Workers with Disabilities May Remain Unemployed Long after the COVID-19 Pandemic

While the re-opening of the U.S. economy promises a return to work for some, this may not be the case for many displaced workers with disabilities. This issue brief describes the intricacies of employability of workers with disabilities

A Tale of Two Statistics: Has Unemployment among Adults with Disabilities Really Declined?

This data slice describes that although the unemployment rate has declined among both those with and without disabilities, the percentage of working-age adults in both groups who are out of the labor force altogether (i.e., not looking for work or unable to work) is higher than a decade ago

Having a Disability Reduces Chances of Employment for all Racial/Ethnic Groups

Regardless of race, adults with disabilities are less likely to be employed than those without disabilities. This data slice explains how race-ethnicity affects employment rates among adults with and without disabilities

The Case for Intersectionality: An Intersectional Look At Disability in The Labor Market

While approximately 10% of adults ages 18 to 64 living in the United States identify as having a disability, workers with disabilities make up only 3% of the labor force (Livermore and Schimmel Hyde 2020; Paul et al. 2020). When compared to their non-disabled counterparts, those with disabilities have lower employment rates and earnings, are more likely to work in precarious and low wage jobs and report higher levels of workplace discrimination (BLS 2020; Maroto and Pettinicchio 2014b; Robert and Harlan 2006). Yet, recent evidence suggests that disabled people\u27s labor market disadvantages may be disproportionately experienced by those with multiple marginalized statuses, such as women with disabilities, disabled people of color, and those with more significant and multiple disabilities (Pettinicchio and Maroto 2017; Brooks 2019c; Shaw et al. 2012; Kadijk et al.2018). Informed by the Disablement Process, Cumulative Inequality theory, and Intersectionality, this dissertation examines the factors related to the intersectional connections between race/ethnicity, gender, disability type and combination, and labor market disadvantages. Using data from the American Community Survey, this dissertation employs logistic regression models to predict employment probabilities for those with and without disabilities, stratified by race/ethnicity, gender, and limitation type, as well as combinations of these statuses. These models adjust for individual characteristics, receipt of government assistance, and several state-level policies and characteristics. This dissertation also estimates the number of years over the working life span that an individual can expect to be employed while disabled. Findings show that disparities in labor market disadvantages among certain sub-groups of those with disabilities are reduced when accounting for individual characteristics and receipt of government assistance, suggesting that the intersectional effects of race/ethnicity, gender, and disability on certain aspects of a disabled individual\u27s life, such as education and government assistance, spillover to affect their labor-market outcomes. Findings from this dissertation suggest several policy innovations, including a restructuring of the network of disability-specific government assistance programs, a federal subsidy for workplace accommodations, and the centering of the voices of those most marginalized when it comes to policy creation

Examining Sport Management Programs in the United States

Analysis of sport management programs is important for potential students as well as for the future development of sport management as an academic discipline. The historical evolution of sport management programs in the United States moved from the physical education model to a more business-oriented curriculum. Given this historical development, debate exists among sport management professionals regarding administrative housing of current and future sport management programs. The purposes of this study were to: (1) Provide an overview of the development of U.S. sport management programs, (2) Provide a snapshot of sport management programs including admissions requirements and faculty profiles, and (3) Analyse critical issues facing the field of sport management. A random sample of 137 institutions offering undergraduate sport management programs in the United States were invited to participate in the study; 50 usable surveys were returned. Results indicate a lack of diversity (racial and gender) among sport management faculty, and a large proportion of part-time faculty without a terminal degree in the field

Assessing the quality of absolute hydration free energies among CHARMM‐compatible ligand parameterization schemes

Multipurpose atom‐typer for CHARMM (MATCH), an atom‐typing toolset for molecular mechanics force fields, was recently developed in our laboratory. Here, we assess the ability of MATCH‐generated parameters and partial atomic charges to reproduce experimental absolute hydration free energies for a series of 457 small neutral molecules in GBMV2, Generalized Born with a smooth SWitching (GBSW), and fast analytical continuum treatment of solvation (FACTS) implicit solvent models. The quality of hydration free energies associated with small molecule parameters obtained from ParamChem, SwissParam, and Antechamber are compared. Given optimized surface tension coefficients for scaling the surface area term in the nonpolar contribution, these automated parameterization schemes with GBMV2 and GBSW demonstrate reasonable agreement with experimental hydration free energies (average unsigned errors of 0.9–1.5 kcal/mol and R 2 of 0.63–0.87). GBMV2 and GBSW consistently provide slightly more accurate estimates than FACTS, whereas Antechamber parameters yield marginally more accurate estimates than the current generation of MATCH, ParamChem, and SwissParam parameterization strategies. Modeling with MATCH libraries that are derived from different CHARMM topology and parameter files highlights the importance of having sufficient coverage of chemical space within the underlying databases of these automated schemes and the benefit of targeting specific functional groups for parameterization efforts to maximize both the breadth and the depth of the parameterized space. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Ligand parameterization for molecular mechanics simulations is computationally intensive, requiring long multistep optimization procedures. Recently there has been an influx of automated parameterization tools for the CHARMM force field. These tools radically speed up the process, but it remains unclear whether accuracy is sacrificed to a significant extent. The research presented in this article uses a set of 457 small molecules to quantify the accuracy of four automated parameterization tools by computing absolute hydration free energies.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97284/1/23199_ftp.pd

