ILR Impact Brief - Collective Bargaining Remains the Linchpin of Worker Representation

[Excerpt] The decline in union density and collective bargaining coverage has created a representation gap that civil society organizations only partially bridge. Their offer of mutual insurance and political and legal advocacy on issues of concern to workers is no substitute for collective bargaining, a function that resides entirely within the union portfolio. Growing wage inequality is the clearest indication that representation without bargaining provides workers little protection against the power of employers and “the state.” Alliances between unions and civil society organizations may help labor reach potential members and advance workers’ non-bargaining interests

Specific-to-General Learning for Temporal Events with Application to Learning Event Definitions from Video

We develop, analyze, and evaluate a novel, supervised, specific-to-general learner for a simple temporal logic and use the resulting algorithm to learn visual event definitions from video sequences. First, we introduce a simple, propositional, temporal, event-description language called AMA that is sufficiently expressive to represent many events yet sufficiently restrictive to support learning. We then give algorithms, along with lower and upper complexity bounds, for the subsumption and generalization problems for AMA formulas. We present a positive-examples--only specific-to-general learning method based on these algorithms. We also present a polynomial-time--computable ``syntactic'' subsumption test that implies semantic subsumption without being equivalent to it. A generalization algorithm based on syntactic subsumption can be used in place of semantic generalization to improve the asymptotic complexity of the resulting learning algorithm. Finally, we apply this algorithm to the task of learning relational event definitions from video and show that it yields definitions that are competitive with hand-coded ones

Compositional disorder and tranport peculiarities in the amorphous indium-oxides

(abridged) We present results of the disorder-induced metal-insulator-transition (MIT) in three-dimensional amorphous indium-oxide films. The amorphous version studied here differs from the one reported earlier [PRB 46, 10917 (1992)] in that it has a much lower carrier concentration. As a measure of the static disorder we use the dimensionless parameter kFl. Thermal annealing is employed as the experimental handle to tune the disorder. On the metallic side of the transition, the low temperature transport exhibits weak-localization and electron-electron correlation effects characteristic of disordered electronic systems. The MIT occurs at a kFl~0.3 for both versions of the amorphous material. However, in contrast with the results obtained on the electron-rich version of this system, no sign of superconductivity is seen down to ~0.3K even for the most metallic sample used in the current study. This demonstrates that using kFl as a disorder parameter for the superconductor-insulator-transition (SIT) is an ill defined procedure. A microstructural study of the films, employing high resolution chemical analysis, gives evidence for spatial fluctuations of the stoichiometry. This brings to light that, while the films are amorphous and show excellent uniformity in transport measurements of macroscopic samples, they contain compositional fluctuations that extend over mesoscopic scales. It is argued that this compositional disorder may be the reason for the apparent violation of the Ioffe-Regel criterion in the two versions of the amorphous indium-oxide. However, more dramatic effects due to this disorder are expected when superconductivity sets in, which are in fact consistent with the prominent transport anomalies observed in the electron-rich version of indium-oxide. The relevance of compositional disorder to other systems near their SIT is discussed.Comment: 10 pages and 9 figure

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS THE ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENTS FACING TOBACCO FARMERS AND RURAL COMMUNITIES

This paper discusses the context within which educational programs tailored to tobacco producers and related rural communities have developed. Discussion is expanded by examining current program approaches employed by various organizations. Many of these organizations have a manual stake in helping producers in tobacco communities develop their management capacity. A range of initiatives aimed at facilitating economic adjustment is compared, including the major issues addressed and expected outcomes. Many of the initiatives have made useful contributions; however, gaps and limitations remain. These are considered as future educational efforts and issues are discussed.educational programs, tobacco producers, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Sequencing impact at the University of Missouri

