Exploring the stigma of food stamps

This paper reports on theoretical research into the effect of stigma and social norms on policy outcomes of the Food Stamp program, in particular the effect on the caseload. As a general rule, it is impossible to predict whether norms will amplify or dampen the response of caseloads to any given policy intervention. Sometimes they have an effect, sometimes they do not. Much depends on whether the norms themselves change very much in response to policy changes. Social feedback (each norm violation encourages more violations) makes policy predictions uncertain. It can translate very small shocks into very large changes in the caseload. Norm systems can collapse abruptly. Norms can alleviate administrative problems involving targeting, since norms can define "true need" in a social sense and allow all of the truly needy to claim benefits. Eligible nonparticipants are viewed as "not needy" in the social sense, though they may be needy according to objective criteria. Norms may also lessen a program's incentive effects (against work, for example). Norms may exacerbate administrative problems involving resource availability. To the extent that program eligibility differs from socially defined need, the program will be unpopular. Norms also add considerable uncertainty to the environment of policy planning and execution. Policymakers who hope to reduce the influence of stigma on program resources and administration should consider localizing program eligibility rules, so that the rules correspond more closely to social definitions of need. Intense, broad-based local outreach efforts may also reduce stigma's power.

Polymeric filament thinning and breakup in microchannels

The effects of elasticity on filament thinning and breakup are investigated in microchannel cross flow. When a viscous solution is stretched by an external immiscible fluid, a low 100 ppm polymer concentration strongly affects the breakup process, compared to the Newtonian case. Qualitatively, polymeric filaments show much slower evolution, and their morphology features multiple connected drops. Measurements of filament thickness show two main temporal regimes: flow- and capillary-driven. At early times both polymeric and Newtonian fluids are flow-driven, and filament thinning is exponential. At later times, Newtonian filament thinning crosses over to a capillary-driven regime, in which the decay is algebraic. By contrast, the polymeric fluid first crosses over to a second type of flow-driven behavior, in which viscoelastic stresses inside the filament become important and the decay is again exponential. Finally, the polymeric filament becomes capillary-driven at late times with algebraic decay. We show that the exponential flow thinning behavior allows a novel measurement of the extensional viscosities of both Newtonian and polymeric fluids.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Implementation of ‘CLICK into Activity’ in South Somerset: Social prescribing through primary care referral of ‘at risk’ populations to community leisure services

In March 2013, Sport England launched a Lottery-funded initiative called ‘Get Healthy Get Active’ (GHGA), investing in numerous UK-based projects designed to tackle inactivity through participation in sport. CLICK into Activity, a social prescribing initiative based in South Somerset, was one of sixteen projects to receive backing in 2015 from Sport England during round two of GHGA funding. The preventive approach taken through CLICK into Activity was to refer inactive people from general practice and encourage individuals to play a central role in engaging with exercise specialists in community leisure services to improve health and wellbeing and support them to become more physically active.A mixed methods evaluation using the RE-AIM framework was conducted that aimed to evaluate the impact of CLICK into Activity. This executive summary presents the main findings of the evaluation

Fluid Elasticity Can Enable Propulsion at Low Reynolds Number

Conventionally, a microscopic particle that performs a reciprocal stroke cannot move through its environment. This is because at small scales, the response of simple Newtonian fluids is purely viscous and flows are time-reversible. We show that by contrast, fluid elasticity enables propulsion by reciprocal forcing that is otherwise impossible. We present experiments on rigid objects actuated reciprocally in viscous fluids, demonstrating for the first time a purely elastic propulsion set by the object's shape and boundary conditions. We describe two different artificial "swimmers" that experimentally realize this principle.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Speech and language difficulties in children with and without a family history of dyslexia

Comorbidity between SLI and dyslexia is well documented. Researchers have variously argued that dyslexia is a separate disorder from SLI, or that children with dyslexia show a subset of the difficulties shown in SLI. This study examines these hypotheses by assessing whether family history of dyslexia and speech and language difficulties are separable risk factors for literacy difficulties. Forty-six children with a family risk of dyslexia (FRD) and 36 children receiving speech therapy (SLT) were compared to 128 typically developing children. A substantial number (41.3%) of the children with FRD had received SLT. The nature of their difficulties did not differ in severity or form from those shown by the other children in SLT. However, both SLT and FRD were independent risk factors in predicting reading difficulties both concurrently and 6 months later. It is argued that the results are best explained in terms of Pennington's (2006) multiple deficits model

