Big Ideas for Small Business Report

Big Ideas for Small Business is a national peer network led by the National League of Cities (NLC) that aims to accelerate efforts by local governments to support small businesses and encourage entrepreneurship.  This direct peer-to-peer engagement expands the capacity of city staff to explore common challenges, share proven strategies, and collaborate on new approaches for creating a more business-friendly city.  The Big Ideas for Small Business toolkit discusses important strategies for how local leaders can be better advocates for small businesses. Our report provides guidance on creating ecosystems that support small business growth; reorganizing city resources to better meet the needs of small businesses; and providing business owners with access to new sources of capital. Specific strategies highlighted in this report explain how to:Connect Small Businesses to Information and ResourcesEstablish a Small Business Resource Center Advocate for Small Businesses via Community-Led Councils or CommitteesProactively Engage the Local Business CommunityProvide Platforms for NetworkingCreate Incubator SpacesCelebrate Successful BusinessesDevelop One-Stop-Shops and Express Lanes at City Hall Streamline City Regulations and the Inspection ProcessHelp Small Businesses Build a Web PresenceSupport Microlending and CrowdfundingEncourage Local Small Businesses to Bid for City Contracts

At the Center of Her Art: Ex/Isle, Trauma, and Story-Telling in Julia Alvarez's First Three Novels

Julia Alvarez's first three novels, which can be read as a story cycle, are highly autobiographical, and, if studied together, reveal how she progresses as an author. Drawing from theories concerning life writing, language, and madness, I read How the García Girls Lost Their Accents as a dual kunstlerroman, demonstrating the growth of both Alvarez's and Yolanda's agency. In her second novel, In the Time of the Butterflies, Alvarez wrestles with what "lies at the center of [her] art" -- the Dominican Republic and the trauma associated with living on and away from the island. Using cryptonomy and trauma theory, I investigate the effect of silence on both the Dominicans and Alvarez. Finally, in ¡Yo! Alvarez suggests that the responsible storyteller listens to those she represents. When considered together, these three novels reveal Alvarez's quest to articulate her development as a writer who can represent the voices of the collective

Development of an Iron-Oxide Coated Ceramic Filter for Removal of As(III) and As(V) in Developing Nations

Over 4,000 children die each day due to diarrheal diseases which are often related to drinking unsafe water, and are often preventable with proper water treatment. Many regions of the world also suffer from high levels of arsenic due to natural and/or anthropogenic sources. Chronic arsenic poisoning leads to many maladies including skin, bladder and lung cancer, as well as non-carcinogenic arsenicosis symptoms including hyperpigmentation of skin, thickening hands and feet, and skin lesions. A new point-of-use (POU) technology using conventional ceramic filters coated with a ferric-iron coating to achieve simultaneous arsenic (III) and (V) removal along with filtrative disinfection has been developed in the research for this thesis. The Iron-Oxide Coated Ceramic Filter (IOCCF) is produced using the standard ceramic filter methods (see www.pottersforpeace.org) leading to a porous clay pot that will filter out most pathogens. The iron was shown to bond strongly with the ceramic filter such that no iron leaching occurs. Experiments were conducted on ceramic micro-columns prepared to have the exact thickness and properties of a full-scale ceramic filter. While no significant arsenic removal is achieved in a traditional ceramic filter, the IOCCF was shown to be capable of filtering arsenic for long periods of time with essentially no As breakthrough. For example, As concentrations in source water can be easily reduced from 250 µg/L to less than the 10 µg/L WHO and EPA guideline for arsenic for over 365 effective filter runs. As(V) was sorbed more effectively at lower pH values while sorption of As(III) was not as sensitive to pH. However, there was not a large difference in As(V) or As(III) removal performance over a pH range of 6 to 9. Filtration of lake water containing NOM reduced performance of As(III) and As(V) removal, but the IOCCF still removed both As species from natural water for a significant number of filter runs. As(III) and As(V) remain strongly adsorbed at normal pH levels, however more research is needed on this topic. Results also showed that the IOCCF retained the bacterial removal capabilities of the Potters for Peace Filter

How Cities Can Grow: The Maker Movement

This report explores the emergence of the maker movement within a selection of major U.S. cities. The maker movement has developed in a variety of different environments, including makerspaces, hackerspaces, tech workshops and fabrication laboratories. Data and information fueling this project were derived from interviews with influential points of contact in major cities where the movement is growing. Survey questions focused on four primary sections presented in this report: (1) characteristics, (2) growth, (3) government policies and (4) challenges. Our analysis provides insights into common trends and notable differences examined within the four categories listed above. The characteristics section focuses on the driving forces behind the movement, the people involved in the movement and the definition of the movement. The section on commercialization aims to establish the scale of involvement in order to determine whether the movement had the potential to increase local U.S. manufacturing. The policy section details the involvement of local governments in implementing program policies that help grow or inhibit the movement. In particular, it was important to determine the policies that were most beneficial to those involved in the movement. Ultimately the goal was to determine how other local governments could implement policies with a proven record of success in their respective cities. City narratives are also provided as individual case studies on the maker movement

