Concrete Fictions and Hegemonic Methodologies: Doing Policy Research in Government

Faced with having to justify programs to offices of management and budget, government agencies generate numbers which describe expected program impacts. But the assumptions or data on which these numbers are based are frequently suspect, as is the utility of relying on counts and modeling techniques for evaluating the achievement of program aims. The result is that agencies often create "concrete fictions," hard numbers with feet of (soft) clay. Offices of management and budget are able to make their methodology "hegemonic" because agencies usually have to secure their approval to get funding. But imposing this methodology encourages agencies to use research staffs more to defend against the budget office than to help create effective programs, creates differences between the expectations of government and the public, and fosters the overrepresentation of particular interests

Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Response to Gold Nanoparticles

In this master\u27s thesis we look at elucidating the interactions between nanoparticles and cells. Specifically, we looked at how the cell mechanics are affected, cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles, and shifts in cell phenotypes. There has been much research looking into whether nanoparticles are cytotoxic, but limited amounts looking at their effect on mechanics especially with vascular smooth muscle cells. This cell type has two distinct phenotypes of synthetic and contractile that each serve different purposes physiologically. The first experiments we did were cytotoxicity assays to see if the cells could survive the treatment with nanoparticles. If the cells died within a short period of time then we wouldn\u27t be able to take the next step and look at the mechanics of the cells. Most of the nanoparticles used proved to cause no change in proliferation rate of the cells; however, a couple did show some cytotoxic effects and were not used for further experimentation. Since the cells were surviving and proliferating after treatment with these nanoparticles we did atomic force microscopy to determine the elastic modulus of the cells that were treated with nanoparticles and those that were untreated. This allowed us to see if there was a significant increase or decrease caused by the nanoparticles. The results showed that there was a significant decrease in the elastic modulus of the cells treated with nanoparticles. Finally, we wanted to observe any possible phenotypic shifts in the cells by using immunofluorescence. The cells were stained for actin, microtubules (the main components of the cell\u27s cytoskeleton and thus mechanics), and nuclei. Vascular smooth muscle cells at low passage number in culture are typically in the contractile phase and this was proven with our images. The nanoparticle treated cells showed a shift towards the synthetic phenotype which confirmed the decrease in elastic modulus from the AFM data. So, while these nanoparticles are not cytotoxic we are causing a significant change in the cells\u27 mechanics and phenotype

An Analysis and Performance Guide of Olivier Messiaen’s Chants de Terre ET de Ciel

This dissertation presents an analysis of musical elements in Olivier Messiaen’s Chants de terre et de ciel in order to facilitate performance preparation of the work. To begin, general information about Messiaen’s religious and musical upbringing is introduced, as well as relevant details of his marriage to Claire Delbos and the birth of their son, Pascal. This is followed by a discussion of the poems which Messiaen set in the Chants and their surrealistic aspects. The musical analysis begins with an examination of Messiaen’s compositional techniques as outlined in Technique de mon langage musical, followed by discussions of those elements as they appear in the Chants. The songs are analyzed according to Messiaen’s modes of limited transposition, accords spéciaux, other means of pitch organization, and rhythmic organizations. Finally, the author presents practical guidance to aid performance preparation of the Chants. This guidance addresses several performance considerations particular to Messiaen and includes specific counting and coordination strategies to assist the pianist, singer, and ensemble. The analysis of the poetry, music, and performance considerations in this dissertation aims to support performers in developing an understanding of musical organization in the Chants and devising strategies for effective rehearsal of the work

Policymaking and Caseload Dynamics: Homeless Shelters

Many social problems can be understood as "conceptual caseloads" (e.g. people in poverty), and actual programmatic caseloads are a major, specific concern for policymakers and public administrators. Thus, a crucial and fairly general concern is how caseloads—whether conceptual or programmatic—can be reduced. To address this concern, officials often fall back on politically or intuitively attractive ideas—preventing people from entering caseloads, for example. Failure to incorporate caseload dynamics, however, may mean prevention and other caseload reduction policies will deliver much less than promised, and may cause caseloads to grow. In this paper, the authors first show how caseload size depends only on the number of entrants to a caseload and the rate at which people leave a caseload. With this framework in mind, they then address two common, seemingly appropriate policy responses: preventing entrants and hastening leaving. However, they show how too little is now known about homeless prevention to pin high hopes on its utility and that some social welfare problems, like homelessness, may be too inhospitable for prevention's logic. The authors then explain how allocating resources to hasten leaving is not as straightforward as policymakers have assumed but rather must recognize caseload dynamics to avoid unintended growth. They conclude by explaining some limits and opportunities in using caseload dynamics for policymaking

