A Look at the Private Option in Arkansas

In September 2013, Arkansas became the first state in the nation to receive approval from the federal government for a Section 1115 demonstration waiver to require most adults who are newly eligible for coverage through the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion to enroll in Marketplace plans. The initiative, often referred to as the "private option," has allowed Arkansas to cover close to 220,000 Medicaid beneficiaries with commercial provider networks and strengthen its Marketplace. An additional 25,000 medically frail adults are covered through the state's fee-for-service system, bringing to 245,000 the number of newly eligible adults covered in Arkansas as of June 30, 2015. As a result of this coverage, Arkansas has been able to drive down its uninsured rate and reduce uncompensated care costs. The future of the private option is the source of extensive discussion within Arkansas, and it continues to be watched closely by policymakers within the state and around the country. Drawing on a dozen interviews with state officials, providers, insurance carriers, and advocates, as well as early data on coverage, reduced uncompensated care costs, and other topics, this issue brief provides an initial look at implementation

Effect of Surface Preparation Methods on Mechanical Properties of 3D Structures Fabricated by Stereolithography and 3D Printing for Electroless Ni Plating

Stereolithography (SL) and 3D Printing (3DP) are useful technologies for three-dimensional prototyping applications, providing highly accurate and detailed part geometries with high quality surface finishes. It is desired to improve the materials performance of the existing photocurable SL and 3DP resins for rapid tooling and other functional applications by applying a nickel (Ni) coating. In this work, surface preparation methods for electroless plating of commercial photopolymer resins such as NanoFormTM15120 (NanoForm) and Objet FullCure®840 (Veroblue) were explored in order to enhance the structural integrity of RP components. This study examined different surface preparation methods (chemical etching) and their effect on the surface morphology and mechanical strength of the polymers. It was observed that surface preparation of the resins significantly affected the mechanical properties and Ni plating of the substrate polymers. This is a critical step, since the Ni film takes on the surface structure of the substrate.Mechanical Engineerin

Active region evolution in the chromosphere and transtition region

Images in the C IV 1548 A and the Si II 1526 S lines taken with the ultraviolet spectrometer polarimeter (UVSP) instrument on board the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) satellite were combined into movies showing the evolution of active regions and the neighboring supergranulation over several days. The data sets generally consist of 240 by 240 arc second rasters with 3 arc second pixels taken one per orbit (about every 90 minutes). The images are projected on a latitude/longitude grid to remove the forshortening as the region rotates across the solar disk and further processed to remove jitter and gain variations. Movies were made with and without differential rotation. Although there are occasional missing orbits, these series do not suffer from the long nighttime gaps that occur in observations taken at a single groundbased observatory and are excellent for studying changes on time scales of several hours. The longest sequence processed to date runs from 20 Oct. 1980 to 25 Oct. 1980. This was taken during an SMM flare buildup study on AR 2744. Several shorter sequences taken in 1980 and 1984 will also be shown. The results will be presented on a video disk which can be interactively controlled to view the movies

The Cooperative Business Model in the Near West Side of Milwaukee

Cooperative economics are explored in this article through the lens of Mahatma Gandhi’s economic thought. Cooperatives seven main principles (voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, member economic participation, autonomy and independence, education/training, cooperation among cooperatives, and finally concern for community)are shown to align with Gandhi’s core economic tenets of Sarvodaya by comparing their goals. Proceeding from this, the article uses qualitative interviews to compare the lives of workers and managers of cooperative business models, nonprofit business models, and traditional business models primarily in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to see how the cooperative principles work in practice in regard to the workers. The final section then makes the case that the homecare industry will grow immensely in the years to come, so the Near Westside Partners (a local community investment group) should invest in the creation of a homecare cooperative business to provide a needed service, better the community, and enhance the lives of the workers in the co-op as well

Use of UAV Imagery and Nutrient Analyses for Estimation of the Spatial and Temporal Contributions of Cattle Dung to Nutrient Cycling in Grazed Ecosystems

Nutrient inputs from cattle dung are crucial drivers of nutrient cycling processes in grazed ecosystems. These inputs are important both spatially and temporally and are affected by variables such as grazing strategy, water location, and the nutritional profile of forage being grazed. Past research has attempted to map dung deposition patterns in order to more accurately estimate nutrient input, but the large spatial extent of a typical pasture and the tedious nature of identifying and mapping individual dung pats has prohibited the development of a time- and cost-effective methodology. The first objective of this research was to develop and validate a new method for the detection and mapping of dung using an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and multispectral imagery. The second objective was to quantify change over time in water-extractable organic carbon (WEOC), water-extractable phosphorus (WEP), and water-extractable nitrogen (WEN) in naturally-deposited dung that ranged from one to twenty-four days old. In addition, pre-analysis dung storage methods (refrigeration vs. freezing) were evaluated for their impact on laboratory analyses results. Multispectral images of pastures were classified using object-based image analysis. Post-classification accuracy assessment showed an overall accuracy of 82.6% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.71. Most classification errors were attributable to the misclassification of dung as vegetation, especially in spectrally heterogeneous areas such as trampled vegetation. Limitations to the implementation of this method for identifying and mapping cattle dung at large scales include the high degree of geospatial accuracy required for successful classification, and the need for additional method validation in diverse grassland environments. Dung WEN concentrations ranged from 1.20 g kg-1 at three days of age, to a low of 0.252 g kg-1 at 24 days. The highest WEOC values were in day-old dung, 19.25 g kg-1, and lowest in 14-day-old dung, 2.86 g kg-1. WEOC and WEN both followed exponential decay patterns of loss as dung aged. WEP was lowest at 1.28 g kg-1 (day one) and highest at 12 days (3.24 g kg-1), and dry matter and WEOC concentration were stronger determinants of WEP than age alone. Freezing consistently increased WEN and WEOC concentrations over fresh values, but WEP was inconsistent across ages in its response. This research provides new insight into dung nutrient dynamics and presents a novel method for studying them across large spatial and temporal scales. Advisors: Martha Mamo and Jerry Volesk

Documenting Current Practices of Accommodating Linguistic Needs of Deaf Defendants

Deaf defendants are an underexamined population in criminal justice research, and very few studies have examined their involvement in the criminal justice system. In addition, research on accommodating the linguistic needs of deaf defendants is sparse. Failure to accommodate the linguistic needs of deaf defendants presents several concerns, including disparate treatment and violations of ADA-guaranteed rights that may lead to inadmissible evidence, dismissals of cases, and not-guilty verdicts, as well as lawsuits and litigation, all of which create additional strain on an already overburdened system. The current study combines previous research on deaf defendants with the findings of data gathered from courtroom practitioners nationwide to gain an understanding of the current practices used to facilitate communication during criminal trials involving deaf defendants