Compounded Disadvantage: Race, Incarceration, and Wage Growth

Based on 14-year panel data on ex-prisoners, this paper reports the impact of incarceration on future job prospects. Black men, in addition to facing greater risk of ending up in prison, are more negatively affected by imprisonment than white men. The expansion of the U.S. criminal justice system is therefore responsible for compounding the disadvantages of African Americans

Understanding cange in residential property markets: Mapping residency of employment data

The changing nature of residential housing markets is due to a large number of influences, although some have a larger effect than others do on house values. Whilst it is extremely difficult to completely disaggregate all influencing factors, it is possible to highlight areas that have a strong relationship with property &ndash; one of these is residency of employment. This research investigates these links between residential housing markets as measured by the level of house prices and residency of employment as measured by industry sector employment. It focuses on Local Government Areas in the State of Victoria, Australia and examines change over a ten year period between 1991 and 2001 using census and house price information. It is supported by data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Victorian Government&rsquo;s Valuer General&rsquo;s Office. The analysis also considers changes in these employment sectors from Australia&rsquo;s overall perspective, as well as comparison with changes in Victoria&rsquo;s overall residency of employment trends. It is assisted by a spatial representation of three \u27shift-share\u27 components and property values with the support of a geographical information system (GIS).<br /

Investigating residential property markets using employment data

The changing nature of residential housing markets is due to a large number of influences, although some factors have a larger effect than others on house values. Whilst it is extremely difficult to completely disaggregate all influencing factors, it is possible to highlight areas that have a strong relationship with property &ndash; one of these is employment. Due to the growing importance between housing affordability and the capacity to meet the cost of living the form of regular mortgage repayments or rent, there are clear links between the cost of housing and the ability to pay for the housing product.The research investigates the links between residential housing markets as measured by the level of house prices and employment as measured by industry sector employment. It focuses on Local Government Areas in the State of Victoria, Australia and examines change over a ten year period between 1991 and 2001 using census and house price information. It is supported by data sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the Victorian Government&rsquo;s Valuer General&rsquo;s Office. The analysis also considers changes in these employment sectors from Australia&rsquo;s overall perspective, as well as comparison with changes in Victoria&rsquo;s overall employment trends. It is assisted by a spatial representation of three shiftshare components and property values with the assistance of a geographical information system (GIS).<br /

Who owns bikes and e-bikes? Insights from a cycling survey in Australia

Introduction Cycling provides numerous mental and physical health benefits, and owning a bike is a prerequisite for engaging in cycling activities in most cases. Methods Using data from a 2022 cycling survey (n = 2065), this paper examines bike ownership in Sydney, Australia, including conventional and e-bikes. Results We find being male, younger age, higher education and income levels, and pos-itive attitude contribute to bike ownership, while paying rent, living in apartments and having foreign origin reduce the likelihood of owning a bike. Young adults aged 25–34 have lower conventional bike ownership than adjacent age groups, but reported highest e-bike ownership, and access to shared bikes among all age groups. E-bike ownership is higher in more urbanized parts of the city. Conclusions Findings from this paper suggest the need for interventions through fi-nancial incentives, and improving the availability of bike storage facilities to increase bike ownership. Affordable and accessible bikeshare schemes address several barriers to bike ownership identified in this paper, and is suggested as a viable alternative to private ownership

In Sharp Contrast to the Past: The Demise of the Per Se Rule against Vertical Price Fixing.

Actions by the Department of Justice and the Supreme Court lessening vertical pricing protections under the Sherman Antitrust Act require Congressional intervention. By enacting the Sherman Antitrust Act, Congress intended agreements fixing vertical prices or having the ultimate effect of fixing vertical prices at any level be illegal per se. Vertical pricing agreements set, maintain, stabilize, raise, or depress prices of goods or services among the different levels of the product distribution chain. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken positive steps in limiting the per se rule of illegality by failing to pursue allegations of vertical price fixing and supporting manufacturers accused of vertical price fixing. The Court’s rulings in Monsanto Company v. Spray-Rite Service Corporation and Business Electronics Corp. v. Sharp Electronics Corp. also had significant negative impacts on vertical price fixing being illegal per se. Monsanto increases the plaintiff’s burden by requiring evidence of an actual price fixing conspiracy and disproving all possible reasons a manufacturer might have for vertical price fixing. Sharp limits the application of per se illegal vertical price fixing to only agreements which explicitly fix prices excluding agreements only affect price. These actions frustrate Congressional intent and essentially abandon the legally per se rule for vertical price fixing. The Price Fixing Prevention Act of 1991 is Congress’s solution to resurrecting the per se rule. While the Act will limit actions by the Department of Justice and statutorily overturn portions of the Court’s rulings it does not go far enough. To fully counteract the demise of the per se rule, Congress must further limit DOJ interference as well as include language in the Act limiting the Monsanto decision, including maximum vertical price fixing as a potential cause of action, and statutorily defining agreements merely effecting the fixing of price as illegal per se

The Evolution of Government Liability under Section 1983.

The Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides in order to enforce the law, Congress shall have the power to pass enabling legislation. In the exercise of this power, Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act of 1871, to implement the prohibition of slavery as required by the Thirteenth Amendment. Although the Thirteenth Amendment abolished the institution of slavery, discriminatory actions by private citizens remained prevalent. During the period following reconstruction, congressional legislation shifted focus from prohibiting state action to prohibiting the actions of private individuals who violated the civil liberties of others. Through the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, Congress sought to enjoin discriminatory behavior which interfered with the free exercise of civil liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. The language of Section 1983 prohibits a “person” from denying those civil liberties protected by the Constitution and the laws of the United States. Prior to the enactment of Section 1983, Congress passes the Dictionary Act to define the terms of subsequent congressional enactments. Because of the ambiguous choice of words in the Dictionary Act, courts were divided as to whether municipalities and the states themselves were to be considered “persons” liable under a Section 1983 cause of action. Originally, the term “person” was so narrowly construed that not even municipalities were included within its scope. Subsequently, Section 1983 liability was extended to municipalities. When confronted with the question of whether states are persons under Section 1983 the Court first held states are not liable as persons in federal court and later asserted states are not persons for purposes of suit in state court either. Per the Court’s decision in Hafer v. Melo, a state official may be sued in his individual capacity for actions taken in his official capacity which infringe upon an individual\u27s civil rights

Vultures and Lambs: A Journey through Protective Services for the Texas Elderly.

The Texas system leaves the elderly and disabled vulnerable to financial vultures. Despite guardianship and pre-planning processes meant to empower elderly and disabled Texans to choose who shall manage their affairs, the Texas system may give a financial vulture access to the elderly or disabled’s accounts. Texas agencies such as Adult Protective Services’ purpose is to stop the abuse of the elderly, however, the agency is sometimes used as a tool to circumvent the stated wishes of an elderly person. For example, a person seeking to exploit an elderly person may do so by simply filing charges with Adult Protective Services. While the application is pending, the exploiting party seeks temporary guardianship of the elderly person, thereby allowing them access to the elderly person’s estate. To adequately protect elderly adults, proposed wards should always be afforded their due process rights. These rights allow elderly adults to defend themselves against bad faith guardianship proceedings. Temporary and even permanent guardianship should not be instituted based merely on one-sided affidavits submitted by the applicant. Secondly, guardianship should only be implemented when less intrusive means are unavailable. Prior implementation of powers of attorney may allow the named person to have the authority to manage the financial affairs of an incapacitated ward without a grant of authority from a Texas court. Specifically, prior declarations of who should serve as the guardian of the person often simplify, if not eliminate, the need for extensive guardianship proceedings. Finally, civil and criminal sanctions should be widely available and exercised against persons who institute guardianship or Adult Protective Services’ proceedings in bad faith. Sanctions can deter the vultures that target the elderly and disabled’s finances

Reported changes in cycling habits among older adults during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, New South Wales, Australia

The im.pact of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the associated public health measures enacted by governments globally bad a significant impact on all aspects of human life including economic activity and mobility. One of the main public health measures designed to reduce the transmission of the SAR-Co V-2 vims have been the implementation ofvarious levels of lockdowns that limited mobility and resulted in almost half of the world's population UD.der som.e form of confinement. Many govemm.ents, including in Australia, UK, and Norway, enacted flexible forms oflockdowns that allowed daily outdoor exercise, while adhering to safe physical distancing, in recognition of the role of physical activity in reducing the mental and physical consequences of confinement. Australia saw first strict lockdown restrictions over March/April 2020 with progressive easing of restrictions during May and Ju.ne 2020. Emerging evidence from these countries has indicated that physical activity, particularly cycling, increased over the lockdown period and the following months as some restrictions were eased. However, many have wamed of a decline in physical activity with serious health consequences among older adults who were at a high.er risk: of m.orbidity and fatality associated with COVID-19 and were m.ore likely tobe confined to their homes for longer periods compared to younger age groups. The aim ofthis stu.dy was to investigate the impact ofCOVID-19 pandemic on cycling activity among older adults aged 50 years and over in New South Wales (NSW), Australia during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

Flight Readiness of Mochii S: Portable Spectroscopic Scanning Electron Microscope Facility on the International Space Station (ISS)

The ISS (International Space Station) currently lacks the capability to image and chemically analyze nano-to-micron scale particles from numerous engineering systems. To identify these particles, we must wait for a re-entry vehicle to return them from low earth orbit for ground-based SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) / EDS (Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy) analysis. This may take months, potentially delaying the affected system. Having an EDS-equipped SEM (Mochii S) aboard the ISS will accelerate response time thereby enhancing crew and vehicle safety by rapid and accurate identification of microscopic threats, especially in time-critical situations.The Mochii S payload will be stationed in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) powered by 120 VAC (Volts Alternating Current) inverter and connected to station Ethernet and WiFi (Fig. 1). To date the Mochii S payload has undergone testing for command and data handling, power quality, flight vibration, and radiation testing at Johnson Space Center (JSC). Mochii's high-RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) rotating vacuum pumps and high voltage systems have been reviewed to meet safety standards by JSC (Johnson Space Center) Engineering. Topology of the system in the JEM module has been baselined by ISS Safety and JAXA (Japan Space Exploration Agency). Digital controls to and from ISS over Joint Station LAN (Local Area Network) uplink have been simulated and the latencies and data rates have been found to be sufficient for successful operation of the payload from ground.Transporting sensitive electron optical instruments aboard a rocket that sustains 7G acceleration for 8 minutes and then operating it the unique microgravity (micro-g) environment is no trivial matter. To meet strict safety requirements and increase robustness for mission success, over 500 unique verifications must be completed before the payload is certified for spaceflight. Two of which will be discussed in detail are: vibroacoustic testing and magnetic susceptibility shielding and validation