14,755 research outputs found
Evaluation of Disability Employment Policy Demonstration Programs
[Excerpt] Since 2001, the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has awarded more than 38 million has been awarded to projects under the ODEP Demonstration Program, with about 2 percent directed toward an independent evaluation.
The ODEP Demonstration Program consists of a variety of initiatives targeted at both adults and youth with disabilities. All demonstration projects funded under these initiatives are expected to implement and evaluate methods for building the capacity of the workforce development system to better serve people with disabilities. ODEP contracted with Westat, a private research company, to conduct an independent evaluation of its demonstration program. The purpose of the independent evaluation is to provide ODEP with data and information about system change that can be used to assist policy development, decisions, and recommendations, as well as track progress in meeting ODEP’s goals under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). The independent evaluation has three objectives:
1. To provide ODEP with reliable and valid indicators of program effectiveness;
2. To determine the extent to which each program priority area is effective in building workforce development system capacity; and
3. To document local, regional, and/or state systems change that supports program effectiveness.
This paper summarizes the issues and accomplishments identified by the evaluation to date in the context of these three objectives
Employer Involvement in Office of Disability Employment (ODEP) Demonstration Programs
[Excerpt] As part of the independent evaluation of ODEP’s demonstration program being conducted by Westat, the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) asked Westat to provide in-depth analysis of three issues that were identified at site visits and in Quarterly Reports during Phase II of the evaluation. This report provides in-depth analysis on the first issue—employer involvement in adult demonstration programs
Improved memory loading techniques for the TSRV display system
A recent upgrade of the TSRV research flight system at NASA Langley Research Center retained the original monochrome display system. However, the display memory loading equipment was replaced requiring design and development of new methods of performing this task. This paper describes the new techniques developed to load memory in the display system. An outdated paper tape method for loading the BOOTSTRAP control program was replaced by EPROM storage of the characters contained on the tape. Rather than move a tape past an optical reader, a counter was implemented which steps sequentially through EPROM addresses and presents the same data to the loader circuitry. A cumbersome cassette tape method for loading the applications software was replaced with a floppy disk method using a microprocessor terminal installed as part of the upgrade. The cassette memory image was transferred to disk and a specific software loader was written for the terminal which duplicates the function of the cassette loader
Spin dynamics of strongly-doped La_{1-x}Sr_xMnO_3
Cold neutron triple-axis measurements have been used to investigate the
nature of the long-wavelength spin dynamics in strongly-doped
LaSrMnO single crystals with =0.2 and 0.3. Both systems
behave like isotropic ferromagnets at low T, with a gapless ( meV)
quadratic dispersion relation . The values of the spin-wave
stiffness constant are large ( = 166.77 meV for =0.2
and D = 175.87 meV for =0.3), which directly shows that the
electron transfer energy for the band is large. exhibits a power law
behavior as a function of temperature, and appears to collapse as T -> T_C.
Nevertheless, an anomalously strong quasielastic central component develops and
dominates the fluctuation spectrum as T -> T_C. Bragg scattering indicates that
the magnetization near exhibits power law behavior, with for both systems, as expected for a three-dimensional ferromagnet.Comment: 4 pages (RevTex), 3 figures (encapsulated postscript
The use of the Winograd matrix multiplication algorithm in digital multispectral processing
The Winograd procedure for matrix multiplication provides a method whereby general matrix products may be computed more efficiently than the normal method. The algorithm and the time savings that can be effected are described. A FORTRAN program is provided which performs a general matrix multiply according to this algorithm. A variation of this procedure that may be used to calculate Gaussian probability density functions is also described. It is shown how a time savings can be effected in this calculation. The extension of this method to other similar calculations should yield similar savings
Unusual Coupling Between Field-induced Spin Fluctuations and Spin Density Wave in Intermetallic CeAg2Ge2
We report on the experimental evidences for an unusual coupling between the
magnetic field- induced fluctuations of correlated Ce-ions coinciding with the
discontinuous movement of the underlying spin density wave in the intermetallic
rare earth compound CeAg2Ge2. The measurements performed using neutron
scattering and magnetic Gruneisen ratio methods suggest that the coupling
onsets at H= 2.7 T, T < 3.8 K and persists to the lowest measurement
temperature T ~ 0.05 K. These measurements suggest a new mechanism behind the
spin fluctuations which can affect the intrinsic properties of the system.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Strongly correlated electrons syste
Neutron diffraction in a model itinerant metal near a quantum critical point
Neutron diffraction measurements on single crystals of Cr1-xVx (x=0, 0.02,
0.037) show that the ordering moment and the Neel temperature are continuously
suppressed as x approaches 0.037, a proposed Quantum Critical Point (QCP). The
wave vector Q of the spin density wave (SDW) becomes more incommensurate as x
increases in accordance with the two band model. At xc=0.037 we have found
temperature dependent, resolution limited elastic scattering at 4
incommensurate wave vectors Q=(1+/-delta_1,2, 0, 0)*2pi/a, which correspond to
2 SDWs with Neel temperatures of 19 K and 300 K. Our neutron diffraction
measurements indicate that the electronic structure of Cr is robust, and that
tuning Cr to its QCP results not in the suppression of antiferromagnetism, but
instead enables new spin ordering due to novel nesting of the Fermi surface of
Cr.Comment: Submitted as a part of proceedings of LT25 (Amsterdam 2008
The Role of Email Communications in Determining Response Rates and Mode of Participation in a Mixed-mode Design
This article is concerned with the extent to which the propensity to participate in a web-face-to-face sequential mixed-mode survey is influenced by the ability to communicate with sample members by email in addition to mail. Researchers may be able to collect email addresses for sample members and to use them subsequently to send survey invitations and reminders. However, there is little evidence regarding the value of doing so. This makes it difficult to decide what efforts should be made to collect such information and how to subsequently use it efficiently. Using evidence from a randomized experiment within a large mixed-mode national survey, we find that using a respondent-supplied email address to send additional survey invites and reminders does not affect survey response rate but is associated with an increased proportion of responses by web rather than face to face and, hence, lower survey costs
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