Strengthening Community Colleges' Influence on Economic Mobility

Examines the role of community colleges in enhancing upward mobility. Compares family incomes of community college and four-year college students and incomes by degree attained. Recommends ways to help more students obtain degrees in high-earning fields

Retracing Our Steps : Storytelling, Time, and Traditional Referentiality in Mama Day and Absalom, Absalom!

Gloria Naylor and William Faulkner turn to the history and tradition of oral storytelling in their novels. Mama Day and Absalom, Absalom! especially present the concepts and techniques of the storytelling act. The complexities of the audience-performer dynamic and non-linear time in an oral storytelling event create obstacles for the teller (the writer) and confuse the role of the audience (the readers). Writers create the role of listening audience for the readers, changing the accepted rules of the readers by asking them to become participants. In Mama Day and Absalom, Absalom!, Naylor and Faulkner create connections between audience and performer by anticipating and acting on the needs of the audience, both the readers of the novels and the audiences who are portrayed within the novels. Through their novels, both authors question and probe the world of orality and storytelling. How does it work and what is a literate world\u27s reaction to it? Naylor\u27s and Faulkner\u27s use and interpretations of oral traditions in their novels evolve from their own interpretations of the world and from which perspective they choose to look at the oral storytelling event. By choosing oral traditions as the basis of Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner conveys the complexity of transferring the outside world on to paper. The jumps in time, stream-of-consciousness thinking, and the multiple perspectives create an almost indecipherable story when one tries to put them into words. Faulkner reveals the intricacies in an apparently simple world where people tell stories, and yet the complexity can be contained. Time in Absalom, Absalom! can be followed. If the readers can follow the changing perspectives, they can better comprehend the overall story. Faulkner gets so close to the storytelling event, that the readers must remove themselves from the individual words to realize that, despite the density of the flow of narrators\u27 words, there is order and explanation to the world he has created. Naylor, on the other hand, presents a novel that apparently has great order. We follow Cocoa and George\u27s relationship from the first time they see ach other up through George\u27s death (and beyond). But readers upon their first readings do not know the time frame of the story, if it is ever known. As the readers get farther into the story, they must separate themselves from the order of the real world and accept the sometimes allegorical world of Willow Springs. The events of the novel do not become less complicated as one reads the novel again, rather they become more so. Looking at the two novels together we can see how storytelling is at once simple and complex. Both authors use the juxtaposition of simplicity and complexity in the creation of their novels. In Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner creates stories of seeming confusion, which in fact, can be solved; while in Mama Day, Naylor presents an apparently simple novel, which asks the reader to see more complexity in the stories than is readily apparent

Retracing Our Steps : Storytelling, Time, and Traditional Referentiality in Mama Day and Absalom, Absalom!

Gloria Naylor and William Faulkner turn to the history and tradition of oral storytelling in their novels. Mama Day and Absalom, Absalom! especially present the concepts and techniques of the storytelling act. The complexities of the audience-performer dynamic and non-linear time in an oral storytelling event create obstacles for the teller (the writer) and confuse the role of the audience (the readers). Writers create the role of listening audience for the readers, changing the accepted rules of the readers by asking them to become participants. In Mama Day and Absalom, Absalom!, Naylor and Faulkner create connections between audience and performer by anticipating and acting on the needs of the audience, both the readers of the novels and the audiences who are portrayed within the novels. Through their novels, both authors question and probe the world of orality and storytelling. How does it work and what is a literate world\u27s reaction to it? Naylor\u27s and Faulkner\u27s use and interpretations of oral traditions in their novels evolve from their own interpretations of the world and from which perspective they choose to look at the oral storytelling event. By choosing oral traditions as the basis of Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner conveys the complexity of transferring the outside world on to paper. The jumps in time, stream-of-consciousness thinking, and the multiple perspectives create an almost indecipherable story when one tries to put them into words. Faulkner reveals the intricacies in an apparently simple world where people tell stories, and yet the complexity can be contained. Time in Absalom, Absalom! can be followed. If the readers can follow the changing perspectives, they can better comprehend the overall story. Faulkner gets so close to the storytelling event, that the readers must remove themselves from the individual words to realize that, despite the density of the flow of narrators\u27 words, there is order and explanation to the world he has created. Naylor, on the other hand, presents a novel that apparently has great order. We follow Cocoa and George\u27s relationship from the first time they see ach other up through George\u27s death (and beyond). But readers upon their first readings do not know the time frame of the story, if it is ever known. As the readers get farther into the story, they must separate themselves from the order of the real world and accept the sometimes allegorical world of Willow Springs. The events of the novel do not become less complicated as one reads the novel again, rather they become more so. Looking at the two novels together we can see how storytelling is at once simple and complex. Both authors use the juxtaposition of simplicity and complexity in the creation of their novels. In Absalom, Absalom!, Faulkner creates stories of seeming confusion, which in fact, can be solved; while in Mama Day, Naylor presents an apparently simple novel, which asks the reader to see more complexity in the stories than is readily apparent

