Strategies Used by Older Adults to Age in Place

This study examined the plans and adaptations utilized by older adults to age in place and the strategies that supported participation in occupation during the aging process. Three community-dwelling older adult women over the age of 65 participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews. The themes identified were: The importance of a support network, remaining active, and pride in independence. An overarching theme consistently reflected throughout interviews was, subconscious aging. Occupational therapists can help older adults to consciously think about the aging process and assist with strategies that will afford them to age in place

Inherently Governmental Functions and Other Work Reserved for Performance by Federal Government Employees: The Obama Administration’s Proposed Policy Letter

[Excerpt] On March 31, 2010, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a proposed policy letter on inherently governmental functions and other “work reserved for performance by federal government employees.” While not final, the policy letter represents the Obama Administration’s proposed guidance for agencies determining (1) whether particular functions are inherently governmental and (2) when functions closely associated with the performance of inherently governmental functions and critical functions should be performed by government personnel. The proposed policy letter was, in part, issued under the authority of the Duncan Hunter National Defense Authorization Act for FY2009 (NDAA\u2709) and President Obama’s memorandum of March 4, 2009, on government contracting. Section 321 of NDAA\u2709 tasked OMB with (1) reviewing existing definitions of “inherently governmental function” to determine whether such definitions are “sufficiently focused” to ensure that only government personnel perform inherently governmental functions or “other critical functions necessary for the mission of a Federal department or agency;” (2) developing a “single consistent definition” of “inherently governmental function” that would address any deficiencies in the existing definitions, reasonably apply to all agencies, and ensure that agency personnel can identify positions that perform inherently governmental functions; (3) developing criteria for identifying critical functions” that should be performed by government personnel; and (4) developing criteria for identifying positions that government personnel should perform in order to ensure that agencies develop and maintain “sufficient organic expertise and technical capacity” to perform their missions and oversee contractors’ work. President Obama’s March 4, 2009, memorandum similarly charged OMB with clarifying when outsourcing is “appropriate.

Field dependence of the critical current and its relation to the anisotropy of BSCCO conductors and coils

The design of HTS magnets is often based on the properties of a number of short samples that are presumed to be representative of the conductor to be used. Variability in conductor properties and inhomogeneity in the magnetic field distribution within the magnets, coupled with conductor anisotropy, provide a significant challenge to accurately predict the field dependence of the magnet critical current. This work is based on measured superconducting properties of Bi-2212 and Bi-2223 conductors at 4.2 K in parallel and perpendicular magnetic fields up to 33 T. Properties of double pancake units and stacks, from the same or similar conductor batches, are presented, based on measurements at self-field and in applied co-axial background magnetic fields up to 19 T. Modeling of this data is based on short sample properties in perpendicular field; the average grain misalignment is used as the parameter to quantify the anisotropy. Correlations and discrepancies between the measured data and models based on short sample data are discussed for Bi-2212 and Bi-2223 conductors

Ill-prepare: International field research methods training

Political science values international fieldwork as a source of academic credibility, particularly for scholars studying violence and related topics. Yet the training for conducting this type of research remains piecemeal. In this paper, we present the results of a targeted survey of International Relations and Comparative Politics faculty and graduate students on their attitudes towards, and preparation for, international field research. We find a prevalent belief that fieldwork is highly advantageous for scholars of violence. At the same time, most graduate students have not had formal training in conducting fieldwork, instead relying largely on peers and junior women faculty for informal advising. These dynamics endanger scholars and the communities in which they work and perpetuate inequalities within the discipline. We argue that treating fieldwork preparation as methodology will improve safety and research quality, and have distributional benefits, promoting consistency in access to training and valuing the work that goes into providing it

Book Review: Early Childhood Development in Humanitarian Crises: South Sudanese Refugees in Uganda by Sweta Shah

NON

GAO Bid Protests: Trends and Analysis

This report is one of two providing Congress with background on the GAO bid-protest process. It analyzes trends in bid protests filed with GAO, why companies protest, the impact bid protests have on acquisitions, the most common grounds for GAO to sustain a protest, and trends in bid protests filed against DOD

GAO Bid Protests: An Overview of Timeframes and Procedures

Protests of high-profile awards and reports that the number of protests is increasing have recently prompted congressional and public interest in bid protests, particularly bid protests filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO). This report is one of two providing Congress with background on the GAO bid-protest process. It provides an overview of the timeframes and procedures in a GAO bid protest, including several issues enumerated in the report's introduction