678 research outputs found

    Performance Standards in Need-Based Student Aid

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    College attendance is a risky investment. But students may not recognize when they are at risk for failure, and financial aid introduces the possibility for moral hazard. Academic performance standards can serve three roles in this context: signaling expectations for success, providing incentives for increased student effort, and limiting financial losses. Such standards have existed in federal need-based aid programs for nearly 40 years in the form of Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, yet have received virtually no academic attention. In this paper, we sketch a simple model to illustrate not only student responses to standards but also the trade-offs faced by a social planner weighing whether to set performance standards in the context of need-based aid. We then use regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference designs to examine the consequences of SAP failure. In line with theoretical predictions, we find heterogeneous effects in the short term, with negative impacts on persistence but positive effects on grades for students who remain enrolled. After three years, the negative effects appear to dominate. Effects on credits attempted are 2–3 times as large as effects on credits earned, suggesting that standards increase the efficiency of aid expenditures. But it also appears to exacerbate inequality in higher education by pushing out low-performing low-income students faster than their equally low-performing, but higher-income peers

    Everyone should be able to choose how they get around : How Topeka, Kansas, passed a complete streets resolution

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    BACKGROUND: Regular physical activity can help prevent chronic diseases, yet only half of US adults meet national physical activity guidelines. One barrier to physical activity is a lack of safe places to be active, such as bike paths and sidewalks. Complete Streets, streets designed to enable safe access for all users, can help provide safe places for activity. COMMUNITY CONTEXT: This community case study presents results from interviews with residents and policymakers of Topeka, Kansas, who played an integral role in the passage of a Complete Streets resolution in 2009. It describes community engagement processes used to include stakeholders, assess existing roads and sidewalks, and communicate with the public and decision-makers. METHODS: Key informant interviews were conducted with city council members and members of Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods in Topeka to learn how they introduced a Complete Streets resolution and the steps they took to ensure its successful passage in the City Council. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by using focused-coding qualitative analysis. OUTCOME: Results included lessons learned from the process of passing the Complete Streets resolution and advice from participants for other communities interested in creating Complete Streets in their communities. INTERPRETATION: Lessons learned can apply to other communities pursuing Complete Streets. Examples include clearly defining Complete Streets; educating the public, advocates, and decision-makers about Complete Streets and how this program enhances a community; building a strong and diverse network of supporters; and using stories and examples from other communities with Complete Streets to build a convincing case

    Out with the Old and In with the New: Bringing the law of domicile into the twenty-first century

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    Domicile is the preferred connecting factor in matters of personal status within the law of England and Wales particularly within family law, yet it is a concept that has been neglected for several years. While the Law Commission proposed reform over 30 years ago, the requisite developments never ensued. Meanwhile, society and other aspects of the law continued to evolve, adding to the already problematic area. This is particularly apparent when assessing the domicile of a child with same-sex parents. The current provisions assign a child’s domicile based on the gendered roles of mother and father dependent upon the child’s legitimacy, which, assumes that all children have parents of the opposite sex. This outdated approach means that a child of a same-sex couple has no way of ascertaining where they are domiciled. In proposing a holistic reform of the law on domicile, this author utilises the developments around same-sex relationships not previously discussed in the literature on domicile, to reignite the debate on domicile reform. With a focus on modern society this article considers the faults with the current common law concept of domicile, proposes policy sensitive reform and considers habitual residence and nationality as an alternative, before concluding that a reformed version of domicile still has its place within the twenty-first century

    Staying Power: The Future of Manufacturing in Massachusetts

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    Reviews the state's manufacturing employment since 1939; analyzes current data by industry, economic share, workers' demographics, and location; and projects trends through 2016. Based on surveys and interviews, examines manufacturers' perspectives

    Resveratrol Derivative, Trans-3, 5, 4-Trimethoxystilbene Sensitizes Osteosarcoma Cells to Apoptosis via ROS-Induced Caspases Activation

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    Numerous studies have shown that resveratrol can induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Trans-3, 5, 4-trimethoxystilbene (TMS), a novel derivative of resveratrol, is a more potent anticancer compound than resveratrol and can induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Herein, we examined the mechanisms involved in TMS-mediated sensitization of human osteosarcoma (143B) cells to TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand- (TRAIL-) induced apoptosis. Our results showed that cotreatment with TSM and TRAIL activated caspases and increased PARP-1 cleavage in 143B cells. Decreasing cellular ROS levels using NAC reversed TSM- and TRAIL-induced apoptosis in 143B cells. NAC abolished the upregulated expression of PUMA and p53 induced by treatment with TRAIL and TSM. Silencing the expression of p53 or PUMA using RNA interference attenuated TSM-mediated sensitization of 143B cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis. Knockdown of Bax also reversed TSM-induced sensitization of 143B cell to TRAIL-mediated apoptotic cell death. These results indicate that cotreatment with TRAIL and TSM evaluated intracellular ROS level, promoted DNA damage, and activated the Bax/PUMA/p53 pathway, leading to activation of both mitochondrial and caspase-mediated apoptosis in 143B cells. Orthotopic implantation of 143B cells in mice also demonstrated that cotreatment with TRAIL and TSM reversed resistance to apoptosis in cells without obvious adverse effects in normal cells
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