Jet shoes

Jet shoes for space locomotio

Application of the Gillespie algorithm to a granular intruder particle

We show how the Gillespie algorithm, originally developed to describe coupled chemical reactions, can be used to perform numerical simulations of a granular intruder particle colliding with thermalized bath particles. The algorithm generates a sequence of collision ``events'' separated by variable time intervals. As input, it requires the position-dependent flux of bath particles at each point on the surface of the intruder particle. We validate the method by applying it to a one-dimensional system for which the exact solution of the homogeneous Boltzmann equation is known and investigate the case where the bath particle velocity distribution has algebraic tails. We also present an application to a granular needle in bath of point particles where we demonstrate the presence of correlations between the translational and rotational degrees of freedom of the intruder particle. The relationship between the Gillespie algorithm and the commonly used Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method is also discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, to be published in J. Phys. A Math. Ge

Implementation of ‘CLICK into Activity’ in South Somerset: Social prescribing through primary care referral of ‘at risk’ populations to community leisure services: Full evaluation report

In March 2013, Sport England launched a Lottery-funded initiative called ‘Get Healthy Get Active’ (GHGA), investing in numerous UK-based projects designed to tackle inactivity through participation in sport. CLICK into Activity, a social prescribing initiative based in South Somerset, was one of sixteen projects to receive backing in 2015 from Sport England during round two of GHGA funding. The preventive approach taken through CLICK into Activity was to refer inactive people from general practice and encourage individuals to play a central role in engaging with exercise specialists in community leisure services to improve health and wellbeing and support them to become more physically active.A mixed methods evaluation using the RE-AIM framework was conducted that aimed to evaluate the impact of CLICK into Activity. This full report presents study methods, results and recommendations of the evaluation

XMM-Newton and INTEGRAL analysis of the Supergiant Fast X-ray Transient IGR J17354-3255

We present the results of combined INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton observations of the supergiant fast X-ray transient (SFXT) IGR J17354$-$3255. Three XMM-Newton observations of lengths 33.4 ks, 32.5 ks and 21.9 ks were undertaken, the first an initial pointing to identify the correct source in the field of view and the latter two performed around periastron. Simultaneous INTEGRAL observations across $\sim66\%$ of the orbital cycle were analysed but the source was neither detected by IBIS/ISGRI nor by JEM-X. The XMM-Newton light curves display a range of moderately bright X-ray activity but there are no particularly strong flares or outbursts in any of the three observations. We show that the spectral shape measured by XMM-Newton can be fitted by a consistent model throughout the observation, suggesting that the observed flux variations are driven by obscuration from a wind of varying density rather than changes in accretion mode. The simultaneous INTEGRAL data rule out simple extrapolation of the simple powerlaw model beyond the XMM-Newton energy range.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Published by Oxford University Pres

Más tecnología, más cambio? Investigating an educational technology project in rural Peru

Providing access to and training in ICTs is seen as key to bridging the digital divide between technology-rich communities and those with poor IT infrastructures. Several projects have focused on providing ICTs for education in developing countries, of which the best known is One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). Although, there has been significant criticism of some of these projects, in particular OLPC, due to its use of a top-down implementation strategy and the limited evidence for its educational benefits, there has been comparatively little analysis of what underlies successful approaches. We aimed to address this deficit by conducting an ethnographic study of community-based projects organised by Blue Sparrow, a small charity that donates refurbished desktop computers to schools in rural Peru, as this organisation has experienced both successes and failures when implementing its educational technology projects. The relative success of Blue Sparrow highlights the benefits of: Understanding local contexts; using a bottom up approach; involving stakeholders in setting programme objectives; and empowering communities. We argue that the educational impact of such projects can be improved by: Providing teacher training; integrating computers into the wider curriculum; and providing teaching materials and clear objectives for volunteers