The New Market for Federal Judicial Law Clerks

In the past, judges have often hired applicants for judicial clerkships as early as the beginning of the second year of law school for positions commencing approximately two years down the road. In the new hiring regime for federal judicial law clerks, by contrast, judges are exhorted to follow a set of start dates for considering and hiring applicants during the fall of the third year of law school. Using the same general methodology as we employed in a study of the market for federal judicial law clerks conducted in 1998-2000, we have broadly surveyed both federal appellate judges and law students about their experiences of the new market for law clerks. This paper analyzes our findings within the prevailing economic framework for studying markets with tendencies toward "early" hiring. Our data make clear that the movement of the clerkship market back to the third year of law school is highly valued by judges, but we also find that a strong majority of the judges responding to our surveys has concluded that nonadherence to the specified start dates is very substantial -- a conclusion we are able to corroborate with specific quantitative data from both judge and student surveys. The consistent experience of a wide range of other markets suggests that such nonadherence in the law clerk market will lead to either a reversion to very early hiring or the use of a centralized matching system such as that used for medical residencies. We suggest, however, potential avenues by which the clerkship market could stabilize at something like its present pattern of mixed adherence and nonadherence, thereby avoiding the complete abandonment of the current system.

Understanding the root causes of natural disasters

Every year disasters take lives, cause significant damage, inhibit development and contribute to conflict and forced migration. Unfortunately, the trend is an upward one. In May 2017, policy-makers and disaster management experts from over 180 countries gathered in Cancun, Mexico, to discuss ways to counter this trend. In the middle of the Cancun summit, news arrived that large parts of Sri Lanka were devastated by floods and landslides, killing at least 150 and displacing almost half a million people. Email Twitter68 Facebook52 LinkedIn21 Print Every year disasters take lives, cause significant damage, inhibit development and contribute to conflict and forced migration. Unfortunately, the trend is an upward one. In May 2017, policy-makers and disaster management experts from over 180 countries gathered in Cancun, Mexico, to discuss ways to counter this trend. In the middle of the Cancun summit, news arrived that large parts of Sri Lanka were devastated by floods and landslides, killing at least 150 and displacing almost half a million people. It was a stark reminder of the summit participants\u27 challenging task of paving the way towards reducing disaster losses significantly by the year 2030 based on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). Adopted in 2015, the Sendai Framework outlines seven targets and four priorities for action to prevent new, and reduce existing, disaster risks to economic, physical, social, cultural, health or environmental assets and lives of persons, businesses, communities and countries. Since then, in China, a village in the Sichuan province has been devastated by a landslide and rescuers are still looking for missing people

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire: How Verbal Deception Cues Signal Deceptive Versus Honest Impression Management and Influence Interview Ratings

Impression management (IM), especially deceptive IM (faking), is a cause for concern in selection interviews. The current study combines findings on lie detection with signaling theory to address how candidates’ deceptive versus honest IM shows in verbal deception cues, which then relate to interview ratings of candidates’ interview performance. After completing a structured interview rated by two trained interviewers, 182 candidates reported their deceptive and honest IM. Verbal deception cues (plausibility, verbal uncertainty) were coded from video recordings. Results supported the hypotheses: Deceptive IM directly raised interviewer ratings (intended positive signal) but lowered the responses’ plausibility and enhanced verbal uncertainties (unintended negative signals). Honest IM raised responses’ plausibility. Plausibility related positively to interviewer ratings (receiver reaction), thus accounting for a negative indirect effect of deceptive IM and a positive indirect effect of honest IM on interviewer ratings. This study contributes to theory and practice regarding faking detection in employment interviews

