Poverty, Opportunity, and Well-Being in the United States

Economic opportunity varies dramatically across the United States. In this study the Opportunity to Flourish Index (OFI) is created to determine the level of opportunity United States cities afford those at the bottom of the income distribution. Indicators within the index measure disposable income, access to financial services, diet, educational attainment, unemployment, physical well-being, and family structure. The OFI’s relationship with standard measures of economic growth and economic mobility is also evaluated. The OFI is not correlated with measures of income and population growth, suggesting, that in the short-run growth and opportunity are not necessarily complementary. The OFI is strongly correlated with intergenerational economic mobility. Individuals that live in cities which have higher levels of opportunity are more likely to have children that move up the income distribution. The OFI provides stakeholders in poverty alleviation a means to evaluate and promote equality of opportunity in United States cities

Ultracold homonuclear and heteronuclear collisions in metastable helium

Scattering and ionizing cross sections and rates are calculated for ultracold collisions between metastable helium atoms using a fully quantum-mechanical close-coupled formalism. Homonuclear collisions of the bosonic ${}^{4}$He$^{*} +{}^{4}$He$^{*}$ and fermionic ${}^{3}$He$^{*} + {}^{3}$He$^{*}$ systems, and heteronuclear collisions of the mixed ${}^{3}$He$^{*} +{}^{4}$He$^{*}$ system, are investigated over a temperature range 1 $\mu$K to 1 K. Carefully constructed Born-Oppenheimer molecular potentials are used to describe the electrostatic interaction between the colliding atoms, and complex optical potentials used to represent loss through ionization from the ${}^{1,3}\Sigma$ states. Magnetic spin-dipole mediated transitions from the ${}^{5}\Sigma$ state are included and results reported for spin-polarized and unpolarized systems. Comparisons are made with experimental results, previous semi-classical models, and a perturbed single channel model.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure

USING DISCUSSION TO IMPROVE ECONOMIC KNOWLEDGE

This paper offers a response to a paradox in the literature on economics education. The paradox is that economic knowledge has been found to be sensitive to an individual’s ethical, moral, and political convictions. I hypothesize that the source of this paradox is the divergence between the learning of economics and its application outside the classroom. Often the teaching and assessment of economic knowledge focuses on the technical dimensions of our discipline. This begins with introducing students to theory in principles courses and continues as the subject becomes more mathematically rigorous. Outside the classroom, the more subjective elements of economics matter tremendously. From the minimum wage to climate policy, the application of economic knowledge is steeped in normative considerations. In response to the divergence between the learning and application of economics, the normative and technical sides of economics ought to be taught in tandem. In this paper, ways to use discussion to bridge the gap between these two branches of economic knowledge is presented. The merits and limitations of this technique are considered. For the reader interested in trying this technique, a sample selection of prompts that have been used in principles courses is provided. Ultimately, the goal of teaching is to increase students’ economic knowledge. The argument is made that open-ended discussion, coupled with lecture, is an effective way to achieve this end

Governance & Sustainability: Does Democracy Beggar thy Future?

Findings: An increase in political stability: Higher levels of natural resource depletion Higher levels of adjusted net savings (ANS) i.e. contributes positively to sustainable growth Increase in democracy: Lower levels of natural resource depletion Impact on sustainability is conditional on the economic and political contex

Flight tests of IFR landing approach systems for helicopters

Joint NASA/FAA helicopter flight tests were conducted to investigate airborne radar approaches (ARA) and microwave landing system (MLS) approaches. Flight-test results were utilized to prove NASA with a data base to be used as a performance measure for advanced guidance and navigation concepts, and to provide FAA with data for establishment of TERPS criteria. The first flight-test investigation consisted of helicopter IFR approaches to offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, using weather/mapping radar, operational pilots, and a Bell 212 helicopter. The second flight-test investigation consisted of IFR MLS approaches at Crows Landing (near Ames Research Center), with a Bell UH-1H helicopter, using NASA, FAA, and operational industry pilots. Tests are described and results discussed

Does Business Education Promote Unscrupulous Behavior?

This study seeks to determine factors that contribute to individual’s honesty in the marketplace and willingness to exploit market power. In order to identify these factors a survey was administered to undergraduate students enrolled in institutions across the United States. We find that perception of others has a multifaceted relationship with honesty and exploiting market power. Respondents that believe others are likely to be honest are more likely to be honest themselves. But the relationship is symmetrical, believing others are dishonest leads to dishonest behavior. An increase in the perception of firm’s taking advantage of market power leads to respondents being more likely to do so themselves. In terms of expressing market power, individuals that believe raising the price of a good in response to a demand shock is fair will do so. Business education is found to lead to more honest behavior but does not influence an individual’s propensity to exploit market power. Individuals that believe others are altruistic are more likely to forego self-interested behavior. Lastly, religiosity is found to increase honesty but not the use of market power. These findings suggest that educators ought to pay attention to the ways in which students form their perceptions of how individuals behave in the marketplace