Snake prices and crocodile appetites: Aquatic wildlife supply and demand on Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

Commercial trade is a major driver of over-exploitation of wild species, but the pattern of demand and how it responds to changes in supply is poorly understood. Here we explore the markets for snakes from Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia to evaluate future exploitation scenarios, identify entry points for conservation and, more generally, to illustrate the value of multi-scale analysis of markets to traded wildlife conservation. In Cambodia, the largest driver of snake exploitation is the domestic trade in snakes as crocodile food. We estimate that farmed crocodiles consume between 2.7 and 12.2 million snakes per year. The market price for crocodiles has been in decline since 2003, which, combined with rising prices for their food, has led to a reduced frequency of feeding and closure of small farms. The large farms that generate a disproportionate amount of the demand for snakes continue to operate in anticipation of future market opportunities, and preferences for snakes could help maintain demand if market prices for crocodiles rise to pre 2003 levels. In the absence of a sustained demand from crocodile farms, it is also possible that alternative markets will develop, such as one for human snack food. The demand for snakes, however, also depends on the availability of substitute resources, principally fish. The substitutability and low price elasticity of demand offers a relatively sustainable form of consumerism. Given the nature of these market drivers, addressing consumer preferences and limiting the protection of snakes to their breeding season are likely to be the most effective tools for conservation. This study highlights the importance of understanding the structure of markets and the behaviour of consumer demand prior to implementing regulations on wildlife hunting and trade

Automated Assessment of Pavlovian Conditioned Freezing and Shock Reactivity in Mice Using the Video Freeze System

The Pavlovian conditioned freezing paradigm has become a prominent mouse and rat model of learning and memory, as well as of pathological fear. Due to its efficiency, reproducibility and well-defined neurobiology, the paradigm has become widely adopted in large-scale genetic and pharmacological screens. However, one major shortcoming of the use of freezing behavior has been that it has required the use of tedious hand scoring, or a variety of proprietary automated methods that are often poorly validated or difficult to obtain and implement. Here we report an extensive validation of the Video Freeze system in mice, a “turn-key” all-inclusive system for fear conditioning in small animals. Using digital video and near-infrared lighting, the system achieved outstanding performance in scoring both freezing and movement. Given the large-scale adoption of the conditioned freezing paradigm, we encourage similar validation of other automated systems for scoring freezing, or other behaviors

Snake prices and crocodile appetites: Aquatic wildlife supply and demand on Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

a b s t r a c t Commercial trade is a major driver of over-exploitation of wild species, but the pattern of demand and how it responds to changes in supply is poorly understood. Here we explore the markets for snakes from Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia to evaluate future exploitation scenarios, identify entry points for conservation and, more generally, to illustrate the value of multi-scale analysis of markets to traded wildlife conservation. In Cambodia, the largest driver of snake exploitation is the domestic trade in snakes as crocodile food. We estimate that farmed crocodiles consume between 2.7 and 12.2 million snakes per year. The market price for crocodiles has been in decline since 2003, which, combined with rising prices for their food, has led to a reduced frequency of feeding and closure of small farms. The large farms that generate a disproportionate amount of the demand for snakes continue to operate in anticipation of future market opportunities, and preferences for snakes could help maintain demand if market prices for crocodiles rise to pre 2003 levels. In the absence of a sustained demand from crocodile farms, it is also possible that alternative markets will develop, such as one for human snack food. The demand for snakes, however, also depends on the availability of substitute resources, principally fish. The substitutability and low price elasticity of demand offers a relatively sustainable form of consumerism. Given the nature of these market drivers, addressing consumer preferences and limiting the protection of snakes to their breeding season are likely to be the most effective tools for conservation. This study highlights the importance of understanding the structure of markets and the behaviour of consumer demand prior to implementing regulations on wildlife hunting and trade

Live-Cell Monitoring of Periodic Gene Expression in Synchronous Human Cells Identifies Forkhead Genes involved in Cell Cycle Control

We developed a system to monitor periodic luciferase activity from cell cycle-regulated promoters in synchronous cells. Reporters were driven by a minimal human E2F1 promoter with peak expression in G1/S or a basal promoter with six Forkhead DNA-binding sites with peak expression at G2/M. After cell cycle synchronization, luciferase activity was measured in live cells at 10-min intervals across three to four synchronous cell cycles, allowing unprecedented resolution of cell cycle-regulated gene expression. We used this assay to screen Forkhead transcription factors for control of periodic gene expression. We confirmed a role for FOXM1 and identified two novel cell cycle regulators, FOXJ3 and FOXK1. Knockdown of FOXJ3 and FOXK1 eliminated cell cycle-dependent oscillations and resulted in decreased cell proliferation rates. Analysis of genes regulated by FOXJ3 and FOXK1 showed that FOXJ3 may regulate a network of zinc finger proteins and that FOXK1 binds to the promoter and regulates DHFR, TYMS, GSDMD, and the E2F binding partner TFDP1. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high-throughput sequencing analysis identified 4329 genomic loci bound by FOXK1, 83% of which contained a FOXK1-binding motif. We verified that a subset of these loci are activated by wild-type FOXK1 but not by a FOXK1 (H355A) DNA-binding mutant