Post-Earthquake Home Reconstruction in the Surrounding Hills of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, PRP 200

In April of 2015, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Kathmandu Valley at the center of Nepal. Within the following year, Kathmandu was struck by a 7.3 magnitude earthquake and multiple aftershocks. The initial earthquake caused the deaths of 8,856 people, injured 22,309, and affected eight million more. Many agencies around the world came together to fund reconstruction efforts as part of a Nepal and a Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF). The MDTF conducted an Earthquake Housing Damage and Characteristics Survey (EHDC) which led to the creation of Nepal Rural Housing Reconstruction Program (NRHRP), which sought to reconstruct earthquake-resistant homes. The NRHRP developed a homeowner-driven grant process and established the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to distribute housing reconstruction grants to families. Those grants were to be paid out via three tranches, each after the completion of a specific construction phase. During 2017, an international collaborative effort began among four parties: Hiroshima University (HU); Tribhuvan University (TU); Nepal’s Alternative Energy Promotion Center (AEPC); and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs (LBJ) of the University of Texas at Austin (UT). The team investigated the challenges and opportunities for reconstruction of homes in rural areas damaged by the 2015 earthquake in and around the hinterland of Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Within the context of a university course, students began by studying alternative building technologies (ABTs) being implemented in Nepal by local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). When project members visited Nepal in March 2017, they interviewed rural residents to identify barriers to home reconstruction. During a field study, the students also met with local governmental officials and NGO representatives. This report describes students’ field investigation in Nepal, background research on alternative building technologies (ABTs) for home reconstruction, and recommendations developed from consultation with stakeholders and technical advisors. The first chapter starts with the earthquake and its associated damage and describes the response of the Government of Nepal (GON) and the international community in forming the MDTF, the NRHRP, and the NRA. The second chapter discusses different alternative building technologies (ABTs) considered by the GON, including bamboo, hempcrete, rammed earth, Compressed Stabilized Earth Brick (CSEB), earthbags, and modified conventional housing. Each section describes the type of building style, its construction, materials and labor required, estimates of construction time (if available), costs, and a brief section on comparative advantages and disadvantages. The third chapter describes the 2017 field study in Nepal, included the locations of the field study and interviews and discussions with local NGOs, the governmental agencies, and local residents. The research group sought to learn whether a lack of affordable and appropriate building methods could explain why many villagers still live in temporary shelters. Village residents discussed barriers to housing reconstruction unrelated to the type of home being built. The final chapter presents conclusions from 2017 field study observations of the three villages. Researchers found four common barriers to reconstruction: the cost of transportation and materials; insufficient reconstruction incentives; grant processes with many procedural barriers to funding; and the need for consistent interaction of the community with governmental agencies. One suggestion is to evaluate the home reconstruction program to assess its procedures and outcomes. A second suggestion is for Nepal to enhance the number and authority of mobile teams of professionals to assist villagers seeking to reconstruct homes.Public Affair

An Assessment of Mental Health Services for Veterans in the State of Texas

This report describes the complex challenges faced by veterans and their families in seeking, navigating, and attaining adequate mental health care in Texas. There are 1.7 million veterans in Texas, comprising 8.6 percent of the adult population. According to the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), the number of veterans requiring mental health services has grown dramatically and will continue to increase, making veterans’ mental health care an urgent issue in Texas. The federal agencies responsible for military and veterans mental health care, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the VA, have created new programs and invested significant financial and staff resources. Despite barriers to addressing veterans mental health needs. Texas state agencies have increased funding and instituted new mental health programs supporting returning veterans. Nonprofit agencies focused on veteran’s mental health have multiplied across Texas and the U.S. over the past decade to fill gaps in care. While these organizations provide a growing and increasingly diverse set of resources for veterans to extend the scope of support, volunteer efforts can suffer from fragmentation and overlap. The report identifies current practices, challenges, and opportunities within and across each group of service providers. The report draws on government reports, scholarly literature, and agency websites, as well as interviews with counselors, Veteran Service Officers, nonprofit providers, state officials, and veterans themselves. This report offers five recommendations toward the goal that veterans’ mental health care in Texas become comprehensive, inclusive, effective, and efficient. First, there is a need for greater inter-agency communication across organizations, improved outreach efforts, and increased services for hard-to-reach populations, such as homeless veterans. Second, federal agencies ought to address staff shortages, improve the transition from DoD to VA care, and increase feedback. Third, at the state level, specialized services are needed to address unique veterans’ needs concentrated in cities across Texas as well as those dispersed in rural areas. Fourth, providers can improve mental health care by integrating social services and law enforcement. Fifth, both veterans and providers can benefit if they recognize opportunities for cooperation and coordination and work towards long-term goals that emphasize outcomes that improve the lives of returning veterans. This research was funded in part by the Jack S. Blanton Research Fellowship and the George A. Roberts Research Fellowship of the IC² Institute.IC2 Institut

