1,111 research outputs found
EFFECTS OF EBT CUSTOMER SERVICE WAIVERS ON FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Most State agencies are now using electronic benefits transfer (EBT) systems to issue food stamp benefits. To promote operational efficiency, some States have received waivers of certain rules governing EBT use. An exploratory study was conducted to ascertain the effects of these waivers on food stamp recipients. The results show that two of the waivers-those allowing recipients to select their own personal identification numbers and to receive EBT training by mail rather than in person-cause new food stamp recipients in waiver States to have more difficulties in using the electronic system than new recipients in nonwaiver States. Further, the difficulties are more apparent among the elderly or disabled. However, the problems tend to disappear as new users gain EBT experience. A third waiver, extending time for card replacement via mail, showed mixed benefits for recipients, most of whom prefer to pick up the card at a food stamp office. Perhaps the most important conclusion is that the customer service waivers do not affect recipient satisfaction with the EBT system; the high level of satisfaction that they expressed suggests that most problems with the waivers are either transitory or minor. The full report is available online. See Effects of EBT Customer Service Waivers on Food Stamp Recipients: Final Report, at: http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan02007EBT, new recipients, customer service, vulnerable subgroups, recipient satisfaction, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,
ASSESSMENT OF WIC COST-CONTAINMENT PRACTICES; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides both nutrition education and supplemental foods containing nutrients determined by nutritional research to be lacking in the diets of pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants, and children. State WIC agencies have implemented practices designed to reduce the cost of food packages containing these prescribed foods. For instance, one of the WIC program's primary cost-saving practices is negotiating rebate contracts with manufacturers of infant formula. Additional practices include limiting authorized vendors to stores with lower food prices; limiting approved brands, package sizes, forms, or prices; and negotiating rebates with food manufacturers or suppliers. There is concern that these practices may inadvertently counter the program's goal of providing supplemental foods and nutrition education. Based on a review of cost-containment practices in six States, including interviews with the various stakeholders and analysis of WIC administrative files, the study draws three major conclusions: (1) costcontainment practices reduced average food package costs by 0.2 to 21.4 percent, depending on practices implemented and local conditions; (2) the cost-containment practices had few adverse outcomes for WIC participants; and (3) administrative costs of the practices were low, averaging about 1.5 percent of food package savings. The full report, Assessment of WIC Cost-Containment Practices: Final Report, is available online at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan03005.WIC Program, cost-containment, food-item restrictions, vendor restrictions, manufacturers' rebates, food package costs, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,
Magnetic field effects in few-level quantum dots: theory, and application to experiment
We examine several effects of an applied magnetic field on Anderson-type
models for both single- and two-level quantum dots, and make direct comparison
between numerical renormalization group (NRG) calculations and recent
conductance measurements. On the theoretical side the focus is on
magnetization, single-particle dynamics and zero-bias conductance, with
emphasis on the universality arising in strongly correlated regimes; including
a method to obtain the scaling behavior of field-induced Kondo resonance shifts
over a very wide field range. NRG is also used to interpret recent experiments
on spin-1/2 and spin-1 quantum dots in a magnetic field, which we argue do not
wholly probe universal regimes of behavior; and the calculations are shown to
yield good qualitative agreement with essentially all features seen in
experiment. The results capture in particular the observed field-dependence of
the Kondo conductance peak in a spin-1/2 dot, with quantitative deviations from
experiment occurring at fields in excess of 5 T, indicating the eventual
inadequacy of using the equilibrium single-particle spectrum to calculate the
conductance at finite bias.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures. Version as published in PR
Correlated electron physics in multilevel quantum dots: phase transitions, transport, and experiment
We study correlated two-level quantum dots, coupled in effective 1-channel
fashion to metallic leads; with electron interactions including on-level and
inter-level Coulomb repulsions, as well as the inter-orbital Hund's rule
exchange favoring the spin-1 state in the relevant sector of the free dot. For
arbitrary dot occupancy, the underlying phases, quantum phase transitions
(QPTs), thermodynamics, single-particle dynamics and electronic transport
properties are considered; and direct comparison is made to conductance
experiments on lateral quantum dots. Two distinct phases arise generically, one
characterised by a normal Fermi liquid fixed point (FP), the other by an
underscreened (USC) spin-1 FP. Associated QPTs, which occur in general in a
mixed valent regime of non-integral dot charge, are found to consist of
continuous lines of Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions, separated by first order
level-crossing transitions at high symmetry points. A `Friedel-Luttinger sum
rule' is derived and, together with a deduced generalization of Luttinger's
theorem to the USC phase (a singular Fermi liquid), is used to obtain a general
result for the T=0 zero-bias conductance, expressed solely in terms of the dot
