Beyond Infanticide: How Psychological Accounts of Persons Can Justify Harming Infants

It is commonly argued that a serious right to life is grounded only in actual, relatively advanced psychological capacities a being has acquired. The moral permissibility of abortion is frequently argued for on these grounds. Increasingly it is being argued that such accounts also entail the permissibility of infanticide, with several proponents of these theories accepting this consequence. We show, however, that these accounts imply the permissibility of even more unpalatable acts than infanticide performed on infants: organ harvesting, live experimentation, sexual interference, and discriminatory killing. The stronger intuitions against the permissibility of these ‘pre-personal acts’ allow us to re-establish a comprehensive and persuasive reductio against psychological accounts of persons

Food insecurity in veteran households: findings from nationally representative data

OBJECTIVE: The present study is the first to use nationally representative data to compare rates of food insecurity among households with veterans of the US Armed Forces and non-veteran households. DESIGN: We used data from the 2005-2013 waves of the Current Population Survey - Food Security Supplement to identify rates of food insecurity and very low food security in veteran and non-veteran households. We estimated the odds and probability of food insecurity in veteran and non-veteran households in uncontrolled and controlled models. We replicated these results after separating veteran households by their most recent period of service. We weighted models to create nationally representative estimates. SETTING: Nationally representative data from the 2005-2013 waves of the Current Population Survey - Food Security Supplement. SUBJECTS: US households (n 388 680). RESULTS: Uncontrolled models found much lower rates of food insecurity (8·4 %) and very low food security (3·3 %) among veteran households than in non-veteran households (14·4 % and 5·4 %, respectively), with particularly low rates among households with older veterans. After adjustment, average rates of food insecurity and very low food security were not significantly different for veteran households. However, the probability of food insecurity was significantly higher among some recent veterans and significantly lower for those who served during the Vietnam War. CONCLUSIONS: Although adjusting eliminated many differences between veteran and non-veteran households, veterans who served from 1975 and onwards may be at higher risk for food insecurity and should be the recipients of targeted outreach to improve nutritional outcomes

Break in the VHE spectrum of PG 1553+113: new upper limit on its redshift?

PG 1553+113 is a known BL Lac object, newly detected in the GeV-TeV energy range by H.E.S.S and MAGIC. The redshift of this source is unknown and a lower limit of $z > 0.09$ was recently estimated. The very high energy (VHE) spectrum of PG 1553+113 is attenuated due to the absorption by the low energy photon field of the extragalactic background light (EBL). Here we correct the combined H.E.S.S and MAGIC spectrum of PG 1553+113 for this absorption assuming a minimum density of the evolving EBL. We use an argument that the intrinsic photon index cannot be harder than $\Gamma = 1.5$ and derive an upper limit on the redshift of $z < 0.69$. Moreover, we find that a redshift above $z = 0.42$ implies a possible break of the intrinsic spectrum at about 200 GeV. Assuming that such a break is absent, we derive a much stronger upper limit of $z < 0.42$. Alternatively, this break might be attributed to an additional emission component in the jet of PG 1553+113. This would be the first evidence for a second component is detected in the VHE spectrum of a blazar.Comment: revised version submitted to Ap

Evidence for a Hard Ionizing Spectrum from a z=6.11 Stellar Population

We present the Magellan/FIRE detection of highly-ionized CIV 1550 and OIII] 1666 in a deep infrared spectrum of the z=6.11 gravitationally lensed low-mass galaxy RXC J2248.7-4431-ID3, which has previously-known Lyman-alpha. No corresponding emission is detected at the expected location of HeII 1640. The upper limit on HeII paired with detection of OIII] and CIV constrains possible ionization scenarios. Production of CIV and OIII] requires ionizing photons of 2.5-3.5 Ryd, but once in that state their multiplet emission is powered by collisional excitation at lower energies (~0.5 Ryd). As a pure recombination line, HeII emission is powered by 4 Ryd ionizing photons. The data therefore require a spectrum with significant power at 3.5 Ryd but a rapid drop toward 4.0 Ryd. This hard spectrum with a steep drop is characteristic of low-metallicity stellar populations, and less consistent with soft AGN excitation, which features more 4 Ryd photons and hence higher HeII flux. The conclusions based on ratios of metal line detections to Helium non-detection are strengthened if the gas metallicity is low. RXJ2248-ID3 adds to the growing handful of reionization-era galaxies with UV emission line ratios distinct from the general z=2-3 population, in a way that suggests hard ionizing spectra that do not necessarily originate in AGN.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication to ApJ

