Macroeconomic Shocks, Job Security and Health: Evidence from the Mining Industry

How do exogenous changes in the macroeconomic environment affect workers’ perceived job security, and consequently, their mental and physical health? To answer this question, we exploit variation in world commodity prices over the period 2001-17 and analyse panel data that includes detailed classifications of mining workers. We find that commodity price increases cause increases in perceived job security, which in turn, significantly and substantively improve the mental health of workers. In contrast, we find no effects on physical health. Our results imply that the estimated welfare costs of recessions are much larger when the effects of job insecurity, and not only unemployment, are considered

Analysis and Selection of a Remote Docking Simulation Visual Display System

The development of a remote docking simulation visual display system is examined. Video system and operator performance are discussed as well as operator command and control requirements and a design analysis of the reconfigurable work station

Alfalfa Snout Beetle, \u3ci\u3eOtiorhynchus Ligustici\u3c/i\u3e L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): Methods for Egg Collection and Larval Rearing

The alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici L., is the most serious pest of alfalfa in northern New York State. Recent research efforts focused on the biological control of this insect require the availability of all life stages. With a 2-year lifecycle and a mandatory diapause, the artificial rearing of a laboratory culture appears to be a non-viable option at present, but methods described here can be used to obtain sufficient numbers of eggs and larvae over an extended period of time for research purposes. The crowding of adult beetles in egg production units (cups) had a significant, negative effect on egg production per beetle but the total egg production per cup was still higher with higher number of beetles per cup resulting in a significant saving of labor per egg produced. Larval survival rates in alfalfa-planted cans were surprisingly low given the protected conditions of the greenhouse. The larval survival rates were not significantly different among the dates for the second instar and later instars, suggesting that larval mortality occurs in the first instar in alfalfa-planted cans

Wheelchair-based game design for older adults

Few leisure activities are accessible to institutionalized older adults using wheelchairs; in consequence, they experience lower levels of perceived health than able-bodied peers. Video games have been shown to be an engaging leisure activity for older adults. In our work, we address the design of wheelchair-accessible motion-based games. We present KINECTWheels, a toolkit designed to integrate wheelchair movements into motion-based games, and Cupcake Heaven, a wheelchair-based video game designed for older adults using wheelchairs. Results of two studies show that KINECTWheels can be applied to make motion-based games wheelchair-accessible, and that wheelchair-based games engage older adults. Through the application of the wheelchair as an enabling technology in play, our work has the potential of encouraging older adults to develop a positive relationship with their wheelchair. Copyright 2013 ACM

Technology benefits and ground test facilities for high-speed civil transport development

The advanced technology base necessary for successful twenty-first century High-Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) aircraft will require extensive ground testing in aerodynamics, propulsion, acoustics, structures, materials, and other disciplines. This paper analyzes the benefits of advanced technology application to HSCT concepts, addresses the adequacy of existing groundbased test facilities, and explores the need for new facilities required to support HSCT development. A substantial amount of HSCT-related ground testing can be accomplished in existing facilities. The HSCT development effort could also benefit significantly from some new facilities initially conceived for testing in other aeronautical research areas. A new structures testing facility is identified as critically needed to insure timely technology maturation

Conflicted Minds: Recalibrational Emotions Following Trust-based Interaction.

Consistent with a modular view of the mind, both short-sighted and long-sighted programs may be simultaneously active in the mind and in conflict with one another when individuals face choice dilemmas in trust-based economic interactions. Recalibrational theory helps us identify the adaptive design features shared among subsets of superordinate emotion programs. According to this design logic and the computation of adaptive problem features produced by Trust games, we predict the activation of emotions after Trust games. While this study successfully predicts reports of twenty distinct emotional states, further studies are needed to demonstrate ultimate recalibrational functions of emotions.emotions, recalibrational theory, modularity, Trust game, experiments

CAN SCHOOL BOARDS GOVERN? A CONCEPTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE MEANING OF GOVERNANCE IN RELATION TO ONTARIO PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARDS

The purpose of this inquiry was to investigate the meaning of the concept governance in order to answer the central research question “can school boards govern?” While the importance of the governance of organizations is widely acknowledged in the literature, the governance of local school boards has seldom been a central focus of research. The duality of governing and being governed experienced by school boards is not characteristic of board governance in the private and nonprofit sectors and so made school boards an exceptional area of governance research. The method of inquiry was to subject the central concept of governance to a conceptual analysis. The analysis drew from a spectrum o f normative and academic literatures, from governance in broad political and organizational contexts to board governance in private, public, and nonprofit organizations. It then focused on the evolution of school boards in Ontario with attention to shifts in how school board governance was understood including conflicts over power, authority, areas of competence, and responsibility for the public good. Three central themes emerged. First, that governance, although described and discussed in different contexts from a variety of critical perspectives, has a number of consistent and essential characteristics or features. These are power, authority, and fiduciality, and legitimacy, governance as political and oriented toward public good. Second, governance is subject to internal and external conditions, constraints, and circumstances. These internal and external influences are treated as contingent features. Finally, board governance is a social practice. As such, the activities of board members in the act of governing contribute to the outcomes of governance, both positive and negative. The analysis provides a point of reference for understanding and discussing school boards as governing bodies. Essential and contingent governance features afford a language for school boards (and other governing boards) to assess their practice and facilitate reasoned conversation about roles, responsibilities, and ethical issues. The inquiry concludes that school boards in Ontario can govern and identifies implications for the practice of school board governance