending patterns persist: underinvestment in repair and overinvestment in expanding a highway system that we cannot afford to maintain

Western's Dream

The majority of these poems were written in the last two years, yet they represent a range of experimentation which was implied in earlier writing. I have arranged them in three sections, each consistent in a variation of theme and form and while they vary within a section, patterns may be found throughout the thesis as a whole. Ekphrastic poems create one thread, yet within each of these are other underlying themes about relationships, not just between people, but between people and objects and objects themselves. This concept often unfolds as a psychological landscape that induces a pastoral, as well as the narrative itself. The common shifts to surreal images imply a psyche in which the surreal may be disorienting but never insincere. Often the truth within these poems lies in these absurd shifts, revealing the poems' true subjectstheir speakers, who attempt to narrate the landscapes I've created for their voices

Co-producing Justice : International Social Economy Network Programme Report

While the significance of employment to desistance (giving up crime) is well established, there are multifarious obstacles to people with convictions accessing and sustaining work. Social enterprises are businesses that trade for a social purpose, rather than for the enrichment of shareholders or owners. It has been shown that social enterprise and cooperative structures of employment can circumnavigate some of the systemic obstacles to employment, such as criminal records and employer discrimination that people routinely encounter. Yet, one in six people in the UK have a criminal conviction; a large proportion of people are, therefore, affected by the impacts that contact with the justice system has on access to employment and, relatedly, opportunities to move on from offending. The House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee (2016) recognise that employment significantly reduces reoffending and can lead to other outcomes that can reduce reoffending (e.g. financial security and stable accommodation). The Scottish Government (2016) has recently co-produced, with the social enterprise sector, a ten-year Strategy to encourage the further development of the sector and contribute to an overarching ‘inclusive growth’ agenda, demonstrating considerable appetite for an evidence-informed approach for this demographic. Despite this, not only are such structures providing paid work a rarity in the UK justice system, the potential of social enterprises and co-operatives in this context has hardly been explored. Recent research (Roy et al., 2017; Weaver 2016; forthcoming) provides important evidence to suggest their potential to support desistance, recovery and integration; this project sought to build on this by exploring approaches to their implementation, connecting a range of multi-disciplinary international and local experts who can differently contribute towards their realisation. By combining these largely disconnected strands of research, siloed within specific disciplines, our aim has been to advance a more coherent interdisciplinary theorizing and exploration of the interactions, synergies and distinctions in these disciplinary fields and to influence the direction of future research, policy and practice in justice contexts

Aphanomyces-Resistant Alfalfa: A Solution to a Common Problem in Spring Seedings

For several decades, farmers have experienced a common stand-establishment disease syndrome when spring-seeded alfalfa was followed by extended periods of wet weather. Seedlings affected by this syndrome exhibit severe stunting as well as yellowing and reddening of seed leaves (cotyledons), but they do not wilt or collapse, as they might from a damping-off disease. Commonly, the problem affects most or all of the field. Based on research that began in the 1980\u27s, we suspected that a fungus called Aphanomyces euteiches (hereafter simply called Aphanomyces) was responsible. This root-rot fungus can be found in the majority of alfalfa fields we have sampled in central and western Kentucky. However, for many years we lacked conclusive proof that Aphanomyces was, in fact, the cause of this common problem in spring-seeded alfalfa. We also did not have rigorous proof that the syndrome could be avoided by sowing Aphanomyces-resistant alfalfa varieties, which started becoming commercially available in the early 1990\u27s. In this report, we provide a brief summary of research to support our new recommendation: that spring-seeded alfalfa should be sown only with varieties having an R or HR rating to Aphanomyces root rot (ARR)