Executive Summary: It would be an understatement to say that "next-generation" sequencing technology has been revolutionary. Over the last 10 years, sequencing has created a paradigm shift in biological sciences where more and more a component of research involves "just sequence it". This is because the types of data, applications and resulting insights are expanding every year. Further, the volume and speed of data generation are growing exponentially, while the costs to generate these data are decreasing exponentially. The Human Genome Project completed the first draft genome sequence in 2001 at an estimated cost of $3 billion. Next-generation sequencing became mainstream around 2007 and enabled the re-sequencing of a human genome at a cost of approximately$50,000. In late 2015, Illumina announced the availability of their X10 sequencer for use on non-human samples enabling the re-sequencing of a mammalian (human, cow, dog etc.) genome for approximately $1,500 and with an annual throughput of 10,000 genomes per year. The ease, rapidity and cost effectiveness of generating sequence data has created a computational analysis bottleneck. The growth of computational resources on the MU campus has not kept pace with the growth in data generation capability. In order for Mizzou to maintain a competitive research environment, we need to expand the computational resources available for bioinformatics analysis of large data which include sequence data. It will require an initial investment of$619,000 in early 2016 to build the needed core infrastructure and will require ongoing funding to maintain and expand this infrastructure. Initial investments (cost share of $231,000) made by Mizzou in 2005 to bring next-generation sequencing to this campus have been returned many-fold. Based on a survey sent to MU researchers in November 2015, a total of 66 grants have been awarded involving sequencing for a total of$87.5M. $7.6M of that is directly attributable to sequence data generation/analysis. In addition, another$7.9M in grant funding has been submitted and remains pending. This research has led to 173 refereed journal articles in top-tier journals producing over 6,000 citations. Additionally, 19 M.S., 62 Ph.D. and 21 postdocs have been trained as a result of these sequence related research projects. Plant and animal researchers at MU have been at the forefront of the next-generation sequencing revolution. However, based on the diversity of grants and papers gathered by the survey, sequence analysis provides a common foundation that ties together many disciplines on campus. As such, investment in computational capacity directed at sequence data analysis will serve the entire campus and provide technological ties between disciplines. The following is a detailed description of the history of sequencing/bioinformatics, a description of the computation resources required, and a model for sustainability and an analysis of the impacts of next-generation sequencing at Mizzou

AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF SOYBEAN STINK BUG CONTROL ALTERNATIVES FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Methyl parathion or Penncap M (an encapsulated methyl parathion) are used extensively throughout the United States for controlling stink bug pests in soybeans, Glycine Max (L.) Merrill. However, this insecticide is highly toxic to mammals, birds, and non-target arthropods, and thus is less environmentally sound than other insecticides. For environmental and human health considerations, investigating alternative insecticides for control is desired. For this investigation, research based on field experimental data from Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana during the 1988 and 1989 growing seasons were employed. Results indicate that alternative, currently available, and less toxic insecticides may reduce producer costs, increase yield, and improve soybean quality. These alternative insecticides include Scout (tralomethrin), Karate (lambda-cyhalothrin), Orthene (acephate), and Baythroid (cyfluthrin). In terms of improved profits these alternative insecticides may dominate methyl parathion or encapsulated methyl parathion.Crop Production/Industries,

Editorial Essay: Introduction to a Special Issue on Work and Employment Relations in Health Care

[Excerpt] This special issue of the ILR Review is designed to showcase the central role that work organization and employment relations play in shaping important outcomes such as the quality of care and organizational performance. Each of the articles included in this special issue makes an important contribution to our understanding of the large and rapidly changing health care sector. Specifically, these articles provide novel empirical evidence about the relationship between organizations, institutions, and work practices and a wide array of central outcomes across different levels of analysis. This breadth is especially important because the health care literature has largely neglected employment-related factors in explaining organizational and worker outcomes in this industry. Individually, these articles shed new light on the role that health information technologies play in affecting patient care and productivity (see Hitt and Tambe; Meyerhoefer et al.); the relationship between work practices and organizational reliability (Vogus and Iacobucci); staffing practices, processes, and outcomes (Kramer and son; Hockenberry and Becker; Kossek et al.); health care unions’ effects on the quality of patient care (Arindrajit, Kaplan, and Thompson); and the relationship between the quality of jobs and the quality of care (Burns, Hyde, and Killet). Below, we position the articles in this special issue against the backdrop of the pressures and challenges facing the industry and the organizations operating within it. We highlight the implications that organizational responses to industry pressures have had for organizations, the patients they care for, and the employees who deliver this care