17,440 research outputs found
Dielectric prisms would improve performance of quasi-optical microwave components
Properties of the Brewster angle and internal reflection in a dielectric prism are proposed as the basis of a new type of element for use in oversize waveguide in quasi-optical microwave components. Waveguide loss is reduced and precision broadband attenuators, phase shifters, and directional couplers can be constructed on the basis of the properties
Image [&] Narrative journal editorship (in 2 issues) - The story of things: reading narrative in the visual
Based on the conference convened by Carson & Miller to accompany their project The Story of Things, these two journal issues of Image [&] Narrative explore the relationship between narrative and the visual.
Issue 1:
âIntroductionâ, Carson & Miller
Part 1 â Telling the Story of Things
âRelating Storiesâ, Dr. Patricia Allmer
âScrapbook (a visual essay)â, Carson & Miller
Part 2 â Object as Catalyst: the Potential for Narrative within the Artefact
âArtefacts and Anecdotesâ, Prof. Karen Bassi
âEphemeral Art: Telling Stories to the Deadâ, Dr. Mary Oâ Neill
âBelongingsâ, Lucy May Schofield & Sylvia Waltering
Issue 2:
âIntroductionâ, Carson & Miller
Part 1 â Visualising the Remembered Narrative: Archetype, Biography, Autobiography
âRephrased, Replaced, Repainted: visual anachronism as a narrative deviceâ, GyĂśngyvĂŠr HorvĂĄth
âLost Children, the Moors & Evil Monsters: the photographic story of the Moors Murdersâ, Helen Pleasance
âRead You Like A Book: Time and Relative Dimensions in Storytellingâ, Mike Nicholson
Part 2 â Authoring and Reading the Sequential Narrative: Linear and Non-Linear Approaches
âThe Pre-Narrative Monstrosity of Images: how images demand narrativeâ, Dr. William Brown
âTowards Ephemeral Narrativeâ, Jacqueline Butler & Gavin Parry
âSignification Under Sentence: examining how the juxtaposition of verse with film affects narrativeâ, Dr. Pete Atkinso
Quantum fluctuations of the electroweak sphaleron: Erratum and Addendum
We correct an error in our treatment of the tadpole contribution to the
fluctuation determinant of the sphaleron, and also a minor mistake in a
previous estimate. Thereby the overall agreement between the two existing exact
computations and their consistency with the estimate is improved considerably.Comment: 4 pages, Dortmund preprint DO-TH-93/19E
Closing Racial-Ethnic Gaps in Poverty: How Government Programs Compare
In this data snapshot, authors Marybeth Mattingly and Jessica Carson explore the role of government programs in alleviating poverty for people with different racial-ethnic identities. Because poverty rates among non-Hispanic whites are significantly lower than among other groups, programs with disparate effects by race can either widen or decrease racial-ethnic gaps in the poverty rate. The authors find that SNAP and the EITC play particularly important roles for non-white populations; however, Social Security maintains low poverty rates among whites, and exacerbates the poverty gap between white and non-white populations. Policymakers who want to advance low income populations and promote racial-ethnic equity can consider both these programsâ roles in reducing poverty and racial-ethnic poverty gaps
Prosper. An evaluation of tourism's contribution to regional economies
Prosper has delivered a three part model for assessing and enhancing the value of tourism in regional areas. The
first part of the model uses simple indicators to provide an assessment of the economic, social, and environmental value attached to tourism. An indicators approach was adopted following extensive review of the application of more complex approaches to regional economic analysis. The review found that complex approaches are unlikely to produce results of sufficient validity and applicability to warrant their high resource costs (time, money, and skills). Complex models are also more difficult to maintain. The economic value is represented through quantitative indicators relating to employment and the number of businesses in tourism related sectors. These are all relative indicators (for example, proportion of all businesses which are businesses in the tourism sector or proportion of change in employment that can be attributed to change in tourism related employment). These indicators are drawn from national data sets which provide information for statistical local areas and/or postcode areas. This offers the opportunity to develop and deliver consistent national profiles through a vehicle such as Decipher. National standard data sets are supplemented in the model by more qualitative assessments of tourismâs contribution to the local economy made by business operators through
interviews or surveys. Again, tracking the change in these assessments over time is the key to the model. Social and environmental values are substantially more difficult to assess. The Prosper case studies have included qualitative assessments derived from business and community meetings, local government and other administrative documents, media and a simplified network analysis identifying the extent to which community based organisations interact with the delivery of tourism services. Data sets have been identified which would allow a quantitative analysis of the extent to which tourism activity (visitor movements, business activity, business construction) encroaches on environmentally sensitive areas or is responsible for redevelopment or preservation of built environments. The case studies have not been able to implement this quantitative analysis.
