Americans’ Aging Autos

[Excerpt] From 2008 to 2012, the average age of U.S. households’ vehicles increased as owners held on to their cars, trucks, and vans longer. The trend in aging autos coincides with declines in average household income in 2008; however, subsequent recovery in households’ incomes and a return to previous levels of expenditures on vehicles in 2012 do not appear to have reversed the pattern of aging. (See chart 1.) Analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey suggests that households continued to own the same number of vehicles over the last 10 years, but are owning their vehicles longer

Civilising offensives and ambivalence : the case of British Gypsies

This paper utilises Norbert Elias’s theory of the civilizing process to examine British society’s response to Gypsies and explore the perception of this group as in ‘need of corrective treatment’. It demonstrates how state policies towards Gypsies are presented as improving their welfare but are in fact characterised by ambivalence. It is argued that mechanisms employed with the expressed goal of ‘civilising’ behaviour actually exhibitdecivilising elements in terms of their effect upon Gypsy culture. The paper concludes by pointing to the concept of a civilising offensive, a deliberate civilising project targeting Gypsies, as a means of elucidating the oppressive and damaging nature of policies towards them and their cultural continuity

The contribution of rural community businesses to integrated rural development: “Local services for local people”

Policy responses to the problems facing rural areas across Europe have involved the replacement of “productivist” measures that subsidise agriculture to strategies promoting “integrated rural development”, emphasising the interconnections between various facets of the rural economy. Thus farm modernisation and product processing and marketing are linked with the promotion of a more diversified economic base centred on tourism and recreation and the maintenance of services for local residents. An essential element of this model is its reliance on collaborative actions involving a range of community or civil society actors. This paper examines the extent to which the operation of community-owned businesses in rural parts of the Yorkshire and Humber region in the UK corresponds to these ideals of integrated rural development. Evidence is presented on their geographical footprint with respect to both direct economic impacts and linkages with social and institutional networks. This allows an assessment to be made of the contribution that such enterprises make to rural economic development as a whole. The conclusion is that they do have the potential to assist integrated rural development, but only as a small part of a much wider series of economic, social and environmental actions.integrated rural development, rural community businesses, economic impacts, geographical footprint, volunteering

Spaces of informalisation : playscapes, power and the governance of behaviour

Geographers have contributed a great deal towards an understanding of social control across different spaces and the ways in which power is exercised in the interests of élite groups to the detriment of marginalised ‘others’. Little attention however, has been given to decontrolled spaces: spaces where the standard of conduct expected of previous generations is no longer as rigid and formalised as it once was. This paper draws on the work of Norbert Elias and Cas Wouters in exploring how previously prohibited behaviours become admissible within particular social situations, groups and settings: a process known as informalisation. The informalisation thesis posits that a long-term perspective can elucidate the ways in which gradual changes in expected standards of behaviour are linked to corresponding changes in social habitus and the power differentials that characterise the social relations between élite and outsider groups. The paper contends that a revision of the sociological concept of informalisation, emphasising spatial context and difference, can contribute a great deal to debates in human geography. It is argued that the spatialisation of Elias' work could provide a useful theoretical framework with which to enhance the geographer's understanding of the relationship between group identities, power, social change and governance. Conversely, a focus on the spaces of informalisation may also advance the theory from a sociological perspective. The theory is applied to specific playscapes and highlights the uneven, problematic nature of contemporary governance projects and the related problem of social misdiagnoses in the quest towards the ‘non-antagonistic’ city

Gypsy-travellers and welfare professional discourse : on individualization and social integration

This paper examines the subtle ways in which welfare professionals in the UK construct Gypsy culture as subordinate to the dominant Western concept of “civilization”. Qualitative empirical evidence is presented to show how notions of a resistance to processes of individualization and social integration—which draw on conflicting interpretations of childhood and a perceived lack of aspiration among Gypsy-Travellers—are seen as legitimate grounds for state and social welfare intervention. The paper argues that a strong group orientation and a more marked gendered division of labour are constructed as being at odds with these dominant social processes. It is posited that the “civilizing” project against Gypsy-Travellers ignores cultural norms and values resulting in the perception that they are undeserving. The paper suggests that theoretical accounts of social processes at a society wide level require revision in order to understand their varying impact on peripheral minorities in specific spaces

A novel approach to support evidence-based medicine: should sulfonylureas remain an acceptable therapy for diabetes?