The role of the educational psychologist in promoting effective multi-agency collaborations

Paper 1: New directions for the educational psychologist Paper 2: Self-Organised Learning as a development toolService integration is central to current government strategy for promoting positive outcomes for young people with educational and additional needs, yet evidence to support the efficacy of this strategy remains elusive. A review of the literature finds that many of the facilitators of successful multi-agency working are at the intra-group level. These barriers and facilitating factors are organised into an Eco-systemic Model of Multi-Agency Working (EMMA) which addresses leadership processes, group-level interactions and problem-solving processes. The first stage of the study generates data for intervention materials to be used in the second stage. This is achieved by comparing the purposes and practices of each group at different systemic levels. This stage of the study also provides baseline questionnaire data for the second stage of the study. Consideration is given to the sources of conflict within each group, the strategies used to resolve these conflicts and the levels of hierarchical and systemic thinking within the participating multi-agency groups. The resulting analysis is found to fit well within the EMMA model and the distinctiveness of each of the systemic levels as well as their interdependence is discussed. Suggestions are made for improved multi-agency practices and new directions for the educational psychologist in facilitating improved practice are explored. Paper II Abstract In the first phase of this two-stage study, self-organised learning principles were proposed as a useful knowledge base upon which to draw when facilitating change in multi-agency groups. In this second phase, this hypothesis is put to the test. Data from the first phase is used in combination with wider research findings to design feedback materials for participating groups. Evidence gathered from ensuing meeting transcripts, interviews and questionnaire data is compared with baseline data gathered in the first phase to assess the impact of this intervention on group functioning. Evidence is presented of improved clarity of purpose, improved group functioning and early signs of improved outcomes, though results are highly variable between groups. Different levels of group functioning were found to be inter-dependent, lending support to an eco-systemic model of multi-agency working. Trait-based models of leadership and conflict resolution are challenged. It is argued that improving outcomes for young people is dependent upon the healthy functioning of multi-agency groups and that investing resources in reflective learning in multi-agency groups is a worthwhile step towards securing better outcomes for young people

Punitive Damages and the Processing of Tort Claims

Punitive damages are one of the most controversial aspects of tort litigation and have been the subject of various theoretical, empirical, and experimental studies. One criticism of punitive damages refers to the effect that they have on civil litigation processes. In particular, Polinsky (1997) argues that the uncertainty and unpredictability that punitive damage claims inject into a case may increase both the rate and amount of settlements, thus implying that punitive damages carry systemic consequences for the general processing of tort claims. This paper represents the first, empirical examination of this implication. With one of the largest and most comprehensive data sets of tort litigation (over 25,000 cases filed from 1994 through 1997 in several counties in Georgia), we examine the effect of the decision to seek punitive damages on several major decision points in the tort litigation process in a series of logit regression models. With extensive control variables for type of case, the presence or absence of caps on damages, and other potentially important variables, we find that seeking punitive damages has no statistically significant effect on most phases of the tort litigation process.Torts, Litigation, Punitive Damages, Settlement Rates

Optimizing the fine lock performance of the Hubble Space Telescope fine guidance sensors