Die Bedeutung der 64-Zeilen-Dual-Energy-CT-Angiographie in der Diagnostik von pAVK-Patienten mit kritischer Extremitätenischämie und/oder schweren Claudicatio Beschwerden: Ein Vergleich der Maximum-Intensity-Projektionen mit dem Goldstandard der Digitalen Subtraktionsangiographie

Die Dual-Energy-CT-Angiographie (DE-CTA) hat aufgrund ihrer guten Darstellungsmöglichkeiten von Gefäßen inklusive Gefäßwandverkalkungen, Stents und multisegmentaler Stenosen mittlerweile einen hohen Stellenwert in der Gefäßdiagnostik erreicht. Sie erlaubt durch die Erstellung dreidimensionaler Datensätze eine Nachbearbeitung der Bilder mit einer Reihe von Algorithmen, zum Beispiel die Berechnung von Maximum-Intensity-Projektionen (MIPs). In dieser Arbeit wurde die Genauigkeit der Detektion hämodynamisch relevanter Stenosen anhand der MIPs einer 64-Zeilen-Dual-Energy-CT-Angiographie evaluiert. Als Konsequenz einer Detektion ergibt sich im klinischen Alltag die Indikation einer digitalen Substraktionsangiographie (DSA). Diese diente in der Studie als Goldstandard. Es wurde eine getrennte Beurteilung der MIPs und der axialen Schnittbilder derselben Datensätze in einem großen Patientenkollektiv durchgeführt. Somit ist unter anderem ein direkter Vergleich der Ergebnisse der MIPs und axialen Schnittbilder möglich. Es wurden 94 Patienten (5 Patienten wurden zweimal eingeschlossen), die die Symptome einer pAVK aufwiesen und innerhalb von 30 Tagen sowohl mittels DE-CTA als auch DSA untersucht worden waren, in die Untersuchung eingeschlossen. Daraus ergaben sich Datensätze aus 99 Untersuchungen (entsprechend 198 Extremitäten). Die auf dieser Grundlage berechneten MIPs wurden mit den DSA-Bildern verglichen. Es erfolgte jeweils eine Beurteilung des Stenosegrades der Gefäße, der Qualität der Bilder und eventuell vorhandener Artefakte. Für die Hauptfragestellung, nämlich die Detektion mindestens einer hämodynamisch relevanten Stenose im gesamten Bein, die dann eine Indikation zur weiteren Untersuchung mittels DSA darstellt, wurde in unserer Studie eine sehr gute diagnostische Genauigkeit der 64-Zeilen-DE-CTA nachgewiesen. Die Werte für die Sensitivität lagen beurteilerabhängig (zwei Beurteiler) bei 95% und 100%, die der Spezifität deutlich niedriger bei 58% und 42%. Eine hohe Sensitivität ist für die Verlässlichkeit eines Screeningverfahrens wie die DE-CTA erwünscht, da vermieden werden muss, erkrankte Personen fälschlicherweise als gesund zu klassifizieren. Umgekehrt mussten wir jedoch feststellen, dass die Spezifität eher gering war. Für den klinischen Alltag empfiehlt sich daher ein mehrstufiges Vorgehen mit Durchsicht der MIP-Bilder, mit eventuellem Rückgriff auf die Schnittbilder und anschließender Indikationsstellung und Durchführung der DSA. Weiterhin wurden die Sensitivität und Spezifität sowohl aller Gefäße als auch nach Regionen aufgeteilt berechnet. Hierbei fand sich eine gute Korrelation mit anderen, bereits veröffentlichten Studien. In vielen Fällen erwiesen sich die MIPs der DE-CTA als Methode ausreichend in der präinterventionellen Diagnostik. Die Genauigkeit der MIPs hing unter anderem von der Region und dem Verkalkungsgrad ab. Beispielsweise ergab sich in der Beckenregion eine eingeschränkte Aussagekraft, was auf eine starke Gefäßwandverkalkung und Artefakte durch Hüft-TEPs zurückzuführen ist. Im Oberschenkelbereich fanden sich hingegen hohe Werte für Sensitivität und Spezifität. Im Unterschenkel- und Fußbereich wiederum wurde eine sehr hohe Sensitivität erzielt, während die Spezifität dort eher niedrig ausfiel. Gerade in dieser Region lohnt sich bei positiven Befunden ein Blick in die Schnittbilder, bei denen höhere Werte für die Spezifität errechnet wurden. Ebenso sind die Schnittbilder wichtig zur Beurteilung von Stents sowie des Verkalkungsgrades. Bei Patienten mit starker Gefäßwandverkalkung, insbesondere im Beckenbereich, sollte eine alternative Bildgebung wie die MRA in Betracht gezogen werden. Im Interobserververgleich fand sich bei der Beurteilung des Stenosegrades eine starke Übereinstimmung zwischen den beiden Beurteilern der MIPs (max. kappa = 0,71). Die Beurteilung der Bildqualität und der Artefakte war jedoch stark bewerterabhängig, die Übereinstimmung dementsprechend niedrig. Bei zukünftigen Studien ist eine vorherige Absprache zwischen den Bewertern, verbunden mit einer Festlegung auf gemeinsame, objektive Beurteilungskriterien zu empfehlen, um die Vergleichbarkeit zu erhöhen. Für die Zukunft sind weitere Verbesserungen bei der Datenerhebung und Bildqualität durch Reduktion der Schichtdicke, Strahlendosisreduktion und eine beschleunigte Datenakquisition zu erwarten. Diese Entwicklung wird die Diagnostik mittels CTA weiter vorantreiben. Als Konklusion unser Studie lässt sich festhalten, dass die DE-CTA mit seiner hohen Sensitivität, geringen Invasivität und vergleichsweise geringen Kosten als diagnostisches Screeningverfahren für den klinischen Alltag geeignet ist