A key element in evidence-based medicine approaches is the ability for clinicians to evaluate the scientific rigor and relevance of research evidence. In the treatment of diabetes, clinicians make increasingly difficult decisions about which drug regimens are best for their patients with limited evidence-based information. While the consensus is that metformin should be the initial drug treatment when diet and exercise are not sufficient, clinicians disagree on whether sulfonylureas should remain a suitable therapy after metformin. While this would be improved with further research investigating the comparative safety of therapeutic options, there is also need for better ways to synthesize available information to guide evidence-based decision-making in health services research. Study 1 summarizes the pre-existing evidence on the long-term safety risks associated with sulfonylurea therapy relative to other drug classes. Results from a series of meta-analyses provide some evidence that sulfonylureas are associated with elevated all-cause mortality and cardiovascular risks relative to several other medications, either as a monotherapy or in combination with metformin. Study 2 analyzes the comparative safety of second-line treatment in diabetic patients in the Veterans Health Administration to address gaps in the literature. Results suggest that second-line use of sulfonylureas is associated with increased risks compared to thiazolidinediones. Results also suggest that changes to existing metformin therapy may lead to differential hazards. Clinicians may disagree about the quality of the evidence as well as the relevancy to their own treatment population. Improvements in methods for evidence-based medicine that take this into account are needed. Study 3 applies an underutilized research method that allows for a more thoughtful synthesis of all available evidence. This framework allows clinicians to incorporate the scientific rigor and relevancy of previous study results when integrating new data into their current knowledge base. Results suggest an elevated risk in all models for sulfonylureas compared to thiazolidinediones and highlight the need to design more focused research to support clinical decision-making around medication safety. This novel application to evidence synthesis shows promise as applied to a health services research problem and has potential as a useful framework in other health services research areas.2017-12-09T00:00:00

Outback Nevada: Public Domain and Environmental Challenge

Abstract. With the arrival of Euro-Americans to Nevada, settlers and travelers experienced struggles and opportunities on Nevada’s marginal lands. These lands did not fit well with Euro-American ideas of progress and resource-use throughout the second part of the nineteenth century. After 1848, these marginal lands became part of America’s public domain with little promise for permanent settlements. Between 1860 and 1905, Euro-Americans imposed unsustainable land-uses on Nevada’s marginal lands. Due to increased competition on limited rangelands, federal land managers working for the United States Forest Service (USFS) came to Nevada after 1905 and secured the water resources in the highest mountains to promote favorable conditions of water flows for preferred local settlers. These settlers were the cattle ranchers with permanent home ranches that depended on water from the high mountains for summer grazing and haymaking. In the early twentieth century, beginning with the creation of the USFS in 1905 and ending with the Taylor Grazing Act in 1934, federal land managers were critical to maintaining successful settlements on a challenging environment in outback Nevada

Using the Electronic Patient Portal to Engage Patients with Multiple Chronic Conditions

Three in four Americans aged 65 and older is living with multiple chronic conditions. These patients have complex care needs and stand to benefit from tools facilitating engagement in their healthcare. Little is known regarding use of the electronic patient portal as a tool to support self-care in patients with multiple chronic conditions. The purpose of this multiple-methods study was to (1) explore characteristics and patterns of portal use by patients with multiple chronic conditions and (2) to understand the perceived usefulness of this tool to improve self-care. In phase 1, the quantitative phase, data from electronic health records and web server log files were analyzed. Patients (n=500) who were 45 years or older, registered portal users, and diagnosed with at least two chronic conditions were included in the analysis. No significant differences in portal use were found according to demographic characteristics, distance separating the patient from their primary care provider, and practice size and location. There was a significant difference between patients who accessed the portal to send a message to the provider and patient entered data in regards to logins (p\u3c .001 and p=.03). In phase 2, the qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews with patients (n=9) and providers (n=7) were conducted to understand how patients learn about the portal and their perceptions of usefulness for improving self-care in patients with multiple chronic conditions. Twelve categories related to four broad themes: 1) how patients are introduced to the EPP, 2) perceived benefits of the EPP, 3) perceived barriers to using the EPP, and 4) perceptions of using EPP for self-management of chronic illness were revealed. Implications for further research, policy, and practice are presented

Signal Characteristics of Civil GPS Jammers

This paper surveys the signal properties of 18 commercially available GPS jammers based on experimental data. The paper is divided into two distinct tests. The first characterizes the jamming signals, and the second test determines the effective range of 4 of the jammers. The first test uses power spectra from discrete Fourier transforms (DFTs) of the time series data to show that all the jammers employ approximately the same jamming method, i.e. linear frequency modulation of a single tone. The spectra also show that there are significant jammer-to-jammer variations, including between jammers of the same model, and that a given jammer’s signal may vary over time. The first test also includes measurements of signal power within frequency bands centered at the L1 and L2 frequencies, along with the sweep periods and the sweep range at both frequencies. The second test presents measurements of the attenuation of the jamming signal necessary to allow a commercially available GPS receiver to acquire and track signals from a GPS simulator. From the attenuation levels and some assumptions about the antennas used, upper limits on the effective jamming ranges are calculated for 4 of the jammers, with a resulting maximum range of 6–9 km.Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanic