Making Voting Easier: Election Day Registration in New York

As policymakers, election officials, and the public consider whether New York should change the way in which voters are allowed to register to participate in elections, and bring New York State election law into compliance with the Help America Vote Act, the following report provides an analysis of the potential impact of election day registration (EDR) in New York. EDR in New York has the potential to increase voter participation for New Yorkers by as much as: Over 12 percentage point increase in turnout by 18-to-25-year-olds. Nearly 10 percentage point increase in turnout by thosewith a grade school education or less.An 11 point increase in turnout by Latinos and nearly 9 percentage point increase in turnout by African Americans.Over 10 percentage point increase in turnout by those who have lived at their current address for less than six months.Over 12 percentage point increase in turnout by naturalized citizens

Non recours et non adhésion : la disjonction des notions de "qualité de vie" et "qualité de l'aide à domicile"

Centré sur les notions de qualité de vie et de qualité de l'aide à domicile, ce travail de deux années a permis de saisir en tout premier lieu la complexité du système d'aide à domicile qui s'organise dans le cadre des plans d'aide APA. Cette complexité peut se comprendre comme résultant du croisement des enjeux professionnels de chaque catégorie d'intervenants et des enjeux d'autonomie et de préservation de l'identité des personnes âgées aidées. La reconnaissance d'une expertise " profane " des usagers et la légitimité de " l'expertise professionnelle " constituent un arc de tension qui sous-tend les positions adoptées par les protagonistes des scènes de l'aide à domicile. En deuxième lieu, à travers la recherche des critères de définition de la qualité de l'aide à domicile, nous avons mis en évidence les divergences entre les différents acteurs et les zones de disjonction entre les notions de qualité de vie et de qualité de l'aide à domicile. Enfin, nous avons pu identifier différents comportements de " non-recours " / " non-adhésion " en quantifiant la sous-consommation des heures prévues dans les plan d'aide APA et en analysant de manière qualitative les formes et les motifs données par les bénéficiaires potentiels à ces attitudes de retrait, d'obstruction ou de négociations vis-à-vis des plans d'aide proposés. Les ajustements et arrangements qui s'opèrent, in situ, dans le cadre de l'intervention à domicile, ont été analysés dans la diversité de leurs formes et de leurs limites

Integration of biophysical connectivity in the spatial optimization of coastal ecosystem services

Ecological connectivity in coastal oceanic waters is mediated by dispersion of the early life stages of marine organisms and conditions the structure of biological communities and the provision of ecosystem services. Integrated management strategies aimed at ensuring long-term service provision to society do not currently consider the importance of dispersal and larval connectivity. A spatial optimization model is introduced to maximise the potential provision of ecosystem services in coastal areas by accounting for the role of dispersal and larval connectivity. The approach combines a validated coastal circulation model that reproduces realistic patterns of larval transport along the coast, which ultimately conditions the biological connectivity and productivity of an area, with additional spatial layers describing potential ecosystem services. The spatial optimization exercise was tested along the coast of Central Chile, a highly productive area dominated by the Humboldt Current. Results show it is unnecessary to relocate existing management areas, as increasing no-take areas by 10% could maximise ecosystem service provision, while improving the spatial representativeness of protected areas and minimizing social conflicts. The location of protected areas was underrepresented in some sections of the study domain, principally due to the restriction of the model to rocky subtidal habitats. Future model developments should encompass the diversity of coastal ecosystems and human activities to inform integrative spatial management. Nevertheless, the spatial optimization model is innovative not only for its integrated ecosystem perspective, but also because it demonstrates that it is possible to incorporate time-varying biophysical connectivity within the optimization problem, thereby linking the dynamics of exploited populations produced by the spatial management regime.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables; 1 graphical abstract. In this version: numbering of figures corrected, updated figure 2, typos corrected and references fixe

Election Day Voter Registration in the United States: How One-step Voting Can Change the Composition of the American Electorate

For most Americans, voting requires two steps. First, an eligible citizen must register in some manner with an appropriate government agency. Second, once registered, the citizen can then cast a ballot on or before election day. The historical record provides examples of voter registration processes as early as 1801 in the state of Massachusetts, followed by Columbia, South Carolina in 1819, the state of Pennsylvania in 1836, and New York City in 1840. After the Civil War, voter registration systems proliferated throughout the nation, especially in large urban areas of the county. By 1929, only Arkansas, Indiana and Texas did not have voter registration systems in place. Today, only North Dakota has no voter registration.Carnegie Corporation of New York; IBM Researc

Incidencia e indicaciones de cesárea en gestantes del Hospital de Apoyo II de Sullana, enero - diciembre 2017

Objetivo: Determinar la incidencia e indicaciones de cesárea en gestantes del Hospital de Apoyo II de Sullana, enero-diciembre 2017. Materiales y métodos: Se llevó a cabo un estudio de enfoque observacional, descriptivo y retrospectivo en el Hospital de Apoyo II de Sullana en el periodo enero-diciembre 2017. La población estuvo constituida por 2158 pacientes cesareadas durante ese tiempo y el espacio muestral corresponde a 327 pacientes. La información fue recolectada del libro de cirugías mayores de sala de operaciones. Se realizó una ficha para recolección de datos, los cuales fueron extraídos y analizados con el programa estadístico Stata versión 12.2. Resultados: De los 327 casos estudiados, se encontró una incidencia de cesárea de 59.1%. La principal indicación de cesárea según su causa primaria, fue la causa materna con 64.8%. Las indicaciones maternas de cesárea principalmente fueron: una cesárea segmentaria previa con 24.6% y preeclampsia–eclampsia con 22.9 %. Las indicaciones fetales de parto por cesárea fueron: alteración del bienestar fetal con 41.7% y feto en presentación podálica con 20.0%, mientras que las indicaciones ovulares específicas de cesárea fueron: la ruptura prematura de membranas con 38.2% y oligohidramnios severo 29.4 %. Conclusiones: la incidencia de cesárea se encuentra en un porcentaje superior al recomendado por la OMS, constituyendo la indicación materna como la principal causa de cesárea.Objective: To determine the incidence and indications of caesarean sections in pregnant women of the Hospital de Apoyo II at Sullana, January-December 2017. Materials and methods: An observational, descriptive and retrospective approach study was carried out at the Hospital de Apoyo II at Sullana in the period January-December 2017. The universe consisted of 2158 patients who had been ceased during that time and the sample space corresponds to 327 patients. The information was collected of Books of major surgeries of operating room. A data collection form was made, which were extracted and analyzed with the statistical program Stata version 12.2. Results: Of the 327 cases studied, was found an incidence of cesarean section of 59.1%. The main indication of cesarean according to its primary cause was the maternal cause with 64.8%. The maternal indications of caesarean section were mainly a previous segmental caesarean section with 24.6% and preeclampsia-eclampsia with 22.9%. The fetal indications of cesarean delivery were alteration of fetal well-being with 41.7% and breech presentation with 20.0% while the ovular indications of caesarean section were the premature rupture of membranes with 38.2% and severe oligohydramnios 29.4%. Conclusions: the incidence of caesarean section is higher than that recommended by the WHO, constituting maternal indication as the main cause of cesarean section.Tesi

From tracial anomalies to anomalies in Quantum Field Theory

zeta-regularized traces, resp. super-traces, are defined on a classical pseudo-differential operator A by: tr^Q(A):= f.p.tr(A Q^{-z})_{|_{z=0}}, resp. str^Q(A):= f.p.str(A Q^{-z})_{|_{z=0}}, where f.p. refers to the finite part and Q is an (invertible and admissible) elliptic reference operator with positive order. They are widly used in quantum field theory in spite of the fact that, unlike ordinary traces on matrices, they are neither cyclic nor do they commute with exterior differentiation, thus giving rise to tracial anomalies. The purpose of this article is to show, on two examples, how tracial anomalies can lead to anomalous phenomena in quantum field theory.Comment: 35 page

Indicadores de calidad del suelo asociados a la aplicación de hongos micorrizales en plantaciones de café

Introduction: This article is the result of the research work “Evaluation of the quality of the soil associated with the use of mycorrhizae in coffee plantations in the Municipality of Sasaima, Cundinamarca” carried out duringthe years 2018 and 2019 at the Universidad Libre. Problem: Several investigations report the use of mycorrhizal fungi in plant development, however, there are few studies regarding the relationship between mycorrhizae and soil quality indicators. Methodology: Four plots were evaluated, applying: 1) Control; 2) Local native mycorrhizae isolated by the authors; 3) Commercial liquid mycorrhizae; and 4) Commercial solid mycorrhizae. The samples of the rhizosphericsoils were taken and bimonthly monitoring was applied until 5 collection cycles were obtained. The physicochemical parameters, abundance of functional groups of microorganisms, and enzymatic activities ofthe soil were determined and analyzed by means of univariate and multivariate statistical analysis. Conclusion: The research hypothesis was validated since the mycorrhizae inoculation significantly increased the values of the soil quality indicators, namely organic carbon (14%), moisture (19%), phosphorus (30%), abundanceof nitrogen-fixing bacteria (5.5%), phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (7.8%), cellulolytic bacteria (9.3%), and phosphate-solubilizing fungi (2.6%). In addition, the local native mycorrhizae that were isolated by theauthors showed greater benefits than those of the commercial mycorrhizae. Originality: This research reveals the impact of mycorrhizae on the soil quality indicators over time during thefirst year of application, especially on the microbial and enzymatic parameters. Limitations: Several authors have investigated the importance of the mycorrhizae on the physicochemical parameters of the plant, and not on the microbial and enzymatic parameters of the soil.Introducción: El presente artículo es producto de la investigación “Evaluación de la calidad del suelo asociado al uso de micorrizas en cafetales del Municipio de Sasaima, Cundinamarca” realizado durante el año 2018 y 2019 en la Universidad Libre.   Problema de investigación: Diversas investigaciones reportan el uso de micorrizas en el desarrollo de plantas, sin embargo, se presentan pocos estudios en cuanto a las relaciones ente las micorrizas y los indicadores de calidad del suelo.   Metodología: Se evaluaron cuatro parcelas en las cuales se aplicó: 1). Control, 2). Micorrizas autóctonas de la zona aisladas por las autoras, 3). Micorrizas líquidas comerciales y 4). Micorrizas sólidas comerciales. Se realizó muestreo de suelos rizosféricos con seguimiento bimensual hasta obtener 5 ciclos de colecta. Se determinaron parámetros fisicoquímicos, abundancia de grupos funcionales de microorganismos y actividades enzimáticas del suelo, los cuales fueron analizados mediante análisis estadístico: univariado y multivariado.   Conclusión: La hipótesis de investigación fue validada ya que la inoculación de micorrizas aumentó significativamente los valores de los indicadores de calidad del suelo como el carbono orgánico (14%), humedad (19%), fósforo (30%), abundancia de bacterias fijadoras de nitrógeno (5.5%), bacterias solubilizadoras de fosfato (7.8%), bacterias celulolíticas (9.3%) y hongos solubilizadores de fosfato (2.6%). Adicionalmente, las micorrizas autóctonas de la zona de estudio, aisladas por las autoras presentaron mayores beneficios con respecto a las micorrizas comerciales.   Originalidad: Esta investigación revela el impacto de las micorrizas en los indicadores de calidad del suelo, especialmente en los parámetros microbianos y enzimáticos a lo largo del tiempo durante el primer año de aplicación.   Limitaciones: Los reportes de diversos autores investigan la importancia de las micorrizas en los parámetros fisicoquímicos de la planta y no sobre los parámetros microbianos y enzimáticos del suelo. &nbsp

Description and validation of the ice-sheet model Yelmo (version 1.0)

We describe the physics and features of the ice-sheet model Yelmo, an open-source project intended for collaborative development. Yelmo is a thermomechanical model, solving for the coupled velocity and temperature solutions of an ice sheet simultaneously. The ice dynamics are currently treated via a “hybrid” approach combining the shallow-ice and shallow-shelf/shelfy-stream approximations, which makes Yelmo an apt choice for studying a wide variety of problems. Yelmo's main innovations lie in its flexible and user-friendly infrastructure, which promotes portability and facilitates long-term development. In particular, all physics subroutines have been designed to be self-contained, so that they can be easily ported from Yelmo to other models, or easily replaced by improved or alternate methods in the future. Furthermore, hard-coded model choices are eschewed, replaced instead with convenient parameter options that allow the model to be adapted easily to different contexts. We show results for different ice-sheet benchmark tests, and we illustrate Yelmo's performance for the Antarctic ice sheet

Rupture et état critique via DEM

Discrete-element simulations are used to explore the relation between breakage-induced grading evolution and the critical state line position on the compression plane. An efficient model of particle breakage is applied to perform a large number of tests, in which grading evolution is continuously tracked using a grading index. Using both previous and new experimental results, the discrete element model is calibrated and validated to represent Fontainebleau sand. The results obtained show that, when breakage is present, the inclusion of a grading index in the description of critical states is advantageous. This can be simply done using the critical state plane concept.Postprint (published version

Trends In The Alignment And Harmonization Of Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, And Child Health Funding, 2008-13.

Donor financing to low- and middle-income countries for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health increased substantially from 2008 to 2013. However, increased spending by donors might not improve outcomes, if funds are delivered in ways that undermine countries' public financial management systems and incur high transaction costs for project implementation. We combined quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the quality of funding for reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health globally and in Tanzania, based on two principles of aid effectiveness: the alignment of donor financing with the recipient country's public health financial management systems, and donor harmonization for coordinated, transparent, and collectively effective actions. We found that alignment of donor financing deteriorated throughout the period, with the proportion of funds channeled through governments decreasing from 47 percent to 39 percent. Tanzania-based donors attributed the change to the pressure donors were under to achieve and show results. Donor harmonization was low overall and remained relatively constant, although it increased in sub-Saharan Africa and decreased in South Asia. Bilateral funding agencies were the most harmonized donors. We recommend that future assessments of Sustainable Development Goals financing include measures of harmonization and alignment of funding