Are Immigrants The Next Great Appliance? The Effects of Immigration on Female Labor Force Participation

This paper argues the burgeoning idea that an inflow of low-skilled immigrants into a receiving country can provide benefits for high-skilled native women. In considering the often increased responsibilities held by women in the household, when compared to men, the introduction of immigrants of certain occupations can help ease these responsibilities. A series of regressions explain that the effect is statistically significant, especially when considering low-skilled female immigrants. Policy implications are discussed as well as areas for future research. The paper concludes with a brief secondary theory and discourse on the labor constraints of women

Profile Synthesis of Prismatic-Prismatic Variable Joints for Use In Reconfigurable Mechanisms

Reconfigurable mechanisms provide increased flexibility in machine design and can be used in a variety of applications. Variable joints in reconfigurable mechanisms allow for machine designs that better optimize space and resources. This thesis uses a configuration space analysis to determine the motion profiles of Prismatic-Prismatic higher variable joints. Prismatic-Prismatic variable joints have never been analyzed or synthesized. In addition, no variable joints of any type have been considered with two-dimensional contact points. Variable joints enable the creation of Type II Mechanisms with Variable Topology, mechanisms whose topology changes due to changes in joint geometry. The goal of this synthesis is to synthesize Prismatic-Prismatic variable joints with one and two-dimensional contacts, outline their designs, and determine the design restrictions for each variation

Students' Conceptions of Scale Regarding Groundwater

This study involved surveying three groups of students regarding their ideas about the structure, scale, and percieved importance of groundwater. The survey results show that many participants selected sizes of groundwater structures that mirrored surface analogs; however, some students applied scales on the order of houses and skyscrapers to typical pore and crack structures. The authors' research indicates that students bring to the classroom many misconceptions that are well-positioned to interfere with their understanding of hydrogeologic principles. Educational levels: Graduate or professional

The Legalization of Physician-Assisted Suicide: Creating a Regulatory Potemkin Village

Over the past two decades, both professional and lay opinion have shown a markedly favorable shift toward the legalization of euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Yet the translation of that support into legislation has come more slowly. Only in 1994, after the failure in some states to enact legislation and the defeat of ballot initiatives in California in 1991 and Washington in 1992, did an initiative finally succeed in Oregon. Although a court injunction has prevented it from taking effect, the fact of its passage marks an historical milestone. Among Western countries, euthanasia and PAS are legally available only in the Netherlands and the Northern Territory of Australia. The latter recently passed a Rights of the Terminally Ill bill allowing euthanasia (though it will not immediately go into effect). Elsewhere, the debate remains primarily academic-with the obvious exception of the twelve states in the United States where bills were pending in 1995

Vertical accuracy of the USGS 3DEP program data: study cases in Fresno County and in Davis, California

3D Elevation Program (3DEP) aims to generate and disseminate high-resolution topographic elevation data from the source data products including lidar point clouds, original DEMs from which the 3DEP standard DEM datasets were produced, and additional data types produced from IfSAR collections. As such, the accuracy of 3DEP data varies due to the inconsistent quality of the source data. Hence, in order to test vertical accuracy of the current 3DEP data, two precise leveling data sets which are collected in the San Joaquin Experimental Range (SJER) in Fresno County and CalFire site in Davis, California are used as the baselines and the differences are computed. In the earlier studies, assessment of 3DEP data is accomplished using large-area elevation datasets. Nevertheless, these largearea elevation datasets are not as precise as differential (precise) leveling data sets. In this study, two relatively small sites (SJER and CalFire site) are surveyed utilizing precise leveling. These two project sites also differ from each other in terms of terrain relief and land cover. The results show that attainable precision is almost the same for 1/3 arcsecond and 1 arc-second data sets. The data sets used for CalFire site are more precise than the data sets used for SJER site. CalFire site data sets are more accurate than SJER data sets. 1 arc-second data provides as good elevation information as 1/3 arc-second data. Terrain relief and land cover are important factors on vertical accuracy coming from 3DEP data

Information Technology Adoption in Agricultural Operations: A Progression Path

Agricultural operations are not taking advantage of the Information Technology (IT) tools that exist today. As the agricultural industry continues to evolve, IT utilization is critical to the continued competitiveness/survival of individual operations. A progression path for IT adoption is defined that takes into account IT tools utilized along with impacts to operational processes. This path can be used as a tool to ease farmers into the IT world without introducing excessive change all at once. Application of this path in Extension educational programs could increase IT adoption and retention in agricultural operations