Wealthy Americans and redistribution:The role of fairness preferences

We examine the attitudes of the wealthy towards government redistribution using a large and diverse sample of individuals from the top 5% of the income and wealth distribution in the U.S., as well as the remaining 95%. Three results stand out: (1) wealthy Americans have distinct fairness preferences, with a greater willingness to accept inequalities relative to the general public, (2) individuals who self-report having experienced upward social mobility and became first-generation wealthy are particularly accepting of inequality, while those born into wealth have fairness preferences similar to the general population; (3) the disparity in fairness preferences between the rich and the general public is predictive of greater opposition to redistribution among the wealthy, resulting in more conservative voting behavior. These findings provide new insights into the reasons behind the wealthy's opposition to government redistribution.</p

Ispitivanje koagulacione aktivnosti prirodnih koagulanata ekstrahovanih iz različitih sorti pasulja

Coagulation and flocculation by adding chemicals are the methods that are usually used for removal of water turbidity. This study is concerned with the coagulation activity of extracts of various strains of bean. The aim was to ascertain if bean varieties influence coagulation activity. Active components were extracted from 1 g of ground sample with 100 ml distilled water. Contents of dry matter and nitrogen were specified in the solid samples, and the content of soluble nitrogen was determined in the extracts. These data were used to calculate the efficiency of extraction of nitrogen-containing compounds. The coagulation activity was assessed by jar test using synthetic turbid water, of the initial pH 9 and turbidity 35 NTU. The jar test was carried out by adding different amounts of extracts to model water, and stirring the content. After sedimentation for 1 h, residual turbidity was determined by turbidimeter and coagulation activity was calculated. The increment of organic matter concentration after the coagulation was also determined. These experiments confirmed that extracts of all investigated strains of bean could be used successfully as natural coagulants.Koagulacija i flokulacija predstavljaju najčešće primenjivane metode za bistrenje vode, i uglavnom se izvode dodatkom hemijskih koagulanata. U ovom radu je ispitivana koagulaciona aktivnost ekstrakata dobijenih iz semena različitih sorti pasulja, a s ciljem da se utvrdi mogućnost njihove primene kao prirodnih koagulanata za uklanjanje mutnoće vode, i da se utvrdi uticaj sorte pasulja na koagulacionu aktivnost. Ekstrakcija aktivnih komponenti je izvedena sa 100 ml destilovane vode iz 1 g samlevenog uzorka. U čvrstim uzorcima je određen sadržaj suve materije i azota, a u ekstraktima sadržaj rastvorljivog azota, na osnovu čega je određena efikasnost ekstrakcije jedinjenja sa azotom. Za određivanje koagulacione aktivnosti ekstrakata izveden je džar-test, dodavanjem različitih doza ekstrakata model vodi, čiji je pH 9 i početna mutnoća 35 NTU. Nakon mešanja u određenom vremenskom intervalu, čaše su ostavljene da se njihov sadržaj istaloži, a zatim je u bistrom delu određivana mutnoća, i preko nje koagulaciona aktivnost. Takođe je utvrđen doprinos svakog od ekstrakata porastu sadržaja organskih materija u vodi nakon njenog bistrenja u odnosu na slepu probu, a preko permanganatnog broja. Ovim eksperimentima potvrđeno je da se ekstrakti svih ispitivanih sorti pasulja mogu uspešno primeniti kao prirodni koagulanti

Chemical parameters of oxidative stress adaptability in beech

e antioxidant activity, lipid peroxidation, and contents of free proline and soluble proteins were investigated on six-year-old beech plants. Provenance Avala, in Serbia, had the best adaptability to environmental factors on locality Fruska Gora due to low lipid peroxidation, high FRAP value, and free proline and soluble proteins contents. Provenances Scharnstein and Mitterndorf, in Austria, had the best adaptability to environmental factors on locality Debeli Lug due to high FRAP value and free proline and soluble proteins contents. FRAP values in majority of provenances from locality Debeli Lug were higher. Correlations parameters were much higher between provenances in locality Debeli Lug, situated at higher altitude, which is the consequence of better adaption to environmental factors in�uence

A novel algorithm for dynamic student profile adaptation based on learning styles

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.E-learning recommendation systems are used to enhance student performance and knowledge by providing tailor- made services based on the students’ preferences and learning styles, which are typically stored in student profiles. For such systems to remain effective, the profiles need to be able to adapt and reflect the students’ changing behaviour. In this paper, we introduce new algorithms that are designed to track student learning behaviour patterns, capture their learning styles, and maintain dynamic student profiles within a recommendation system (RS). This paper also proposes a new method to extract features that characterise student behaviour to identify students’ learning styles with respect to the Felder-Silverman learning style model (FSLSM). In order to test the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, we present a series of experiments that use a dataset of real students to demonstrate how our proposed algorithm can effectively model a dynamic student profile and adapt to different student learning behaviour. The results revealed that the students could effectively increase their learning efficiency and quality for the courses when the learning styles are identified, and proper recommendations are made by using our method