This paper summarizes the on-orbit performance to date of the three Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS's) in Fine Lock mode, with respect to acquisition success rate, ability to maintain lock, and star brightness range. The process of optimizing Fine Lock performance, including the reasoning underlying the adjustment of uplink parameters, and the effects of optimization are described. The Fine Lock optimization process has combined theoretical and experimental approaches. Computer models of the FGS have improved understanding of the effects of uplink parameters and fine error averaging on the ability of the FGS to acquire stars and maintain lock. Empirical data have determined the variation of the interferometric error characteristics (so-called 's-curves') between FGS's and over each FGS field of view, identified binary stars, and quantified the systematic error in Coarse Track (the mode preceding Fine Lock). On the basis of these empirical data, the values of the uplink parameters can be selected more precisely. Since launch, optimization efforts have improved FGS Fine Lock performance, particularly acquisition, which now enjoys a nearly 100 percent success rate. More recent work has been directed towards improving FGS tolerance of two conditions that exceed its original design requirements. First, large amplitude spacecraft jitter is induced by solar panel vibrations following day/night transitions. This jitter is generally much greater than the FGS's were designed to track, and while the tracking ability of the FGS's has been shown to exceed design requirements, losses of Fine Lock after day/night transitions are frequent. Computer simulations have demonstrated a potential improvement in Fine Lock tracking of vehicle jitter near terminator crossings. Second, telescope spherical aberration degrades the interferometric error signal in Fine Lock, but use of the FGS two-thirds aperture stop restores the transfer function with a corresponding loss of throughput. This loss requires the minimum brightness of acquired stars to be about one magnitude brighter than originally planned

Report of the Georgia Governor’s Wokers’ Compensation Review Commission

The Commission appointed by Governor Barnes consists of fourteen members, three ex officio members, and seven advisory members. This group includes academics, members of the legislature, claimants attorneys, defense attorneys, representatives from the insurance industry, organized labor, the textile industry, and government agencies. It was charged by the Governor to review and evaluate Georgia’s laws and procedures affecting workers’ compensation. The Commission’s primary goal was to prepare an accurate description of the current workers’ compensation system in Georgia. More specifically, this Report provides detailed information regarding the number of claims, benefits paid to employees, employer costs, and insurance profitability. It also compares workers’ compensation costs and benefits in Georgia with those in other states, particularly our Southeastern neighbors. Our purpose is to determine whether workers’ compensation costs place Georgia employers at a competitive disadvantage in regional and national markets. In preparing this Report, the Commission relied on the most recent available reports and data collected by organizations such as the National Academy of Social Insurance, the National Council on Compensation Insurance, the Workers Compensation Research Institute, the United States Department of Labor, and the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation.Workers' Compemsation, wages, unemployment, disability, indemnity

THE COMMANDING HEIGHTS OF MEXICAN AGRICULTURE

International Development,

Stereoisomerism in pentaerythritol-bridged cyclotriphosphazene tri-spiranes: spiro and ansa 1,3-propanediyldioxy disubstituted derivatives

Four isomeric products were isolated and purified from the reaction of 1,3-propanediol with the tetra-spirane cyclophosphazene-organophosphate compound (1): viz. the di-monospiro (2a), di-monoansa (2b) and two monospiro-monoansa derivatives (2c) and (2d). It is shown by 31P NMR spectroscopy on addition of a chiral solvating agent (CSA) that both the di-monospiro (2a) and di-monoansa (2b) derivatives are racemates, as expected, whereas no splitting of NMR signals occurred on addition of CSA to solutions of (2c) and (2d). It is found by X-ray crystallography that the two monospiro-monoansa spirane derivatives, (2c) and (2d), are meso diastereoisomers, which represent a new case of the stereochemistry of bis di-substituted cyclophosphazene derivatives of (1). It is also observed from the 31P NMR spectrum of the reaction mixture, supported by the yields of pure compounds, that formation of a spiro group is about 4.5 times more likely than that of an ansa moiety under the conditions of the reaction

Heated aquatic microcosms for climate change experiments

Ponds and shallow lakes are likely to be strongly affected by climate change, and by increase in environmental temperature in particular. Hydrological regimes and nutrient cycling may be altered, plant and animal communities may undergo changes in both composition and dynamics, and long-term and difficult to reverse switches between alternative stable equilibria may occur. A thorough understanding of the potential effects of increased temperature on ponds and shallow lakes is desirable because these ecosystems are of immense importance throughout the world as sources of drinking water, and for their amenity and conservation value. This understanding can only come through experimental studies in which the effects of different temperature regimes are compared. This paper reports design details and operating characteristics of a recently constructed experimental facility consisting of 48 aquatic microcosms which mimic the pond and shallow lake environment. Thirty-two of the microcosms can be heated and regulated to simulate climate change scenarios, including those predicted for the UK. The authors also summarise the current and future experimental uses of the microcosms