The Gender Wage Gap in the New Millennium: An Analysis of the United States 2000-2020

This study examines the earnings differential in each year from 2000-2020 to determine if the gender pay gap has changed in recent years. We estimate average weekly wages for full-time, year-round workers for men and women to determine women’s wages relative to men’s wages for each year. Our results show that although average earnings for women relative to men have increased since 2000 when adjusting for individual worker characteristics, we find little progress in shrinking the gender wage gap. This result is even more discouraging since women’s education rates have increased at a significantly higher rate during this time

Are pregnancy outcomes associated with risk factor reporting in routinely collected perinatal data?

Relatório de estágio do mestrado em Ensino da Educação Física dos Ensinos Básico e Secundário, apresentado à Faculdade de Ciências do Desporto e Educação Física da Universidade de CoimbraApresentado como um documento reflexivo e figurativo das experiências e vivências tidas durante o ano de Estágio Pedagógico em Ensino da Educação Física nos Ensinos Básico e Secundário, este relatório final foi desenvolvido com base no contexto da Turma do 11º PS da Escola Secundária de Avelar Brotero, contendo, assim, todas as expetativas, conceções, aprendizagens, dificuldades, estratégias, soluções e etapas superadas. Estruturado em cinco capítulos – Enquadramento pessoal onde consta as expetativas iniciais relativas ao Estágio Pedagógico; contextualização da prática desenvolvida, onde caracterizamos o contexto; realização da prática profissional, da qual consta uma reflexão sobre todo o processo de planeamento, realização e avaliação; reflexões acerca do processo pedagógico, onde expomos opiniões edificantes dos desafios e dilemas na condução do processo de ensino-aprendizagem; e o aprofundamento do tema problema – foi evidenciado o caminho que fomos (re)construindo com identidade, partilha e reflexão, e a forma como encaramos o compromisso com as aprendizagens dos alunos. Fundamentado no paradigma construtivista, o desenvolvimento curricular foi neste relatório assumido como um processo que deverá centrar-se no aluno, aludindo ao conjunto de estratégias, métodos e procedimentos que permitem a concretização de um projeto de formação pessoal e social que a prática desportiva pode potenciar. Tendo em atenção os contextos e cenários de aprendizagem, os papéis e responsabilidades de quem ensina e de quem aprende, fomos delegando ao aluno autonomia, iniciativa, criatividade, capacidade de cooperação e entreajuda, capacidade de decidir, vontade de aprender e de praticar. O Modelo de Educação Desportiva, enquanto modelo de ensino, foi um marco neste processo, pelo que foi objeto de um estudo mais aprofundado. This document was presented as a reflective essay on the experiences lived during the year of Practicum in Teaching of Physical Education on learning stages of Elementary School and High School. This final report was based on the class of 11º PS of Avelar Brotero’s High School, and represents all the expectations, conceptions, learning skills, difficulties found in the process, strategies adopted, solutions found and overcome barriers. It was structured in five chapters: initial expectations relating to the Practicum; characterization of the context; professional practice, in which lies was a reflexion about all the process of planning, making and evaluation; problems and challenges occurred during the process of teaching and learning; and finally deep reflection about he main theme - was then noted the way in which we had been (re)building our study with identity, sharing and reflexion and the way we faced the commitment with the students own learning skills and paths. Under the influence of the constructivist paradigm, curriculum development was seen as a process that will focus on the student, alluding to the set of strategies, methods and procedures that allow the making of a project of personal and social development that the sports practice may enhance, delegating the student autonomy, responsibility, initiative, creativity, ability to cooperate and assist others, and ability to learn and share. The Sport Education Model while teaching model it was a milestone in this process, whereat it was object of further study

Fortification and health: challenges and opportunities.

Fortification is the process of adding nutrients or non-nutrient bioactive components to edible products (e.g., food, food constituents, or supplements). Fortification can be used to correct or prevent widespread nutrient intake shortfalls and associated deficiencies, to balance the total nutrient profile of a diet, to restore nutrients lost in processing, or to appeal to consumers looking to supplement their diet. Food fortification could be considered as a public health strategy to enhance nutrient intakes of a population. Over the past century, fortification has been effective at reducing the risk of nutrient deficiency diseases such as beriberi, goiter, pellagra, and rickets. However, the world today is very different from when fortification emerged in the 1920s. Although early fortification programs were designed to eliminate deficiency diseases, current fortification programs are based on low dietary intakes rather than a diagnosable condition. Moving forward, we must be diligent in our approach to achieving effective and responsible fortification practices and policies, including responsible marketing of fortified products. Fortification must be applied prudently, its effects monitored diligently, and the public informed effectively about its benefits through consumer education efforts. Clear lines of authority for establishing fortification guidelines should be developed and should take into account changing population demographics, changes in the food supply, and advances in technology. This article is a summary of a symposium presented at the ASN Scientific Sessions and Annual Meeting at Experimental Biology 2014 on current issues involving fortification focusing primarily on the United States and Canada and recommendations for the development of responsible fortification practices to ensure their safety and effectiveness

Investigating linkage rates among probabilistically linked birth and hospitalization records

BACKGROUND: With the increasing use of probabilistically linked administrative data in health research, it is important to understand whether systematic differences occur between the populations with linked and unlinked records. While probabilistic linkage involves combining records for individuals, population perinatal health research requires a combination of information from both the mother and her infant(s). The aims of this study were to (i) describe probabilistic linkage for perinatal records in New South Wales (NSW) Australia, (ii) determine linkage proportions for these perinatal records, and (iii) assess records with linked mother and infant hospital-birth record, and unlinked records for systematic differences. METHODS: This is a population-based study of probabilistically linked statutory birth and hospital records from New South Wales, Australia, 2001-2008. Linkage groups were created where the birth record had complete linkage with hospital admission records for both the mother and infant(s), partial linkage (the mother only or the infant(s) only) or neither. Unlinked hospital records for mothers and infants were also examined. Rates of linkage as a percentage of birth records and descriptive statistics for maternal and infant characteristics by linkage groups were determined. RESULTS: Complete linkage (mother hospital record – birth record – infant hospital record) was available for 95.9% of birth records, partial linkage for 3.6%, and 0.5% with no linked hospital records (unlinked). Among live born singletons (complete linkage = 96.5%) the mothers without linked infant records (1.6%) had slightly higher proportions of young, non-Australian born, socially disadvantaged women with adverse pregnancy outcomes. The unlinked birth records (0.4%) had slightly higher proportions of nulliparous, older, Australian born women giving birth in private hospitals by caesarean section. Stillbirths had the highest rate of unlinked records (3-4%). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that probabilistic linkage of perinatal records can achieve high, representative levels of complete linkage. Records for mother’s that did not link to infant records and unlinked records had slightly different characteristics to fully linked records. However, these groups were small and unlikely to bias results and conclusions in a substantive way. Stillbirths present additional challenges to the linkage process due to lower rates of linkage for lower gestational ages, where most stillbirths occur

The Spatial Distribution of Atomic Carbon Emission in the Giant Molecular Cloud NGC 604-2

We have mapped a giant molecular cloud in the giant HII region NGC 604 in M33 in the 492 GHz ^3P_1 -- ^3P_0 transition of neutral atomic carbon using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. We find the distribution of the [CI] emission to be asymmetric with respect to the CO J=1--0 emission, with the peak of the [CI] emission offset towards the direction of the center of the HII region. In addition, the line ratio I_{[CI]}/I_{CO} is highest (~ 0.2) facing the HII region and lowest (< 0.1) away from it. These asymmetries indicate an edge-on morphology where the [CI] emission is strongest on the side of the cloud facing the center of the HII region, and not detected at all on the opposite side This suggests that the sources of the incident flux creating C from the dissociation of CO are the massive stars of the HII region. The lowest line ratios are similar to what is observed in Galactic molecular clouds, while the highest are similar to starburst galaxies and other regions of intense star formation. The column density ratio, N(C)/N(H_2) is a few times 10^{-6}, in general agreement with models of photodissociation regions.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 8 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

A community partnership to evaluate the feasibility of addressing food insecurity among adult patients in an urban healthcare system

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity (FI) is a significant public health problem. Possible sequelae of prolonged food insecurity include kidney disease, obesity, and diabetes. Our objective was to assess the feasibility of a partnership between Henry Ford Health System (HFHS) and Gleaners Community Foodbank of Southeastern Michigan to implement and evaluate a food supplementation intervention initiated in a hospital outpatient clinic setting. METHODS: We established a protocol for using the Hunger Vital Signs to screen HFHS internal medicine patients for food insecurity and established the data sharing infrastructure and agreements necessary for an HFHS-Gleaners partnership that would allow home delivery of food to consenting patients. We evaluated the food supplementation program using a quasi-experimental design and constructing a historical comparison group using the electronic medical record. Patients identified as food insecure through screening were enrolled in the program and received food supplementation twice per month for a total of 12 months, mostly by home delivery. The feasibility outcomes included successful clinic-based screening and enrollment and successful food delivery to consenting patients. Our evaluation compared healthcare utilization between the intervention and historical comparison group during a 12-month observation period using a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis. RESULTS: Of 1691 patients screened, 353 patients (20.9%) met the criteria for FI, of which 340/353 (96.3%) consented, and 256/340 (75.3%) were matched and had data sufficient for analysis. Food deliveries were successfully made to 89.9% of participant households. At follow-up, the intervention group showed greater reductions in emergency department visits than the comparison group, -41.5% and -25.3% reduction, respectively. Similar results were observed for hospitalizations, -55.9% and -17.6% reduction for intervention and control groups, respectively. DID regression analysis also showed lower trends in ED visits and hospitalizations for the intervention group compared to the comparison group. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that community-health system partnerships to address patient-reported food insecurity are feasible and potentially could reduce healthcare utilization in these patients. A larger, randomized trial may be the next step in fully evaluating this intervention, perhaps with more outcomes (e.g., medication adherence), and additional covariates (e.g., housing insecurity and financial strain)