The Power of Fair Pricing Mechanisms

We explore the revenue capabilities of truthful, monotone (“fair”) allocation and pricing functions for resource constrained auction mechanisms within a general framework that encompasses unlimited supply auctions, knapsack auctions, and auctions with general non-decreasing convex production cost functions. We study and compare the revenue obtainable in each fair pricing scheme to the profit obtained by the ideal omniscient multi-price auction. We show that for capacitated knapsack auctions, no constant pricing scheme can achieve any approximation to the optimal profit, but proportional pricing is as powerful as general monotone pricing. In addition, for auction settings with arbitrary bounded non-decreasing convex production cost functions, we present a proportional pricing mechanism which achieves a poly-logarithmic approximation. Unlike existing approaches, all of our mechanisms have fair (monotone) prices, and all of our competitive analysis is with respect to the optimal profit extraction

Probing local nonlinear viscoelastic properties in soft materials

Minimally invasive experimental methods that can measure local rate dependent mechanical properties are essential in understanding the behaviour of soft and biological materials in a wide range of applications. Needle based measurement techniques such as Cavitation Rheology and Volume Controlled Cavity Expansion (VCCE), allow for minimally invasive local mechanical testing, but have been limited to measuring the elastic material properties. Here, we propose several enhancements to the VCCE technique to adapt it for characterization of viscoelastic response at low to medium stretch rates ($10^{-2}$ - $1$ s${}^{-1}$). The proposed technique performs several cycles of expansion-relaxation at controlled stretch rates in a cavity expansion setting and then employs a large deformation viscoelastic model to capture the measured material response. Application of the technique to soft PDMS rubber reveals significant rate dependent material response with high precision and repeatability, while isolating equilibrated states that are used to directly infer the quasistatic elastic modulus. The technique is further established by demonstrating its ability to capture changes in the rate dependent material response of a tuneable PDMS system. The measured viscoelastic properties are used to explain earlier reports of rate insensitive material response by needle based methods: it is demonstrated that the conventional use of constant volumetric rate cavity expansion can induce high stretch rates that lead to viscoelastic stiffening and an illusion of rate insensitive material response. We thus conclude with a cautionary note on possible overestimation of the quasistatic elastic modulus in previous studies and suggest that the stretch rate controlled expansion protocol, proposed in this work, is essential for accurate estimation of both quasistatic and dynamic material parameters