The second part of the model conducts a âdiagnosticâ assessment of the capacity in the region to harness the
value of tourism through innovation. Innovation is seen as a very important mechanism for both identifying regional issues and developing responses to those issues. Innovation is widely accepted in the literature as a driver of economic growth, and concepts such as âsystems of innovationâ and âregional systems of innovationâ have become common in understanding how that innovation can be encouraged and placed within technical or geographical contexts. The diagnostic element of the Prosper model uses a series of techniques (including historical document analysis, interviews, and network analysis) to investigate the characteristics of regionâs human tourism resources in relation to their âinnovation potentialâ. Innovation potential is influenced by:
⢠Economic competence â the extent to which those resources include capacity to manage projects and
implement new ideas;
⢠Clustering of resources â the spatial relationships between tourism attractions and amenities and nontourism
amenities and resources which may be critical in the delivery of tourism product;
⢠Networks â the social and professional relationships between tourism attractions and amenities and nontourism
amenities and resources which may be critical in the delivery of tourism product;
⢠Development blocks â the existence of sufficient new resources or new ways of looking at existing resources to provide opportunities for innovation. Development blocks need also to be a source of tension or disequilibrium so that their use is contested and therefore options more likely to be scrutinized as to their viability;
⢠Entrepreneurship â the capacity for human resources to engage in new tasks and drive activity;
⢠Critical mass â the relationship between the capacity to supply tourism product, and the capacity to access sufficient and appropriate markets (including resident markets) to support ongoing supply;
⢠Local government â the extent to which local government considers tourism an important issue and is willing to engage in the innovation process
⢠Production and distribution of knowledge â the extent to which the history and current status of tourism is understood and communicated, and the degree to which stakeholders can access and apply new information for identifying the potential or need for change, assessing the viability of projects, and evaluating activities;
⢠Social, political and cultural capital â the strength of the social, political and cultural environments, and the degree to which those environments can be effectively harnessed to support tourism innovation.
The third part of the model uses âvisioningâ techniques (drawing in part on experiences from Sustainable Tourism CRC projects on âGold Coast Visioningâ led by Professor Bill Faulkner at Griffith University, and research by Walker, Lee, Goddard, Kelly & Pedersen, 2005) to engage stakeholders in developing strategies for identifying tourism value issues (based on the community awareness of the value of tourism, aspirations for enhancing value, and strategies for addressing deficiencies in innovation potential). A number of processes are available for applying visioning techniques. Our case studies typically involved community leaders accepting
ownership of the results of the application of the first components of the model and, in a facilitated or nonfacilitated way, delivering these results broadly through the community. In some cases, strategies emerged
entirely from within the region, while in others, the research team was further engaged to collate strategy
suggestions and summarise the arguments attached to these suggestions. In most cases, the final case study
write-up included reference to suggestions which appeared likely to be carried forward.