Duchamp's Erotic Stereoscopic Exercises

This article explores certain links between medicine and art, with regard to their use of stereoscopy. I highlight a work by the artist Marcel Duchamp (the ready-made Stéréoscopie a la Main) and stereoscopic cards used in ophthalmic medicine. Both instances involve the drawing of graphic marks over previously existing stereoscopic cards. This similarity between Stéréoscopie a la Main and stereoscopic cards is echoed in the form of "stereoscopic exercises." Stereoscopic exercises were prescribed by doctors to be performed with the stereoscope as early as 1864. Stereoscopic cards were widely diffused in the 19th century, often promoted as "stay-at-home travel." It was over such kinds of materials that both Marcel Duchamp and doctors of ophthalmic medicine drew their graphic marks. I explore Duchamp's Stéréoscopie a la Main as a hypothetical basis for stereoscopic exercises of different types, proposing that this rectified ready-made is the locus for erotic stereoscopic exercises.Este artigo busca explorar certos elos entre a medicina e a arte por meio da estereoscopia. Destaca-se uma obra do artista Marcel Duchamp (o ready-made Stéréoscopie a la Main) e cartões estereoscópicos usados na oftalmologia. As duas instâncias envolvem o desenho de marcas gráficas sobre cartões estereoscópicos pré-existentes. A similaridade entre Stéréoscopie a la Main e os ditos cartões ecoa também na forma dos exercícios estereoscópicos. O cartão estereoscópico foi amplamente difundido na segunda metade do séc. XIX, frequentemente na forma da "viagem sem sair de casa." Foi sobre esse tipo de material que tanto médicos quanto Marcel Duchamp desenharam suas marcas. Explora-se a obra Stéréoscopie a la Main como um sítio hipotético para uma espécie de exercício, propondo que tal ready-made retificado seja um lugar para exercícios estereoscópicos eróticos

Quantum algorithm and circuit design solving the Poisson equation

The Poisson equation occurs in many areas of science and engineering. Here we focus on its numerical solution for an equation in d dimensions. In particular we present a quantum algorithm and a scalable quantum circuit design which approximates the solution of the Poisson equation on a grid with error \varepsilon. We assume we are given a supersposition of function evaluations of the right hand side of the Poisson equation. The algorithm produces a quantum state encoding the solution. The number of quantum operations and the number of qubits used by the circuit is almost linear in d and polylog in \varepsilon^{-1}. We present quantum circuit modules together with performance guarantees which can be also used for other problems.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures. This is the revised version for publication in New Journal of Physic

West Nile Virus Encephalitis and Myocarditis in Wolf and Dog

In the third season (2002) of the West Nile virus epidemic in the United States, two canids (wolf and dog) were diagnosed with West Nile virus encephalitis and myocarditis with similarities to known affected species (humans, horses, and birds). The West Nile virus infections were confirmed by immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction

Exploring differential item functioning in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC)

Background: The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) is a widely used patient reported outcome in osteoarthritis. An important, but frequently overlooked, aspect of validating health outcome measures is to establish if items exhibit differential item functioning (DIF). That is, if respondents have the same underlying level of an attribute, does the item give the same score in different subgroups or is it biased towards one subgroup or another. The aim of the study was to explore DIF in the Likert format WOMAC for the first time in a UK osteoarthritis population with respect to demographic, social, clinical and psychological factors. Methods: The sample comprised a community sample of 763 people with osteoarthritis who participated in the Somerset and Avon Survey of Health. The WOMAC was explored for DIF by gender, age, social deprivation, social class, employment status, distress, body mass index and clinical factors. Ordinal regression models were used to identify DIF items. Results: After adjusting for age, two items were identified for the physical functioning subscale as having DIF with age identified as the DIF factor for 2 items, gender for 1 item and body mass index for 1 item. For the WOMAC pain subscale, for people with hip osteoarthritis one item was identified with age-related DIF. The impact of the DIF items rarely had a significant effect on the conclusions of group comparisons. Conclusions: Overall, the WOMAC performed well with only a small number of DIF items identified. However, as DIF items were identified in for the WOMAC physical functioning subscale it would be advisable to analyse data taking into account the possible impact of the DIF items when weight, gender or especially age effects, are the focus of interest in UK-based osteoarthritis studies. Similarly for the WOMAC pain subscale in people with hip osteoarthritis it would be worthwhile to analyse data taking into account the possible impact of the DIF item when age comparisons are of primary interest