Access to Driving and License Suspension Policies for the Twenty-First Century Economy

Outlines the impact of license suspensions for non-driving offenses on the employment of low-wage workers and the economic development of communities. Discusses state and local initiatives to reinstate licenses and recommendations to reduce suspensions

Credibility and Transparency of Central Banks: New Results Based on Ifo’s World Economicy Survey

This paper reports the results of a survey among private sector economists about credibility and transparency of central banks. In line with the survey of Alan Blinder among central bankers, we asked participants in Ifo’s World Economic Survey to answer questions on the importance and determinants of credibility. The results of both surveys are very comparable. Credibility is considered to be important to attain price stability at low cost, while the best ways to earn credibility are a history of honesty and a high level of central bank independence. According to our respondents, the Federal Reserve is the most credible, transparent and independent central bank out of seven large central banks. The ECB is not perceived as highly credible or tranparent, even though our respondents consider it to be very independent.transparency, credibility, independence, monetary policy, ECB

Lunar preform manufacturing

A design for a machine to produce hollow, continuous fiber reinforced composite rods of lunar glass and a liquid crystalline matrix using the pultrusion process is presented. The glass fiber will be produced from the lunar surface, with the machine and matrix being transported to the moon. The process is adaptable to the low gravity and near-vacuum environment of the moon through the use of a thermoplastic matrix in fiber form as it enters the pultrusion process. With a power consumption of 5k W, the proposed machine will run continuously, unmanned in fourteen day cycles, matching the length of moon days. A number of dies could be included that would allow the machine to produce rods of varying diameter, I-beams, angles, and other structural members. These members could then be used for construction on the lunar surface or transported for use in orbit. The benefits of this proposal are in the savings in weight of the cargo each lunar mission would carry. The supply of glass on the moon is effectively endless, so enough rods would have to be produced to justify its transportation, operation, and capital cost. This should not be difficult as weight on lunar mission is at a premium

Equal Access: A National Comparison of Federal Grants-in-Aid Awarded at Public and Private Four-Year Degree Granting Institutions

More than twelve million undergraduate students in the United States benefit from some form of financial aid. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education (as cited in The American Council of Education 2008) indicate that 76% of undergraduates at public four-year degree-granting institutions during the 2003-2004 academic year received financial aid, while 89% of undergraduate students at private four-year not-for-profit degree-granting institutions were aid recipients

Applying the Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES) in the dental context involving patients with complex communication needs : an exploratory study

This study was conducted as part of a larger collaborative study funded by the EPSRC, between the University of St Andrews and the University of Dundee.Objective The VR-CoDES has been previously applied in the dental context. However, we know little about how dental patients with intellectual disabilities (ID) and complex communication needs express their emotional distress during dental visits. This is the first study explored the applicability of the VR-CoDES to a dental context involving patients with ID. Methods Fourteen dental consultations were video recorded and coded using the VR-CoDES, assisted with the additional guidelines for the VR-CoDES in a dental context. Both inter- and intra-coder reliabilities were checked on the seven consultations where cues were observed. Results Sixteen cues (eight non-verbal) were identified within seven of the 14 consultations. Twenty responses were observed (12 reducing space) with four multiple responses. Cohen's Kappa were 0.76 (inter-coder) and 0.88 (intra-coder). Conclusion With the additional guidelines, cues and responses were reliably identified. Cue expression was exhibited by non-verbal expression of emotion with people with ID in the literature. Further guidance is needed to improve the coding accuracy on multiple providers’ responses and to investigate potential impacts of conflicting responses on patients. Practice implications The findings provided a useful initial step towards an ongoing exploration of how healthcare providers identify and manage emotional distress of patients with ID.PostprintPeer reviewe

To Deliver or Not to Deliver Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders: Replication and Extension of Our Understanding of Why Therapists Fail to Do What They Should Do

Objective: This study investigated the extent to which therapists fail to apply empirically supported treatments in a sample of clinicians in The Netherlands, delivering cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders (CBT-ED). It aimed to replicate previous findings, and to extend them by examining other potential intra-individual factors associated with the level of (non-)use of core CBT-ED techniques. Method: Participants were 139 clinicians (127 women; mean age 41.4 years, range = 24-64) who completed an online survey about the level of use of specific techniques, their beliefs (e.g., about the importance of the alliance and use of pretreatment motivational techniques), anxiety (Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale), and personality (Ten Item Personality Inventory). Results: Despite some differences with Waller’s (2012) findings, the present results continue to indicate that therapists are not reliably delivering the CBT-ED techniques that would be expected to provide the best treatment to their patients. This ‘non-use’ appears to be related to clinician anxiety, temporal factors, and clinicians’ beliefs about the role of the therapeutic alliance in driving therapy outcomes. Discussion: Improving treatment delivery will involve working with clinicians’ levels of anxiety, clarifying the lack of benefit of pre-therapy motivational enhancement work, and reminding clinicians that the therapeutic alliance is enhanced by behavioral change in CBT-ED, rather than the other way around

