The Duration of Spells on Welfare and Off-welfare among Lone Mothers in Ontario

This paper provides a first look at the dynamics of social assistance use among lone mothers in Ontario. We use an administrative caseload data set to analyse the relationship between the duration of spells, both on welfare and off welfare, and a series of factors including the clients’ personal characteristics, their history of welfare use, the duration of current spells, labour market conditions and social assistance benefit levels. We find mixed evidence concerning the key policy question of the scarring or stigmatizing effects of welfare, that is, a “welfare trap”. There is evidence that the likelihood of exiting welfare declines during the first year of a spell. The support is weakest, however, in our preferred specification. There is more consistent evidence that the likelihood of returning to welfare declines during the first year after an exit, that is, staying off the rolls has the beneficial effect of making recidivism less likely. Clients who have spent more months on welfare in the past (controlling for age) do appear to have somewhat longer future spells on welfare and to return more quickly to the rolls once they leave, but the magnitude of this effect is very small. The length of both welfare and off-welfare spells is very sensitive to the levels of welfare benefits. Most of the other coefficients have significant effects of the expected sign. Welfare spells tend to be longer for those lone mothers who are younger, poorly educated, never married, not employable and for those who have more and younger children. Spell lengths also increase with the level of the unemployment rate and decrease with the level of the minimum wage. Off-welfare spells tend to be shorter (the return to welfare more rapid) for those lone mothers who are older, never married, not employable and who have very young children. Off- welfare spells are longer when the minimum wage is higher.

Relationship of role model exposure and encouragement to young women\u27s interest in nontraditional careers, self-efficacy for nontraditional coursework, achievement in nontraditional subjects, and nontraditional academic choices

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3479508

The Effects of Dialogue Journal Writing on the Writing Apprehension Level of Middle School Students with Learning Disabilities

This study examined what effects writing in dialogue journals has on the writing apprehension level of middle school students identified as having a learning disability related to writing. Twenty eight students participated in the study , eleven of which served as a control group and eleven as an experimental group (other subjects were eliminated randomly ). Each subject completed the Writing Apprehension Measure before and after the treatment. During the six - week study , the control group wrote in journals three times each week. The experimental group wrote in journals three times each week and received a response from the teacher (researcher) that met or exceeded the length of the student\u27s entry ,for each journal entry. A t-test for independent samples was used to determine whether the effects of the treatment were statistically significant. The resulting t-value of .336 was found not to be significant at any acceptable level of significance

The Role of CIO\u27s In Strategic Decision Making and It Usage: An Empirical Examination

In this study, we examine the relationship between CIO involvement in strategy formulation and how IT is perceived within the organization. We use the top management team literature to theorize that the higher the level of CIO strategic involvement the more likely the firm is to view IT as strategically important and we support these results with a sample of Fortune 500 firms. These findings have significant implications as many see the CIO’s role in the organization by many as a key factor in the ability of a firm to benefit strategically from IT

Perceptions of Collaboration and Service Integration as Strategic Alternatives: An Examination of Social Service Nonprofit Organizations in the Late 1990s

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) have historically dealt with the problem of trying to build organizational capacity while simultaneously dealing with scarce resources. Consequently, practitioners and scholars continue to offer assistance to nonprofits in the development of techniques aimed at addressing these situations. Recent literature shows a push towards innovation, the use of new organizational tax structures, and/or the use of commercial revenue generating activities as plausible strategic alternatives for dealing with declining resources. While these techniques show promise, they typically are reserved for larger nonprofits (as measured by their funding base) and those nonprofits with missions that lend themselves for such activities (e.g., health care, arts and culture). But what about other NPOs that may not be willing to undertake such risk, or who do not have missions that can embrace commercial activity? This article examines two strategies, collaboration and service integration, techniques that are perceived by practitioners to show promise for organizations needing to build capacity, and/or generate new or maintain resources. Based upon data yielded from a national mail survey of social service nonprofit organizations, this article provides an empirical analysis that highlights the extent to which nonprofit social service organizations were engaged in these techniques; and from the perspective of nonprofit upper managers, the impacts their respective nonprofit organizations experienced. Using these data and perspectives, a set of recommendations are derived for today’s organizations to consider. Finding mechanisms to building capacity while increasing organizational resources, including income stream, has never been an easy endeavor for many social service nonprofit organizations. As the number of nonprofit organizations continues to rise, the nonprofit sector faces ever-increasing pressure to become more self-sufficient and resilient, while becoming less reliant upon government funding and charity (Arnold & Edwards, 1998). As nonprofit administrators and academicians probe new and innovative ways for assisting nonprofit organizations in the development of new revenue streams and resources (e.g., innovation, the emergence of new organizational tax structures, the use of commercial activity); the call for collaboration and service integration are still being touted as a plausible means for generating and/or saving resources. This article examines these techniques as a means to develop and enhance organizational resources and strengthen capacity from the perspective of nonprofit practitioners