The Prosper model was tested in thirteen case studies, not simply to establish whether the relationships hypothesized between innovation potential and harnessing the value of tourism could be observed, but also to establish to extent to which participating regions viewed the application of the model as important and worthwhile in their attempts to move forward. The case studies were a mix of five new studies conducted using the Prosper model in a direct way and meta-analysis of eight previous case studies. The short time frame for the research (2 and ½ years) and the relatively long term nature of change made it impossible to design the research to evaluate the success of the strategies developed or any specific innovations in new case studies, so the metaanalysis studies were significant in this respect. The case studies strongly supported the second part of the model in particular, and the research served as an influential tool for many of the case study communities who were able to implement programs of value monitoring (through quantitative or qualitative means), identify ways in which their systems of innovation could be strengthened, and develop context specific mechanisms for
identifying and assessing the feasibility of tourism development proposals. The research has delivered a number of outputs which may be used in dissemination and commercialisation of the intellectual property. A stand-alone publication reviewing the applicability of various economic value assessment techniques to regional tourism has been produced. A quick guide to the Prosper model and assessing whether application of the model would assist a particular region has been drafted, and is slated for development in collaboration with Sustainable Tourism CRC. A detailed methodology specification has been prepared, and may be used as the basis of consulting services or the conduct of further case studies. The quantitative data sets (Census, Sensis, TTF employment analysis, labour force statistics etc.) may be made available through Decipher and included in a structured Decipher product which facilitates analysis and interpretation. A book containing research results of the thirteen case studies and an overview of the relationship between those case studies and the Prosper model has been edited by Dean Carson and Dr Jim Macbeth and has been submitted to the Sustainable Tourism CRC editorial team led by Professor Chris Cooper at the University of Queensland
Hispanic Children Least Likely to Have Health Insurance: Citizenship, Ethnicity, and Language Barriers to Coverage
This policy brief examines health insurance coverage of Hispanic children and its relationship to their citizenship status, their parentsâ citizenship status, parentsâ insurance coverage, language spoken at home, and their stateâs Medicaid expansion policies. Using the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureauâs American Community Survey collected in 2014, authors Michael Staley and Jessica Carson report that Hispanic children are less likely to have health insurance than black or white children, a gap that is explained by differences in citizenship status between Hispanic and non-Hispanic children. Noncitizen Hispanic children are nearly three times more likely to be uninsured than Hispanic citizen children living with citizen parents and more than three times more likely to be uninsured than citizen children living with noncitizen parents. Hispanic children who do not have an insured parent are seven times more likely to be uninsured than Hispanic children with at least one insured parent. In conclusion, they suggest policy considerations that might incrementally reduce the number of uninsured children
The Rachel Carson Letters and the Making of Silent Spring
Environment, conservation, green, and kindred movements look back to Rachel Carsonâs 1962 book Silent Spring as a milestone. The impact of the book, including on government, industry, and civil society, was immediate and substantial, and has been extensively described; however, the provenance of the book has been less thoroughly examined. Using Carsonâs personal correspondence, this paper reveals that the primary source for Carsonâs book was the extensive evidence and contacts compiled by two biodynamic farmers, Marjorie Spock and Mary T. Richards, of Long Island, New York. Their evidence was compiled for a suite of legal actions (1957-1960) against the U.S. Government and that contested the aerial spraying of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). During Rudolf Steinerâs lifetime, Spock and Richards both studied at Steinerâs Goetheanum, the headquarters of Anthroposophy, located in Dornach, Switzerland. Spock and Richards were prominent U.S. anthroposophists, and established a biodynamic farm under the tutelage of the leading biodynamics exponent of the time, Dr. Ehrenfried Pfeiffer. When their property was under threat from a government program of DDT spraying, they brought their case, eventually lost it, in the process spent US$100,000, and compiled the evidence that they then shared with Carson, who used it, and their extensive contacts and the trial transcripts, as the primary input for Silent Spring. Carson attributed to Spock, Richards, and Pfeiffer, no credit whatsoever in her book. As a consequence, the organics movement has not received the recognition, that is its due, as the primary impulse for Silent Spring, and it is, itself, unaware of this provenance
âTo hit, or not to hit?â Examining the similarity between practice and real swings in golf
Practice swings are commonly employed among golfers, presumably based on the tacit assumption that they share common psychomotor processes with real swings; however, this has not been verified by empirical research. Therefore, this study aimed to examine whether practice swings shared equivalent levels of control to real golf swings, when attempting the same target behavior. Three PGA Professional golf coaches and six amateurs (mean handicap = 2.7, SD = 2.2) each executed 20 swings under two quasirandom conditions; 10 real swings when striking a ball and 10 practice swings without. Underpinned by the theoretical suggestions of the UnControlled Manifold (UCM) approach (Scholz & SchĂśner, 1999), motor control was assessed using intraindividual movement variability. Results showed the level of equivalence to be inconsistent on both an inter and intraindividual basis. Coaches should, therefore, recognize that practice swings do not share the same effect for every golfer. Optimal coaching needs to consider individual responses before committing to specific training designs if counterproductive training is to be avoided
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