The Obesity of Economics: An Application of the Law of Demand to Obesity Prevalence within the United States

We estimate the demand function for obesity using a panel model across fifty-one U.S. states over the years 2000 to 2010. We study the impact of educational attainment, average commute time to work, relative price, per capita income, and the state unemployment rate on obesity levels, controlling for differences in regional culture. We find that since 2001, obesity is a function of the relative prices of healthy and non-healthy foods across regions, as well as state per capita income and educational attainment. From 2005 to 2010, we find that average commute time to work is a significant factor in the state obesity rate as well. Our results indicate that obesity is an inferior good due to its negative relationship with per capita income. In addition, we find obesity to be very inelastic to changes in the relative price of healthy and non-healthy food over both time periods. For every one percentage increase in the relative price of healthy food, the obesity rate increased by only 0.062 percent. Our findings suggest that in order to most effectively reduce the state obesity rate, public policies should focus on increasing educational attainment rather than lowering the relative price of healthy food. We find regional culture to be the largest indicator of state obesity rate. This suggests that, regardless of the price of food, some people will choose to adopt an unhealthy lifestyle as a result of cultural influence

Knowledge of the Weapon in Party Liability Cases: An Analysis of Edmonds v R

This article explores the reasoning in Edmonds v R, the leading case in New Zealand on knowledge of the weapon in party liability cases. The Supreme Court concluded that there is no legal requirement to direct that a defendant must have known of a weapon to be guilty as a secondary party. There is a dichotomy between the approach in New Zealand and that adopted in the United Kingdom in similar situations. New Zealand has adopted an approach focused on harmful outcome whereas the United Kingdom decisions suggest a focus on the process involved in the crime. Because of these differing attitudes, it is undesirable for New Zealand to follow the United Kingdom in adopting a “knowledge of the weapon” direction as a matter of course in party liability trials. However, it appears that many lower court judges feel it is appropriately conservative to consider the defendant's foresight of a weapon for practical, evidential reasons. That approach has several merits but must remain confined to evidential aspects of the trial

A Phenomenological Study on How University Employees Experienced Working from Home During a Pandemic

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how employees at a mid-sized public university in the South experienced working from home during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2021. Most employees in higher education settings were affected in some way by the coronavirus pandemic that hit the United States in the spring of 2020. Administrative, and clerical and support staff had to determine how to continue to provide the university with services while coordinating working from home. Now that we have experienced working from home, will that experience change the future of how staff work in higher education? For many, this was a first-time experience working from home, and it created a new set of challenges to completing everyday work tasks. Most participants found that working from home did not increase their overall productivity or job satisfaction, and few participants felt lonely or isolated when working from home. Overall, the negative aspects and benefits seemed to balance out in a series of trade-offs. The majority of participants would want to work from home again or at least be given the option to work from home part-time or on a hybrid schedule. Recommendations for further research include (1) performing quantitative research to develop scales of productivity and employee satisfaction when working from home, (2) determining how participants’ responses would have been different if they had not been dealing with a pandemic, (3) interviewing the same participants from this study who were still working from home in the future to determine if their feelings about the experience changed, (4) asking more in-depth questions on whether the supervisors’ style changed to accommodate the circumstances of working from home, (5) pursuing questions on worker engagement that were not asked in this study, (6) interviewing more males for the study to see if their responses showed a trend that was different from the female response

New Distributional Record for \u3ci\u3eBalcha Indica\u3c/i\u3e (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) in Eastern West Virginia Discovered During Emerald Ash Borer Parasitoid Recovery Surveys

Between 2010 and 2012, approximately 6,300 Spathius agrili Yang (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and 9,500 Tetrastichus planipennisi Yang (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) parasitoids were released for biological control of the invasive emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, at Cacapon State Park and the Cool Front Development in Morgan County, West Virginia. The invasive beetle was first detected there in 2009, and extensive ash mortality is currently occurring. We conducted parasitoid recovery surveys in 2013 but did not recover either of the released parasitoid species. However, we did rear Balcha indica Mani and Kaul (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), which is native to Asia and is a documented parasitoid of A. planipennis, from bolts infested with A. planipennis. This is the first documented record of B. indica for West Virginia

An Intersectional Exploration of Race and Gender: Perceptions of Women Faculty in Higher Education