Citites And Unequal Recovery: Local Economic Conditions Survey 2015

Even as economic conditions in cities have improved in the years since the Great Recession, a new study from the National League of Cities (NLC) found that many factors -- including lack of affordable housing, poverty, and skill and achievement gaps -- are impeding the long-term economic sustainability of cities. "Cities and Unequal Recovery," an analysis based on a survey of more than 250 city officials from cities of all sizes, uncovers dual realities in cities, where even as conditions improve, persistent challenges prevent the benefits of this growth from reaching many. The survey found that nearly all cities saw economic improvement in the past year, with 28 percent of city officials reporting vast improvement and 64 percent reporting slight improvement. Drivers of growth -- including new business startups, business expansions, property values and retail sector health -- starkly contrast with the reality of many residents on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. Skills gaps, lack of affordable housing and the rising demand for basic needs, like food and shelter, reveal that while economic conditions are improving for some, they are worsening for others

Performance Management: A Guide for City Leaders

We are pleased to present, Performance Management: A Guide for City Leaders, a report written and published as a service to NLC members and all cities. This guide presents an overview of existing performance management best practices with an eye toward the future of service delivery in cities. We also aim to empower more city leaders to launch performance management programs in their own cities.Performance management and data analytics in general are key aspects of the continued shift toward data-driven decision-making in cities nationwide. Data-driven decisions help local governments provide city services that are efficient, effective and driven by community priorities. The value of making data- driven decisions is imperative as many cities continue to face the post-recession realities of decreased city revenues, limited intergovernmental aid and reduced municipal workforces. At the same time, there is a growing trend towards openness and making the inner workings of municipal governments more accountable and transparent.Looking to the future, as advanced data analytics and open data become more prevalent in cities, there will be more opportunities to prepare and predict service needs of constituents. We plan to continue highlighting the importance of this epochal shift in city governance through our City of the Future initiative that seeks to advise cities on coming trends and opportunities. Within the Center for City Solutions and Applied Research we strive to strengthen communities, transform and improve cities and assist city leaders.Performance Management: A Guide for City Leaders was developed through staff interviews and surveys with a cross-section of large cities across the United States. This work was supported financially by a grant to the National League of Cities Institute by The Pew Charitable Trusts. We join the authors in thanking the city officials who helped make this work possible, and welcome comments and thoughts from readers, as we continue to work to help city leaders lead

City Open Data Policies

The capture and analysis of data is transforming the 21st Century. As society becomes more data driven, data has the ability to drive the bottom line for private companies and help the public sector to define where and how services can best be delivered. In City Open Data Policies: Learning by Doing, the National League of Cities identifies how cities can take advantage of the opportunities presented by open data initiatives.SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONSLeadership: Political support stands out as one of the key requirements to implementing a successful open data project.Appropriate Legislation: Enacting legislation or formal policies is a crucial step toward ensuring the growth and sustainability of open data portals. Funding: Open data initiatives do not require high levels of funding. It is, however, important that the programs have their own budget line items where resources are specifically allocated. Technical Approach: Leading U.S. cities rely on commercial platforms that facilitate the implementation of open data initiatives, provide technical expertise, and ensure 24/7 customer support, often at a lower cost than providing these services in-house. Stakeholder Involvement: Open data is a two-way process. It is, therefore, essential to encourage participation and engagement among multiple stakeholders including: community members; non-profits; universities; the press; businesses; city departments; and other levels of government. Many cities adopt a flexible, and usually informal, approach to interact with the stakeholders. Measuring Success: Developing evaluation tools should be an integral part of any future open data policies

AAA Caregiving Survey Results

AAA Caregiving Survey Results summarizes the results of a mini survey of the nations 629 Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) on the support they provide to family caregivers. Over 57% of AAAs responded to the survey and the results highlight the characteristics of AAA caregiving programs, services offered, numbers of caregivers enrolled in AAA programs and the training and technical assistance needs of the AAAs

Morphological and Vocal Variation across a Contact Zone between the Chickadees Parus atricapillus and P. carolinensis

This is the published version. Copyright Central Ornithology Publication OfficeA contact zone between Black-capped and Carolina chickadees (Parus atricapillus and P. carolinensis) exists in southwestern Missouri. It was less than 15 km wide and paralleled the interface between the relatively treeless Great Plains and the forested Ozark Plateau. Many birds in this zone were intermediate in morphology or vocalizations or both. Moreover, both morphological and vocal discriminant analysis scores of contact zone birds were unimodally distributed and there was no correlation between morphological discriminant scores of mated males and females in the contact zone, indicating little or no assortative mating. Playback experiments demonstrated that birds to the north or south of the contact zone responded aggressively only to their own song type, while contact zone birds responded to either song type. We believe that southwestern Missouri contact zone populations are derived from extensive hybridization between atricapillus and carolinensis. Received 26 August 1985, accepted 28 March 1986