Reflectors Made from Membranes Stretched Between Beams

Lightweight cylindrical reflectors of a proposed type would be made from reflective membranes stretched between pairs of identically curved and identically oriented end rails. In each such reflector, the curvature of the two beams would define the reflector shape required for the intended application. For example, the beams could be curved to define a reflector of parabolic cross section, so that light incident along the axis of symmetry perpendicular to the cylindrical axis would be focused to a line. In addition, by applying suitable forces to the ends of the beams, one could bend the beams to adjust the reflector surface figure to within a precision of the order of the wavelength of the radiation to be reflected. The figure depicts an example of beams shaped so that in the absence of applied forces, each would be flat on one side and would have a radius of curvature R on the opposite side. Alternatively, the curvature of the reflector-membrane side could be other than circular. In general, the initial curvature would be chosen to optimize the final reflector shape. Then by applying forces F between the beam ends in the positions and orientations shown in the figure, one could bend beams to adjust their shape to a closer approximation of the desired precise circular or noncircular curvature

Nanolaminate Membranes as Cylindrical Telescope Reflectors

A document discusses a proposal to use axially stretched metal nanolaminate membranes as lightweight parabolic cylindrical reflectors in the Dual Anamorphic Reflector Telescope (DART) - a planned spaceborne telescope in which the cylindrical reflectors would be arranged to obtain a point focus. The discussion brings together a combination of concepts reported separately in several prior NASA Tech Briefs articles, the most relevant being "Nanolaminate Mirrors With Integral Figure-Control Actuators" NPO -30221, Vol. 26, No. 5 (May 2002), page 90; and "Reflectors Made From Membranes Stretched Between Beams" NPO -30571, Vol. 33, No. 10 (October 2009), page 11a. The engineering issues receiving the greatest emphasis in the instant document are (1) the change in curvature associated with the Poisson contraction of a stretched nanolaminate reflector membrane and (2) the feasibility of using patches of poly(vinylidene fluoride) on the rear membrane surface as piezoelectric actuators to correct the surface figure for the effect of Poisson contraction and other shape errors

Infection control and the significance of sputum and other respiratory secretions from adult patients with cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND: There is limited data available on the environmental and public health impact of the microbiological hazards associated with sputa from patients with cystic fibrosis [CF]. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia (formerly Burkholderia cepacia genomovar III), Staphylococcus aureus and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are bacterial pathogens which are commonly found in the sputum of CF patients. A study was performed to ascertain the amount of sputum produced relating to microbial loading, as well as the diversity of bacteria present in a population of adult patients, with particular attention to pathogenic organisms. METHODS: Sputum from adult [>18 years old] CF patients [n = 20], chosen randomly from a population of 138 CF patients, was collected over a 24 h period on admission to the in-patient CF unit and enumerated quantitatively, as well as the sputa from 138 adult CF patients was examined qualitatively for the presence of infecting microflora. In addition, all different phenotypes from the sputum of each patient were identified phenotypically employing a combination of conventional identification methods [e.g. oxidase], as well as the API Identification schemes [API 20 NE, API 20 E]. RESULTS: This study demonstrated that patients with cystic fibrosis generate large numbers of bacteria in their sputum, approximating to 10(9 )organisms per patient per day. Although these organisms are introduced to the environment from the respiratory tract mainly via sputum, relatively few represent true bacterial pathogens and therefore are not clinically important to the general public who are immunocompotent. The greatest risk of such environmental microbial loading is to other patients with CF and therefore CF patients should be made aware of the hazards of acquiring such organisms from the environment, as well as socializing with other CF patients with certain transmissible types, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cenocepacia. CONCLUSIONS: Environmental health professionals should therefore be aware that CF patients are a greater risk to their peer grouping rather than to the general public or health care workers and that good personal hygiene practices with CF patients should be encouraged to minimize environmental contamination and potential acquistion

Rifapentine Population Pharmacokinetics and Dosing Recommendations for Latent Tuberculosis Infection.

RATIONALE: Rifapentine has been investigated at various doses, frequencies, and dosing algorithms but clarity on the optimal dosing approach is lacking. OBJECTIVES: In this individual participant data meta-analysis of rifapentine pharmacokinetics, we characterize rifapentine population pharmacokinetics, including autoinduction, and determine optimal dosing strategies for short-course rifapentine-based regimens for latent tuberculosis infection. METHODS: Rifapentine pharmacokinetic studies were identified though a systematic review of literature. Individual plasma concentrations were pooled, and non-linear mixed effects modeling was performed. A subset of data was reserved for external validation. Simulations were performed under various dosing conditions including current weight-based methods and alternative methods driven by identified covariates. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We identified 9 clinical studies with a total of 863 participants with pharmacokinetic data (n=4301 plasma samples). Rifapentine population pharmacokinetics were described successfully with a one-compartment distribution model. Autoinduction of clearance was driven by rifapentine plasma concentration. The maximum effect was a 72% increase in clearance and was reached after 21 days. Drug bioavailability decreased by 27% with HIV infection, decreased by 28% with fasting, and increased by 49% with a high-fat meal. Body weight was not a clinically relevant predictor of clearance. Pharmacokinetic simulations showed that current weight-based dosing leads to lower exposures in low weight individuals, which can be overcome with flat dosing. In HIV-positive patients, 30% higher doses are required to match drug exposure in HIV-negative patients. CONCLUSIONS: Weight-based dosing of rifapentine should be removed from clinical guidelines and higher doses for HIV-positive patients should be considered to provide equivalent efficacy