Homeless Family Shelters and Family Homelessness

One of the more valuable contributions of Peter Rossi's article is to remind us of the critical role that shelters play in defining and responding to the problem of homeless families. As Rossi points out, shelters help form our conceptualization of the problem-what kinds of families are homeless and why as well as their number. Perhaps more important, increasingly sophisticated shelters have come to define our policy response to family homelessness. Rossi reports that the number of family shelters soared throughout the middle and late 1980s and that they changed from simply providing a roof and food in an emergency to also providing social, medical, and psychological services for longer periods in more private quarters. And the future promises much more of the same. If the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) follows the suggestions its Assistant Secretary for Community Planning made for New York City, the Clinton homeless family policy will likely center around shelters (New York Commission on the Homeless, 1992). Here we want to extend Rossi's emphasis on the role of shelters in dealing with family homelessness. We make two arguments. One, shelters define the problem of family homelessness and therefore a particular conception of that problem. Two, shelters act to select from the population of poor families those who are worst off in some ways (housing, income, managing their lives, drug or alcohol addictions) and least able or willing to cope with circumstances other poor families do handle. We then explain that one reason why shelters play this role is because the ratio of "worst off, least able" poor families to the total number of poor families is so small that a device is needed to identify these families. Shelters are such a device. In the final section, we fill a lacuna in Rossi's causal analysis with a few ideas as to why shelter growth exploded in the mid-1980s and we explain our disagreement with Rossi's major policy suggestions. Because shelters house such a small proportion of all poor families and because few families stay sheltered very long, Rossi's recommendations are a very inefficient way to end homelessness. Also, the amounts of money entailed in his proposals are so large they are unlikely to be appropriated; and if lesser amounts are appropriated, they are unlikely, absent targeting, to reach families apt to become homeless

A simulation model of pretrial felony case processing: A queuing system analysis

Case processing tends to be examined with data analysis or evaluation designs. Both limit our understanding of how case processing as a whole operates and how its parts relate to each other. This article suggests queue simulation modeling as a method for dealing with these issues. We report here the initial development and analysis of a queuing model of arraignment to trial assignment. Conceptualizing on the basis of court functions and empirical findings, rather than institutional structures, we conceive a five-stage pretrial process. Using case-level, rather than system-level data, we construct a single-server, multiphase queuing model and use the model to simulate the behavior of a pretrial case processing system. Simulations show the strong impact of the final phase (trial assignment) on the entire system and that most of this impact is delay rather than service. The system is then analyzed using a factorial design that systematically alters model parameters thought to be important determinants of performance. Simulations are run for each possibility in the design, and analysis of variance is used to examine results. Analysis confirms prior results concerning final phase impact and points specifically to the import of phase capacity and exit rate. The utility of modeling is considered by suggesting some policy implications of the results for judicial staffing and behavior

7-An Archaeological Survey of the Thornapple River Basin, Barry County Michigan: Phase One Completion Report

Archaeological Research in the Thornapple Drainage of Barry County The Project Area Previous Archaeological Research in Barry County Research Objectives for Phase One Assessment of Current Land Use Patterns Evaluation of Data in the State Site Files and Information Provided by Landowners/ Collectors and Local Institutions Limited Surface Reconnaissance in Selected Portions of the Basin and the County Description of Sites Recorded and Catalog of Surface Collections Interpretations and Conclusions Comments on Management of Cultural Resources and Future Research Needs Catalog of Artifactual Material from the Survey References Cited Thornapple Basin Survey, Barry County, Michigan Thornapple Basin Survey: Previously Recorded Archaeological Sites Thornapple Basin Survey: Land Use Survey Thornapple Basin Survey: Archaeological Site

Re-thinking research on typologizing homelessness

In homelessness research and policymaking, it seems to be axiomatic that single adults have three temporal kinds of homelessness: chronic, episodic and transitional. Despite this typology's research and policy influence, its theorization and the empirical research supporting that theorizing have important problems. In this paper, we analyze serious flaws with both of these. We then suggest a different way to think about typologizing temporality and report findings using that approach which suggest a radically different typology. We conclude by observing that, contrary to much argument, no one typology is necessarily accurate, in the sense of being "true," and that we should develop typologies based on theory and the uses to which the typology is put