Paedomorphic facial expressions give dogs a selective advantage

How wolves were first domesticated is unknown. One hypothesis suggests that wolves underwent a process of self-domestication by tolerating human presence and taking advantage of scavenging possibilities. The puppy-like physical and behavioural traits seen in dogs are thought to have evolved later, as a byproduct of selection against aggression. Using speed of selection from rehoming shelters as a proxy for artificial selection, we tested whether paedomorphic features give dogs a selective advantage in their current environment. Dogs who exhibited facial expressions that enhance their neonatal appearance were preferentially selected by humans. Thus, early domestication of wolves may have occurred not only as wolf populations became tamer, but also as they exploited human preferences for paedomorphic characteristics. These findings, therefore, add to our understanding of early dog domestication as a complex co-evolutionary process

Blending human and artificial intelligence to support autistic children’s social communication skills

This paper examines the educational efficacy of a learning environment in which children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) engage in social interactions with an artificially intelligent (AI) virtual agent and where a human practitioner acts in support of the interactions. A multi-site intervention study in schools across the UK was conducted with 29 children with ASC and learning difficulties, aged 4-14 years old. For reasons related to data completeness and amount of exposure to the AI environment, data for 15 children was included in the analysis. The analysis revealed a significant increase in the proportion of social responses made by ASC children to human practitioners. The number of initiations made to human practitioners and to the virtual agent by the ASC children also increased numerically over the course of the sessions. However, due to large individual differences within the ASC group, this did not reach significance. Although no evidence of transfer to the real-world post-test was shown, anecdotal evidence of classroom transfer was reported. The work presented in this paper offers an important contribution to the growing body of research in the context of AI technology design and use for autism intervention in real school contexts. Specifically, the work highlights key methodological challenges and opportunities in this area by leveraging interdisciplinary insights in a way that (i) bridges between educational interventions and intelligent technology design practices, (ii) considers the design of technology as well as the design of its use (context and procedures) on par with one another, and (iii) includes design contributions from different stakeholders, including children with and without ASC diagnosis, educational practitioners and researchers

Konzept OER-Zertifizierung an österreichischen Hochschulen

Das Ergebnis der Arbeitsgruppe „Open Educational Resources“ ist ein Konzept zur OER-Zertifizierung an österreichischen Hochschulen. Dazu wird unterschieden in eine zweistufige Zertifizierung für Hochschullehrende und eine dreistufige Zertifizierung für Hochschulen. Der Umsetzungsvorschlag sieht dafür digitale Open Badges vor, die von einer zentralen Stelle bereits in der nächsten Leistungsvereinbarungsperiode (2019–2021) vergeben werden sollen

Resettlement experiences and resilience in refugee youth in Perth, Western Australia

Background: In Australia, the two major pathways of refugee entry are the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees resettlement programme and irregular maritime arrivals (IMAs) seeking asylum. The Australian Government’s policies towards IMAs since July 2013 are controversial, uncompromising and consistently harsh, with asylum seekers held in detention centres for prolonged periods. Refugees and asylum seekers have distinct and unique stressors that make resettlement difficult. Methods: This exploratory study examines resettlement experiences for refugee youth in Western Australia using the psychosocial conceptual framework and qualitative methods. Focus group discussions and key informant interviews were undertaken with verbatim transcripts analysed using thematic analysis to identify themes. Results: Themes documented that language and its impact, and experience with education, health, and social activities, support structures provided to youth and supporting future aspirations as critical to successful resettlement. This exploratory study contributes to developing a broader understanding of the resettlement experiences of refugee youth, drawing on their current and past experiences, cultural differences and mechanisms for coping. Conclusion: Fluency in English language, especially spoken, was a facilitator of successful resettlement. Our results align with previous studies documenting that support programs are vital for successful resettlement. Although faced with immense difficulties refugee youth are resilient, want to succeed and have aspirations for the future. Strategies and recommendations suggested by refugee youth themselves could be used for developing interventions to assist successful resettlement