No Justice Given

I’ve spent a considerable amount of time analyzing privilege and looking at how systems in the United States often work to further oppress the vulnerable, while keeping the privileged in power. I have taken note of how my light skin, middle-class background, and young, abled body has given me opportunities and advantages others don’t have. But, I hadn’t thought too deeply about the privileges that come with being a natural born, American citizen. I’ve stood up to salute the flag every day in school, watched fireworks on the fourth of July, and generally felt proud to be an American; but, this doesn’t mean I really understood the advantages I’d been afforded based on where I happened to be born. After going on an immersion trip to the U.S.-Mexican border, I understand these benefits much more deeply. [excerpt

The Space I Own

***TRIGGER WARNING: Eating Disorders*** I don’t care what anyone says—being a woman is hard. Being a young woman has its own set of complications–we experience a lot of pressure to look a certain way, to act a certain way, to have a specific friend group; to act as social butterflies and to live up to a set of socially constructed beauty standards. And there are too many girls—myself included—who have fallen victim to this impossible set of expectations. [excerpt

The Distributional Effects of the Tax Treatment of Child Care Expenses

Tax relief for child care expenses, encompassing the Child Care Tax Credit and Dependent Care Assistance Plans, is the largest federal government program in the United States aimed at helping families with child care. We examine the distributional effects of these policies among families with children using both the National Child Care Survey and tax return data. Among families that use tax relief, the benefits average 1.24 percent of family income. Benefits as a percentage of income vary systematically over the income distribution. Despite being regressive at low income levels (mainly due to the credit being non-refundable), tax relief is progressively distributed over most of the income distribution with the ratio of benefits to income falling above the bottom quintile of the income distribution. The benefits of tax relief also vary among families with the same income depending on a family's structure and its labor market and child care choices.

The Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale: Translation and Evidence for Cross-Cultural Validity

The present study reports on the psychometric evaluation and cross-cultural validity of the Basic Psychological Needs in Exercise Scale (BPNES; Vlachopoulos & Michailidou, 2006) translated from Greek into English. The data obtained from 346 British exercise participants supported the hypothesized 3-factor structure,showed satisfactory internal reliability coefficients, and offered evidence for the factor concurrent, discriminant, and nomological validity of the translated scale.Cross-cultural validity analyses across British and Greek participants supported configural invariance and partial metric, partial strong, and partial strict factorial invariance of the BPNES responses. The findings provide promising evidence for the validity and reliability of the translated BPNES and support the use of the scale in single-culture and cross-culture exercise-related motivational research within the self-determination theory framework

An investigation of the basement complex aquifer system in Lofa county, Liberia, for the purpose of siting boreholes

Liberia is recovering from a 14 year civil war and only 51% of the rural population has access to safe drinking water. Little hydrogeological knowledge survives in Liberia, increasing the difficulty in successfully siting new boreholes. An understanding of the local hydrogeological environment is therefore needed to improve borehole site selection and increase success rates. This research provides a semi-quantitative characterization of the hydrogeological environment of the basement aquifer in Lofa county, Liberia. Based on literature review and analysis of borehole logs, the study has developed a conceptual hydrogeological model for the local conditions, which is further characterized using 2D geoelectrical sections. Groundwater is predominantly obtained from the saprolite and underlying fractured bedrock, but specific capacities (median 281 l h-1 m-1; 25th and 75th percentile of 179 and 490 l h-1 m-1, respectively) are constrained by the limited thickness of the saturated saprolite. This study has shown that the groundwater resources in the crystalline basement in this part of Liberia conform to the general conceptual model, allowing standard techniques used elsewhere for siting and developing groundwater to be used

Reducing bias and quantifying uncertainty in watershed flux estimates: the R package loadflex

Many ecological insights into the function of rivers and watersheds emerge from quantifying the flux of solutes or suspended materials in rivers. Numerous methods for flux estimation have been described, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Currently, the largest practical challenges in flux estimation are to select among these methods and to implement or apply whichever method is chosen. To ease this process of method selection and application, we have written an R software package called loadflex that implements several of the most popular methods for flux estimation, including regressions, interpolations, and the special case of interpolation known as the period-weighted approach. Our package also implements a lesser-known and empirically promising approach called the “composite method,” to which we have added an algorithm for estimating prediction uncertainty. Here we describe the structure and key features of loadflex, with a special emphasis on the rationale and details of our composite method implementation. We then demonstrate the use of loadflex by fitting four different models to nitrate data from the Lamprey River in southeastern New Hampshire, where two large floods in 2006–2007 are hypothesized to have driven a long-term shift in nitrate concentrations and fluxes from the watershed. The models each give believable estimates, and yet they yield different answers for whether and how the floods altered nitrate loads. In general, the best modeling approach for each new dataset will depend on the specific site and solute of interest, and researchers need to make an informed choice among the many possible models. Our package addresses this need by making it simple to apply and compare multiple load estimation models, ultimately allowing researchers to estimate riverine concentrations and fluxes with greater ease and accuracy