occupancy and applicable to both phases. Relatedly, dynamical signatures of the
QPT show two broad classes of behavior, corresponding to the collapse of either
a Kondo resonance, or antiresonance, as the transition is approached from the
Fermi liquid phase; the latter behavior being apparent in experimental
differential conductance maps. The problem is studied using the numerical
renormalization group method, combined with analytical arguments.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, submitted for publicatio
Dementia: Effects on the Language Skills of Bilingual Speakers
Dementia is a type of condition that is generally characterized by any progressive decline in the brainâs ability to function cognitively and linguistically, brought by either injury or disease. Around the world, roughly 55 million people, live with dementia, with an incidence rate of nearly 10 million per year. Some of the individuals affected by this condition are also bilingual speakers, who comprise about 43% of the global population (World Health Organization: WHO, 2023). Individuals who speak more than one language actively engage in code-switching, where they must alternate between languages. Because of this, speech-language pathologists and other allied health professionals need to know how to properly analyze assessment results for language characteristics seen in bilingual individuals with dementia. The following review will analyze common characteristics of the language in individuals with dementia and how to create an effective treatment from assessment findings.https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/slp-posters-2023/1019/thumbnail.jp
EFFECTS OF FOOD ASSISTANCE AND NUTRITION PROGRAMS ON NUTRITION AND HEALTH, VOLUME 2, DATA SOURCES
This is the second of four reports completed by Abt Associates Inc., under the contract "The Nutrition and Health Outcome Study." This report is an evaluation of various data sources for their potential for analyzing the impacts of USDA's food assistance and nutrition programs (FANPs). Data sources are evaluated against three criteria: coverage of both program participants and nonparticipants; identification of participants and determination of eligibility among nonparticipants; and availability of impact measures. Each data source is classified into one of four categories: principal, potential, recognized, and insufficient. Principal and potential sources are discussed and profiled in this report.USDA Food Assistance and Nutrition Programs, data sources, program participation, nutrition outcomes, health outcomes, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,
Developing Walvis Bay Port into a logistics gateway for southern Africa: Issues, challenges and the potential implications for Namibiaâs future
Many developing countries wish to become the âgatewayâ to a region or part of a continent.One strategy involves encouraging logistics cluster development. These hubs support global supply chains and may enable the economic growth of the host country through the resulting trade, as well as providing direct and indirect employment opportunities during the build and subsequent operation of the hub. Namibia intends to develop the Port of Walvis Bay to be come the preferred gateway to southern Africa and the Southern African Development Community region. This article builds on research on Caribbean cluster potential and Namibian logistics to identify the potential benefits and impact on development, as well as the drawbacks and risks of such a strategy
Donât Fear the Reaper An Analysis of the United Statesâ Drones
Wars and the strategies used to fight them have constantly evolved throughout the history of mankind, simultaneously revealing our innovative brilliance and our inherent inability to avoid conflict with one another. The current state of the United Statesâ âWar on Terror,â composed of the Afghanistan conflict and outlying operations in countries such as Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan and elsewhere around the world, has spurred exemplary advances used to combat a new type of enemy. Thus enters the drone, a remotely piloted aircraft that can be used for reconnaissance purposes or offensive targeting operations.
The drone is unique in that the pilot is not located in the aircraft, but instead remotely controls the aircraft from a distance that can range from a few miles to halfway around the world. At a cruising altitude, cameras on the drone can zoom in on an object or person with such clarity that they can read license plate numbers and even allow the pilot to identify individuals on the ground. Such a tool has infinite uses in warfare, particularly against the insurgent enemy that the United States fights today. However, since their debut to the battlefield, the use of drones has been met with skepticism and claims of illegality.
The purpose of this capstone thesis will be to analyze the drone as an instrument of warfare and to determine: (1) whether drones are even a âlegal weaponâ to use in war; (2) whether the manner in which the United Statesâ drones are being used in the Middle East today is legal and ethical; (3) and lastly, if indeed drones are a legitimate weapon of war, are they an effective contribution to the United Statesâ strategy of counterinsurgency and counter-network operations worldwide.
To accomplish these three goals, an analysis will be conducted of both domestic and international laws regarding the conduct of warfare to establish whether drones and the manner in which the United States has been employing drones are legal. Secondly, this thesis will break down the United Statesâ strategy and tactics in combating hostile non-state actors worldwide to first see what the objectives and end goals are, and then to see if the benefits of using drones outweigh the costs
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Bothrops asper (Terciopelo) scavenging behavior
This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles via https://www.zenscientist.com/index.php/pdflibrary2/func-finishdown/129/This research was sponsored by the Gates Cambridge Trust
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