Using Natural Experiments to Identify the Effects of SNAP on Child and Adult Health

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP; formerly known as food stamps) can have important impacts that extend beyond its intended aims to improve food security and nutrition, particularly for health and health care use. This project examined the impact of SNAP receipt and benefit level on the health of adults and children using two natural experiments to address selection bias: 1) state policy variation in SNAP in an instrumental variables (IV) analysis; and, 2) the temporary expansion of SNAP benefits and eligibility provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in a difference-in-difference (DD) approach. We used restricted data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2008 to 2014, restricting our sample to persons in SNAP-eligible and low-income SNAP-ineligible households. The IV analysis suggests that SNAP receipt is associated with improved health and reductions in foregone medical care due to affordability among adults and children. However, we find little evidence that ARRA’s temporary benefit increase led to any changes in health or health care use. Whereas SNAP receipt may improve health and health care use for populations close to the eligibility threshold (and thus induced to participate by some policies), the relatively small increase and reduction in SNAP benefits may not have been substantial enough to change health outcomes

The Impact of Horizontal Mergers on Plan Premiums and Drug Formularies in Medicare Part D

In this paper, we examine the impact of horizontal mergers amongst insurers on competition in the Medicare Part D prescription drug market. Theory predictions about the effect of mergers on price and product quality are confounded by three competing forces: increased cost efficiency, market power, and bargaining power with upstream suppliers. Using panel data for the full set of plans offered by Part D insurers between 2006-2012, we use a differences-in-differences identification strategy to document the effect that merger activity has on plan pricing and drug coverage characteristics. We find that plans affected by a merger experience higher premiums as a result of increased market power. However, for merging insurers that restructure their plan offerings, price falls to offset the market power effect. The results on drug formulary measures show that merging on its own has no effect on the generosity of drug coverage. Yet for restructured plans, there are sizable merger effects on coverage in the form of reduced copay/coinsurance rates and increased scope in the set of covered drugs. The lowered prices and improved drug coverage for restructured plans suggest cost efficiencies and bargaining power with drug suppliers are a major source of gains stemming from mergers

ECONOMIC IMPACT EVALUATION OF GLOBAL MARKETING SUPPORT SERVICES - AN EXPORTS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ON THE ECONOMY OF ARKANSAS

This study determines the impact of Global Marketing Support Services (GMSS) - an exports assistance program in assisting 13 small and medium sized businesses to export. The total impact of exports (direct, indirect and induced effects) on added value, employment, labor income and tax impacts in Arkansas are estimated using Impact Analysis for Planning (IMPLAN).International Relations/Trade,

Radio Properties of z>4 Optically-Selected Quasars

We report on two programs to address differential evolution between the radio-loud and radio-quiet quasar populations at high (z>4) redshift. Both programs entail studying the radio properties of optically-selected quasars. First, we have observed 32 optically-selected, high-redshift (z>4) quasars with the VLA at 6 cm (5 GHz). These sources comprise a statistically complete and well-understood sample. We detect four quasars above our 3-sigma limit of ~0.15 mJy, which is sufficiently sensitive to detect all radio-loud quasars at the probed redshift range. Second, we have correlated 134 z>4 quasars, comprising all such sources that we are aware of as of mid-1999, with FIRST and NVSS. These two recent 1.4 GHz VLA sky surveys reach 3-sigma limits of approximately 0.6 mJy and 1.4 mJy respectively. We identify a total of 15 z>4 quasars, of which six were not previously known to be radio-loud. The depth of these surveys does not reach the radio-loud/radio-quiet demarcation luminosity density (L(1.4 GHz) = 10^32.5 h(50)^(-2) ergs/s/Hz) at the redshift range considered; this correlation therefore only provides a lower limit to the radio-loud fraction of quasars at high-redshift. The two programs together identify eight new radio-loud quasars at z>4, a significant increase over the seven currently in the published literature. We find no evidence for radio-loud fraction depending on optical luminosity for -25 > M_B > -28 at z~2, or for -26>M_B>-28 at z>4. Our results also show no evolution in the radio-loud fraction between z~2 and z>4 (-26>M_B>-28).Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures; to appear in The Astronomical Journal (April 2000