My own past experiences and my doctoral work form the origin from which I have chosen to examine the relationship that exists between race-based experiences and gender identity experiences within women faculty members in higher education. Multiple studies that examine faculty members’ experiences related to race and gender-related issues were identified; however, these studies were specific to non-white women. I was unable to locate studies that are inclusive of race and gender experiences of white women, and I am interested in gaining a parallel sense of understanding of the relationship that exists between race and gender in order to draw similar patterns and trends between myself and the faculty members. This study is informed by scholarship that describes an intersectional approach. I am interested in exploring women faculty members’ perceptions of race and gender intersections and the way in which they view these intersections through their own identities as faculty members in a higher education setting. In addition, I also consider the agency of race and its role in education, white privilege, and feminism as informing factors framing this study. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used to gather data from women faculty members. On a quantitative level, a questionnaire consisting of items related to faculty’s race and gender experiences was distributed. Based on responses from the questionnaire, six faculty members were chosen, and classroom observations were conducted. Finally, qualitative methods were utilized as interviews were held with the faculty members to fully address the ways the faculty members perceive race and gender intersections. Findings revealed while experiences among the faculty members are very similar, their perceptions vary about race and gender. Conversations consisted of topics such as race discussions in the classroom, white privilege, multiple perspectives of an African American female, defining the American Dream, and juggling motherhood and academia. This study is significant because, specific to race and gender and the way in which these characteristics interconnect, it carefully considers how experiences shape individual perceptions which can broadly progress a sense of diversity, equity, and justice within the setting of higher education

Abjectivity

The selfie has emerged as one of the most globally recognizable images and is embroiled in both popular culture and scholarly debates, without a consensus in sight. It is one of the foremost ways in which individuals decode expectations of hegemonic subjectivity and encode their identities in accordance with or subversion of those codes as determined by the many intricacies of the selfie. I argue that we approach selfies as a mediated extension of the practices and power matrices which inscribe and materialize our subjectivity, and that the ambiguity of such digital self-portraits is not a bug, but rather a crucial feature of this digital social code: it is evidence of the abject, a vital part of our subjectivity. I build my analysis on Judith Butler’s engagement with sociologist Erving Goffman and philosopher Julia Kristeva, and Ace Lehner’s seminal selfie theory. Using examples of trans-identifying Instagram influencers, I present an understanding of the selfie that allows individuals to powerfully mobilize the selfie to challenge and disrupt oppressive codes of subjectivity

A Strategic Plan Forward to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County

The Social IMPACT Research Center led a dynamic planning process with The Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County to help them create an updated strategic plan that will guide their work to end homelessness. A Strategic Plan Forward to End Homelessness is the culmination of that process. The plan embodies strategic thinking around targeting resources to those most in need and likely to benefit through coordinated assessment, written standards, and prioritization of resources. It integrates and promotes best practices across housing and service interventions. It identifies new partners, in new areas, to help seize critical opportunities and to leverage more support for the homeless system. It includes a new unmet need calculation and data dashboard to support ongoing data-informed decision-making. This plan, and the work to come from it, will position suburban Cook County to meet the HEARTH Act performance measures, end chronic homelessness, and work towards its ultimate goal of ending homelessness for all

A different perspective on inclusion

Nineteen parents and students were interviewed in fifteen different interviews. Participants were asked a series of questions to explore their perspectives on the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education classrooms. Their responses were recorded via tape recorder and written documentation. Parents of children with and without disabilities felt that inclusion is beneficial socially and developmentally to all involved. Students without disabilities do not mind having children with disabilities in their classroom

Fields with Dreams: The Distribution of Farmland with Publicly-Funded Conservation Easements in Pennsylvania

Conservation easements have played an increasingly significant role in the American movement to preserve farmland from urban development. Conservation easements are legal instruments that enable a landowner to sell his right to develop his property to an outside party, typically a government entity or a private land conservancy. The distribution of conservation easements used to preserve farmland is highly variable. Conservation easements often are found in regions where productive farmland and intense development pressure collide. Conservation easements are most common in places where both public and private sectors give strong financial and political support for conservation. This thesis analyzes the spatial variability and effectiveness of conservation easements purchased as part of Pennsylvania’s public farmland preservation initiative. Many of Pennsylvania’s counties, particularly those in the southeast, have experienced significant population growth in the past three decades. These same counties comprise the core of Pennsylvania’s agricultural land and economy. In response to farmland loss, citizens have given strong political support to state and county boards created to preserve farmland through the purchase of conservation easements. An examination of conservation easement locations reveals that their distribution is notably uneven in Pennsylvania. My research confirms that urban development pressures and the strength of the local agricultural economy influence the lopsided usage of conservation easements. Principle components analysis of eighty-four variables for sixty-six counties demonstrates that conservation easements are purchased more frequently in counties where expansion of urban land uses conflicts with economically productive agricultural land. The research tests the model produced by principle components analysis through the comparison of counties’ component scores to the proportion of farmland they have preserved with conservation easements. My research further explores the factors affecting the use of conservation easements through an evaluation of Lancaster County’s geographical situation and its conservation easement purchase program. The study reveals that local support, religious attitudes, and the implementation of other farmland preservation methods influences the success of the Agricultural Preserve Board. This thesis explains why certain counties in Pennsylvania are committed to the use of conservation easements while others are not. The study provides a geographic interpretation of the public purchase of conservation easements as a method for preserving farmland in Pennsylvania. The study can serve as a model for others interested in public land protection in the United States