Job Change and Job Stability among Less-Skilled Young Workers

In this paper we review evidence from previous studies of job and employment instability among less-educated young workers, and we provide new evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. We find that early employment instability contributes somewhat to the low levels of employment observed among high school dropouts, especially females. Important determinants of job stability include the cognitive skills of the workers themselves (as measured by math test scores), current or previous experience and job tenure, and a variety of job characteristics including starting wages, occupation, and industry. Job instability among female dropouts seems to be strongly related to fertility history and marital status. Some implications for policy, especially welfare reform, are discussed as well.

Enterprise Risk Management & Treasury Board Secretariat: A Policy Evaluation

Enterprise Risk Management is the latest form of risk management. It has become an essential part of best business practices. Under the Financial Administration Act of 1985, the Treasury Board Secretariat was established to serve as the management agency for the government. Within this mandate is included best management practices. This paper examines the Treasury Board Secretariat’s main risk management guidance, the Guide to Integrated Risk Management and how it assists government departments, agencies, and organizations in implementing Enterprise Risk Management based on key principles. This paper evaluates whether or not the Guide to Integrated Risk Management does a good job is outlining those principles in an effective and explicit way for public servants within the federal government

NDM-531: WIND TUNNEL TESTING OF RESIDENTIAL NEIGHBOURHOOD MODEL TO ANALYZE ROOF FAILURES IN HIGH WINDS

The EF-Scale estimates tornado wind speeds by the damage left in their wake, including the damage done to residential houses. The scale was developed based on an expert elicitation process, and so empirical testing is useful in determining its accuracy. Wind tunnel testing is often used to test low-rise buildings but building code configurations tend to be single, isolated houses, even though residential houses are much more common in suburban environments with many neighbouring buildings. The objective of this testing was to assess the roof-failure wind speeds for residential buildings in typical neighbourhood patterns and compare them to rural residence failure speeds and the EF-Scale. To this end, a 1:50 scale model of a suburban neighbourhood with 32 houses was built and tested in a wind tunnel. The effects of several variables such as wind direction and presence of dominant openings were also included in the study. After testing, it was concluded that neighbouring houses provided shielding and increased failure wind speeds in the range of 5 – 10%. Interestingly, when the shielding effects are considered, the range of failure wind speeds matches the range set out by the EF-Scale. Further work will analyze these points in greater detail

Tight Bounds for the Randomized and Quantum Communication Complexities of Equality with Small Error

We investigate the randomized and quantum communication complexities of the well-studied Equality function with small error probability $\epsilon$, getting the optimal constant factors in the leading terms in a number of different models. In the randomized model, 1) we give a general technique to convert public-coin protocols to private-coin protocols by incurring a small multiplicative error, at a small additive cost. This is an improvement over Newman's theorem [Inf. Proc. Let.'91] in the dependence on the error parameter. 2) Using this we obtain a $(\log(n/\epsilon^2)+4)$-cost private-coin communication protocol that computes the $n$-bit Equality function, to error $\epsilon$. This improves upon the $\log(n/\epsilon^3)+O(1)$ upper bound implied by Newman's theorem, and matches the best known lower bound, which follows from Alon [Comb. Prob. Comput.'09], up to an additive $\log\log(1/\epsilon)+O(1)$. In the quantum model, 1) we exhibit a one-way protocol of cost $\log(n/\epsilon)+4$, that uses only pure states and computes the $n$-bit Equality function to error $\epsilon$. This bound was implicitly already shown by Nayak [PhD thesis'99]. 2) We show that any $\epsilon$-error one-way protocol for $n$-bit Equality that uses only pure states communicates at least $\log(n/\epsilon)-\log\log(1/\epsilon)-O(1)$ qubits. 3) We exhibit a one-way protocol of cost $\log(\sqrt{n}/\epsilon)+3$, that uses mixed states and computes the $n$-bit Equality function to error $\epsilon$. This is also tight up to an additive $\log\log(1/\epsilon)+O(1)$, which follows from Alon's result. Our upper bounds also yield upper bounds on the approximate rank and related measures of the Identity matrix. This also implies improved upper bounds on these measures for the distributed SINK function, which was recently used to refute the randomized and quantum versions of the log-rank conjecture.Comment: 16 page

National identification, perceived threat, and dehumanization as antecedents of negative attitudes toward immigrants in Australia and Canada

The interplay of nationalistic threat perceptions, dehumanizing beliefs and intergroup emotions, and anti-immigrant sentiment is analyzed in a cross-national context with Australian (N=124) and Canadian (N=126) samples. National identification was linked to negative attitudes toward immigrants indirectly, via perceptions of immigrants as being in threatening zero-sum relationships with citizens. In turn, perceived zero-sum threat was associated with dehumanizing beliefs and emotions about immigrants. Significant baseline differences in hostility were observed across the samples, but the relationships among the variables were not moderated by participants' nationality. The study contributes to the literature examining how negative emotions and attitudes may serve to legitimize intergroup competition

Are we really that different from each other? The difficulties of focusing on similarities in cross-cultural research.

In this article we argue that there are 2 dominant underlying themes in discussions of strategies for dealing with diversity—similarity and difference. When we are dealing with social groups, a number of basic psychological processes, as well as popular media and research-based narratives, make it easier to highlight difference rather than similarity. This difference-based approach in research is inherently divisive, but the training that we receive as researchers in the field of psychology has taken us down this path. As a first step, we propose that researchers working in the area of cultural diversity should start making explicit attempts to highlight similarities between groups, even if such similarities are only based on the absence of observed statistical differences. Moreover, if we are going to be serious about demonstrating similarity between groups and certain types of universals in behavior, we should start embracing new approaches to data analyses and consider using statistical procedures that test for equivalence. We illustrate these new techniques using our own data. Finally, we argue that shifting our primary focus from difference to similarity is a worthwhile direction to pursue for successfully managing diversity in multicultural societies.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC

NDM-525: EFFECTS OF TORNADO WIND SPEEDS ON CONCRETE ROAD BARRIERS

Wind speeds can be difficult to measure during tornadoes due to their destructive nature. They pose a significant threat to lives and infrastructure in many parts of Canada and the U.S. The Enhanced-Fujita scale focuses on estimating these wind speeds by observing damage to different types of buildings, but significantly less research has been performed on the damage of other structures. Learning more about the effects of high wind speeds on these structures will help improve the ease and accuracy of future tornado classification. A wind tunnel study was performed at the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel Laboratory of Western University. The study focusses on estimating the wind speeds that cause overturning in a standard 32” concrete “Jersey” barrier. On April 27, 2014, an EF4 Tornado struck Mayflower, Arkansas, and among the damage, several of these concrete barriers were blown over during the storm. The goal of this study was to find the overturning wind velocity and compare it to other damage in this event. This study was performed by placing a 1:8 scale-model of these barriers in a wind tunnel at a variety of orientations and wind speeds. Through analysis, it was determined that an instantaneous wind velocity of 4.55 to 4.85 m/s would cause overturning. These values correspond to an instantaneous wind speed of 340-360 km/h at full scale. It was estimated that the 3-second gust (used for EF rating) was 300-320 km/h, which sits at the top of the 267-322 km/h classification range for an EF4 tornado

A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Client Experience of Addressing Spirituality and Religion in Counseling and A Grounded Theory Study of How Private Practice Christian Clients Experience Their Spirituality and Religion During the Counseling Process With Similar Faith Counselors

The purpose of this dissertation was to contribute to deeper understanding of how client’s experience their spirituality and religion during the therapy process. The first manuscript is located in chapter 2 and titled A Qualitative Metasynthesis of Client Experience of Addressing Spirituality and Religion in Counseling. This metasynthesis pools together eleven pieces of qualitative research client’s spirituality and religion in therapy. Phenomenological analysis methods were utilized for this synthesis and produced four key themes: (a) a context, (b) a fear, (c) a freedom, and (d) a personal expression. The second manuscript is located in chapter 3 and titled A Grounded Theory Study of How Private Practice Christian Clients Experience Their Spirituality and Religion During the Counseling Process With Similar Faith Counselors. This theory describes the central priority that spiritual/religious identity takes in the life of these participants. In turn, this central priority enters into therapy with the client and impacts the structure of therapy and experience of the therapy process. Implications for practice and training, limitations, and areas for future research are explored for each manuscript. The two manuscripts are unified by their common focus on spirituality and religion during the therapeutic process

Religious norms, norm conflict, and religious identification

The present research sought to understand how religious identification is associated with normative practices and with norm conflict (the perception that people within the religious group are not all enacting the same standards or rules for behaviour). Using a multi-faith sample (N=400) we replicate positive associations of religious identification with engaging in normative practices such as prayer, and the associations of both identification and normative practices with stronger well-being. Religious norm conflict was associated with lower identification and lower well-being, however. Three coping strategies were examined: 1) engaging in normative ritual practices was protective of identification and well-being; 2) affirming that the conflict occurs on less important (vs core) religious norms was associated with higher well-being, but not with identification; and 3) challenging the religious norm was associated with lower well-being, but did not alter religious identification

Regulation of Motor Function and Behavior by Atypical Chemokine Receptor 1

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10519-014-9665-7Atypical Chemokine Receptor 1 (ACKR1), previously known as the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines, stands out among chemokine receptors for its high selective expression on Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, consistent with the ability of ACKR1 ligands to activate Purkinje cells in vitro. Nevertheless, evidence for ACKR1 regulation of brain function in vivo has been lacking. Here we demonstrate that Ackr1−/− mice have markedly impaired balance and ataxia when placed on a rotating rod and increased tremor when injected with harmaline, a drug that induces whole-body tremor by activating Purkinje cells. Ackr1−/− mice also exhibited impaired exploratory behavior, increased anxiety-like behavior and frequent episodes of marked hypoactivity under low-stress conditions. The behavioral phenotype of Ackr1−/− mice was the opposite of the phenotype occurring in mice with cerebellar degeneration and the defects persisted when Ackr1 was deficient only on non-hematopoietic cells. We conclude that normal motor function and behavior depend in part on negative regulation of Purkinje cell activity by Ackr1