Changes in output, employment and wages during recessions in the United Kingdom

Employment has fallen during this recession but by much less than the fall in output. This article examines how the behaviour of the labour market compares with previous recessions. A number of factors, including greater flexibility in real wages, may have helped to mitigate the fall in employment to date. But there is considerable uncertainty about how the labour market will evolve.

Oscillating bounce solutions and vacuum tunneling in de Sitter spacetime

We study a class of oscillating bounce solutions to the Euclidean field equations for gravity coupled to a scalar field theory with two, possibly degenerate, vacua. In these solutions the scalar field crosses the top of the potential barrier $k>1$ times. Using analytic and numerical methods, we examine how the maximum allowed value of $k$ depends on the parameters of the theory. For a wide class of potentials $k_{\rm max}$ is determined by the value of the second derivative of the scalar field potential at the top of the barrier. However, in other cases, such as potentials with relatively flat barriers, the determining parameter appears instead to be the value of this second derivative averaged over the width of the barrier. As a byproduct, we gain additional insight into the conditions under which a Coleman-De Luccia bounce exists. We discuss the physical interpretation of these solutions and their implications for vacuum tunneling transitions in de Sitter spacetime.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figure

Interactions between the Protein Industry and Blogs: An analysis of Content and Perceptions

This thesis contains two articles that describe and characterize the use of the social media platform of blogging in the context of the animal agriculture and protein industry. The first article used content analysis to analyze blog posts and look for themes throughout the posts. This study included 37 posts from ten authors and resulted in four recurrent themes. The major themes were environment, consumption of protein, alternative protein source, and alternative dieting. The tones regarding these themes were both negative and positive toward the protein industry. The second article used hand-coding to look for themes and similarities concerning flow of information between interviews with blog authors. Six interviews were conducted, two of whom were authors from the first study. All of the bloggers had neutral and/or positive experiences when researching information or taking part in the flow of information. The nature of interactions between bloggers and protein industry representatives took place mostly electronically, as blog authors served as information mediators to the public. Though the views expressed through blog posts and interviews are not holistically representative of the entire U.S. protein and animal agriculture industry, readers are encouraged to apply this research however they see fit. Industry representatives are encouraged to engage in honest, transparent communication with blog authors, as well as with consumers

III B Religious Studies Presentation 3: Selling the Needy for Sandals: Winners and Losers of Ancient and Modern Economies

Analyzing Amos 1-2:7 for clues about the role of exploitation in the ancient Israelite economy, & comparing it to the exploitation of impoverished groups in the modern global economy

Freya at 100.

Describes a student organization that has evolved over many years, from one that put on May Day pageants to one that embodies the ideals of Hollins and works anonymously to help the Hollins community.https://digitalcommons.hollins.edu/archival_articles/1006/thumbnail.jp

Demolition-only urban policy leads to economic and social isolation.

The past two years have seen more than 10,000 homes demolished in Detroit, Michigan. Such demolition policies which have no follow-up plans for development have gone from being controversial to the norm. In new research, Jason Hackworth questions the logic and practice of these policies, finding that the neighborhoods which have had the most demolitions are more economically and socially isolated than they were in 1970. He argues that vacant lots can be a negative force on nearby house values, and that cleared sites never attract the kind of investment money that a derelict house might

Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, QAnon and Blood Libel

Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, QAnon, and Blood Libel explores the contemporary relevance of the work of Shakespeare. The Jewish blood libel was first mentioned by Socrates. Whether Socrates was literal or using an allegory is unknown. What is known, is the story was repeated and used as the basis for a conspiracy theory targeting Jews stating they kill Christian Children to make unleavened Passover bread. This idea has resulted in stereotypes and Jews being the scapegoats for all the ills of the world. William Shakespeare played on this idea in The Merchant of Venice, using a blood libel to commit legalized murder. During WWII the Nazi’s staged the play more than 30 times as inspirational propaganda prior to rounding up large numbers of Jews. Today QAnon has targeted high profile Jews with a variation of the blood libel that has evolved in child sex trafficking, harvesting adenochrome, and a chemical fountain of youth thus showing the ideas of Shakespeare are still relevant today

The Relative Effectiveness of Face-to-Face and Telephone Contact by Community Mental Health Workers During Psychiatric Inpatient Treatment of Children and Adolescents

Problem. With the advent of managed care has come the increasing necessity to provide effective and efficient services to children and families experiencing severe emotional disturbances. The use of cost-effective and therapeutically effective services is at the crux of an effective service delivery system. Few studies have considered the usefulness and comparative effectiveness of face-to-face versus telephone interventions in therapeutic situations. This study considered the clinical value of face-to-face community mental health worker involvement during and after psychiatric inpatient hospitalizations of children and adolescents ages 11-17. The study also considered the comparative value of this follow-up when using master\u27s-trained, mental health therapists versus bachelor\u27s-trained mental health specialists. Method. The 52 subjects in this study were 11-17-year-old children and adolescents who were screened and subsequently admitted to psychiatric inpatient units. They were assigned to either the face-to-face or telephone conditions and followed up by either mental health therapists or mental health specialists. Parents were administered the Personality Inventory for Children (PIC) in order to obtain scores on the depression subscale. Children and adolescents were administered the Children\u27s Depression Inventory (CDI). Dependent variables included level of depression as determined by post-test scores and length of hospital stay. Results. The results of this study indicated that there was no significant difference in the use of face-to-face versus telephone interventions or in the use of mental health therapists versus mental health specialists using the clinical outcome indicators identified in this study. An unanticipated finding of this study involved the relative stability of parents\u27 scores between pre-test and post-test, indicating very little difference in parent assessment of improvement in depression compared with child and adolescent self-reported improvement between pre-test and post-test. Conclusions. There may be very little difference in major clinical outcomes using telephone contacts versus face-to-face contacts in some clinical situations. The use of more extensively trained and more highly educated staff may not be necessary in certain clinical situations. Further study should occur that investigates the disparity between parent assessment of their children\u27s emotional and mental states versus child and adolescent self-report

EFFICACY OF HERBIVORE EXCLUSION ON PLANTED TREE SEEDLING VITALITY ON A RECLAIMED SURFACE MINE IN EASTERN KENTUCKY

Conventional Appalachian surface-mine reclamation techniques repress natural forest regeneration, and tree plantings are often necessary for reforestation. Reclaimed Appalachian surface mines harbor a suite of mammal herbivores that forage on recently planted seedlings. Anecdotal reports across Appalachia have implicated herbivory in the hindrance and failure of reforestation efforts, yet empirical evaluation of herbivory impacts on planted seedling vitality in this region remains relatively uninitiated. First growing-season survival, height growth, and mammal herbivory damage of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.), shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.), and white oak (Quercus alba L.) are presented in response to varying intensities of herbivore exclusion. Seedling survival was generally high, and height growth was positive for all species. The highest herbivory incidence of all tree species was observed in treatments offering no herbivore exclusion. While seedling protectors lowered herbivory incidence compared with no exclusion, full exclusion treatments resulted in the greatest reduction of herbivore damage. Although herbivory from rabbits, small mammals, and domestic animals was observed, cervids (deer and elk) were responsible for 95.8% of all damaged seedlings. This study indicates that cervids forage heavily on planted seedlings during the first growing-season, but exclusion and tree species selection is effective at reducing herbivory