Social media and disasters: human security, environmental racism, and crisis communication in Hurricane Irma response

Social media has been widely recognized as key communication channel in disaster situations. However, there is limited empirical investigation on how the intersecting issues of social order, environmental impacts, and crisis communication unfold from the perspective of a social media user. This study examines 60,449 tweets to and from the news media in Florida during and immediately after Hurricane Irma in September, 2017. Based on a critical review of the literature coupled with an eight-category coding scheme (including second-hand reporting, reporting on self-experience, requesting help, coordinating relief efforts, and expressing well wishes), the article assesses the content and timing of tweets before, during, and after the storm. It finds that thematically, twitter coverage not only covers the storm itself but pressing social issues such as looting, price gouging, the privileging of elites in rebuilding efforts, environmental vulnerability, and abandoning pets. Temporally, the volume of different tweets peaked and dropped at different stages; for example, tweets about personal experience peaked when the hurricane hit the ground while requests for help peaked in the days after the hurricane. The study allows for a better understanding of the sociological, environmental, and even social justice impacts and related disaster response through the use of social media

Honesty above all else? Expectations and perceptions of political conduct in three established democracies

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the ESRC (grant number RES-000-22-3459) and British Academy (grant numbers SG-101785 and SG-52322). They would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions

The influence of different matrices on the nature and content of haloacetic acids precursors in ozonized water

This paper investigates the influence of different matrices (groundwater a realistic natural matrix and commercial humic acid solution a synthetic matrix) on the nature and content of haloacetic acid (HAA) precursors in ozonized water (0.4 to 3.0 mg O3/mg DOC; pH 6). Natural organic matter (NOM) characterization of the natural matrix showed it was largely of hydrophobic character (65% fulvic and 14% humic acids), with the hydrophilic fractions HPIA and HPI-NA at 12% and 9%, respectively. At approximately the same dissolved organic carbon (DOC) content of the investigated matrices (~10 mg /L), a greater degree of hydrophobicity was seen in the humic acid solution than in the natural matrix, resulting in a higher content of HAA precursors (559 ± 21 μg/L in the synthetic matrix compared to 309 ± 15 μg/L in the natural matrix). By applying different ozone doses (0.4 to 3.0 mg O3/mg DOC), the DOC content of the studied matrices was reduced by 6-22%, with a maximum process efficacy being achieved with 3.0 mg O3/mg DOC. Ozonation also lead to changes in the NOM structure, i.e. complete oxidation of the humic acid fractions in both investigated matrices. After oxidation, hydrophilic structures dominate the natural water matrix (65%), whereas the synthetic matrix has an equal distribution of hydrophobic and hydrophilic fractions (~50%). Changes in the content and structure of NOM during ozonation resulted in the reduction of the total HAA precursors content (63-85%, using 3.0 mg O3/mg DOC). Detailed analysis of the reactivity of the residual HAA precursor materials shows that ozonation using 3.0 mg O3/mg DOC reduced the reactivity of the NOM fractions in comparison to the raw water. By contrast, HAA precursor material present in the commercial HA solution was transformed after ozonation into other reactive compounds, i.e. precursors which originated from the fulvic acid and hydrophilic fractions. The results of the laboratory testing indicate that the application of ozonation can reduce the content of haloacetic acid precursors to some degree. However, in real applications of oxidative treatment in the preparation of drinking water, as well as the efficacy in reducing the total organic matter content, the nature of the residual NOM must also be taken into account, as it can include toxic reactive precursors to disinfection byproducts

Adaptation Strategies: A Comparison between E-Learning and E-Commerce Techniques

Part 2: First AI in Education Workshop: Innovations and Applications (AIeIA 2012)International audienceThe importance of e-learning and e-commerce applications has significantly increased in the past few years. Seeking better design and implementation principles is a research goal with, potentially, a significant impact. One of the commonalities of both applications is user-centricity. Understanding user behavior is critical especially in user-centered applications such as e-commerce and e-learning. In this work we discuss some of the fundamental similarities and differences in e-commerce and formal e-learning adaptation and discuss lessons that could be learned. We argue that current user pattern mining techniques should take into account behavioral and educational theories for distance learning in order to be efficient