Temporary Extension of Unemployment Benefits: Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08)

[Excerpt] In July 2008, a new temporary unemployment benefit, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program, began. The program\u27s authorization ended on November 27, 2010. EUC08 was created by P.L. 110-252, and it has been amended by P.L. 110-449, P.L. 111-5, P.L. 111-92, P.L. 111-118, P.L. 111-144, P.L. 111-157, and P.L. 111-205. Most recently, P.L. 111-205 extended the authorization of the EUC08 program, but did not change the structure of the program or augment benefits. This temporary unemployment insurance program provides up to 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits to certain workers who have exhausted their rights to regular unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. A second tier of benefits provides up to an additional 14 weeks of benefits (for a total of up to 34 weeks of EUC08 benefits for all unemployed workers). A third tier is available in states with a total unemployment rate of at least 6% and provides up to an additional 13 weeks of EUC08 benefits (for a total of up to 47 weeks of EUC08 benefits in certain states). A fourth tier is available in states with a total unemployment rate of at least 8.5% and provides up to an additional six weeks of EUC08 benefits (for a total of up to 53 weeks of EUC08 benefits in certain states). All tiers of EUC08 benefits are temporary and expired on the week ending on or before November 30, 2010. Those beneficiaries receiving tier I, II, III, or IV of EUC08 benefits before November 27, 2010 (November 28, 2010, in New York) are grandfathered for their remaining weeks of eligibility for that particular tier only. There will be no new entrants into any tier of the EUC08 program after November 27, 2010. If an individual is eligible to continue to receive his or her remaining EUC08 benefit tier after November 27, 2010, that individual would not be entitled to tier II benefits once those tier I benefits were exhausted. No EUC08 benefits—regardless of tier—are payable for any week after April 30, 2011. P.L. 111-92 expanded benefits available in the EUC08 program, creating two new tiers of benefits (bringing total benefit tiers to four) and adding 20 weeks of EUC08 benefits (for a total of up to 53 benefit weeks). P.L. 111-118 extended the EUC08 program, the 100% federal financing of the Extended Benefit (EB) program, and the $25 Federal Additional Compensation (FAC) weekly benefit through February 28, 2010. P.L. 111-144 and P.L. 111-157 extended these same three measures until April 5, 2010, and June 2, 2010, respectively. On July 22, 2010, the President signed P.L. 111-205, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010, into law. P.L. 111-205 extended the availability of EUC08 and 100$25 FAC benefit, which expired on May 29, 2010 (May 30, 2010, for New York). The latest version of H.R. 4853—as well as S. 3981 and S. 3990—would extend the authorization for the EUC08 program and the 100% federal financing of EB until the beginning of January 2012. H.R. 6419 would extend these same provisions through February 2011. This report will be updated to reflect current congressional action or programmatic changes. Individuals should contact their state\u27s unemployment agency to obtain information on how to apply for and receive EUC08 benefits. The U.S. Department of Labor maintains a website with links to each state\u27s agency at http://www.workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/map.asp

The President’s Immigration Accountability Executive Action of November 20, 2014: Overview and Issues

[Excerpt] On November 20, 2014, President Obama announced his Immigration Accountability Executive Action which revises some U.S. immigration policies and initiates several programs, including a revised border security policy for the Southwest border; deferred action programs for some unauthorized aliens; revised interior enforcement priorities; changes to aid the entry of skilled workers; the promotion of immigrant integration and naturalization; and several other initiatives the President indicated would improve the U.S. immigration system. The most controversial among these provisions will grant deferred action to as many as 5 million unauthorized aliens. The President announced the executive action through ten Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memoranda, two White House memoranda, and three Department of Labor (DOL) fact sheets. According to the President, the actions were taken in response to the absence of legislation addressing major problems within the immigration system. The President has stated that his actions are temporary, and that his successor can rescind them. Those opposed to the executive actions argue they were taken largely for political purposes. They contend that once granted, such temporary measures would be difficult to revoke. Separately, a debate has arisen as to whether the President has the legal authority to take such actions, with the Administration and others arguing the President’s actions fall within his authority, and many in Congress arguing the President has overstepped it. That debate and its attendant legal questions are beyond the scope of this report. As the Administration proceeds to implement the executive actions, some in Congress have vowed to halt some or all of them