An application of the variable-r method to subpopulation growth rates in a 19th century agricultural population

This paper presents an analysis of the differential growth rates of the farming and non-farming segments of a rural Scottish community during the 19th and early 20th centuries using the variable-r method allowing for net migration. Using this method, I find that the farming population of Orkney, Scotland, showed less variability in their reproduction and growth rates than the non-farming population during a period of net population decline. I conclude by suggesting that the variable-r method can be used in general cases where the relative growth of subpopulations or subpopulation reproduction is of interest.agricultural population, Scotland, subpopulation growth rates, variable-r method

Foreigners United: Foreign Influence in American Elections After Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

This Note argues that the majority’s decision in Citizens United allows foreign nationals to circumvent the Congressional ban on influencing American elections, and that Citizens United should be reconsidered in light of this fact, as well as the compelling government interest in preventing such circumvention, and preserving the integrity of the electoral process. Part II provides an overview of the Congressional ban and Citizens United’s relationship to its circumvention. Part III.A analyzes the methods by which foreign nationals can circumvent the ban in order to influence American elections. Part III.B proposes both judicial and legislative solutions to the problem of foreign election influence created by Citizens United. Part III.C presents and analyzes a representative sample of other existing solutions to foreign election influence. Part IV identifies and refutes counterarguments that would support the decision in Citizens United and its progeny

Foreigners United: Foreign Influence in American Elections After Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

This Note argues that the majority’s decision in Citizens United allows foreign nationals to circumvent the Congressional ban on influencing American elections, and that Citizens United should be reconsidered in light of this fact, as well as the compelling government interest in preventing such circumvention, and preserving the integrity of the electoral process. Part II provides an overview of the Congressional ban and Citizens United’s relationship to its circumvention. Part III.A analyzes the methods by which foreign nationals can circumvent the ban in order to influence American elections. Part III.B proposes both judicial and legislative solutions to the problem of foreign election influence created by Citizens United. Part III.C presents and analyzes a representative sample of other existing solutions to foreign election influence. Part IV identifies and refutes counterarguments that would support the decision in Citizens United and its progeny

Reassessment of Cranial Plasticity in Man: A Modern Critique of Changes in Bodily Form of Descendants of Immigrants

The reconstruction of biological relationships in humans using the cranium relies on the assumption that the multivariate distances derived from cranial data have a genetic component. This notion has been criticized by some authors based mainly upon one study of Franz Boas. This study focused on the idea that within one generation the cranial form of a population can be significantly altered by a sudden change in the environment. Boas.s original study has been cited for the past ninety years as evidence of cranial plasticity. A modern critique of Boas.s original study has been long overdue and is pursued herein using modern genetic and statistical methods. Heritabilities of cranial traits derived from Boas.s data reveal a high genetic component to the traits. Multivariate distances between parents and their American-born offspring are small, and when Boas.s original comparisons are conducted using modern statistical methods, the significant changes witnessed by Boas are often due to random chance. While small differences do exist between parents and offspring, these differences are negligible when compared to inter-ethnic differences. Findings indicate that the genetic component of the human cranium is substantial, and cranial data can be used as a proxy for genetic data. Critiques of studies based upon population comparisons based on craniometric data need to be reconsidered in biological anthropology based on the small environmental component contained in cranial variation

The Inequities of Job Loss and Recovery Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

In this policy brief, authors Rogelio Sáenz and Corey Sparks discuss the wide variations in unemployment and the level of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic across the nation’s demographic groups that have historically suffered disparities in the workforce, including persons of color, women, and immigrants. It is particularly unfortunate that the calamity of the pandemic comes on the heels of major improvements in job prospects that these groups made over the last decade, as the workforce emerged from the Great Recession. The benefits associated with the CARES Act of March 2020 expired in July, leaving tens of millions of unemployed people in dire straits. Implications of the inequality in both joblessness and job recovery will likely have far-reaching effects for other aspects of life. Some obvious implications of prolonged joblessness related to COVID-19 are potential spikes in defaults on mortgages and rent payments, especially as rent assistance programs phase out of operation. Other implications of joblessness are food insecurity. As people of color continue to bear the brunt of the ravage of the pandemic, it exposes profound racial divides in this country that policymakers will need to address with an equity lens

Inequities in Job Recovery During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Year Later

In this brief, authors Rogelio Sáenz, Corey Sparks, and Asiya Validova report that in April 2020, after the first two months of significant spread of COVID-19 in the United States, nearly 25 million fewer people had a job. In June 2021, there were still 5.9 million fewer people employed, representing a drop of 3.7 percent in workers since before COVID. Workers of color, women, and those with lower levels of education have consistently had the highest unemployment rates, a trend that persisted through June 2021. The recovery of the workforce has not been equal, with dramatic differences based on race/ethnicity, gender, nativity, and level of education. During COVID, working from home has been a highly segregated opportunity, limited mostly to persons with college degrees. White workers are approximately 1.5 times more likely to be able to work from home than are Blacks and Latinos. While the employment situation has improved noticeably since the economic abyss of the shutdown of the economy in April 2020, the United States is still a long way from job recovery. The authors’ findings have important policy implications for the short- and long-term as, and after, the pandemic recedes. Many people are still without employment due to the loss of jobs that have not yet returned, the obligations they have for child care and elder care, and other situations. Many are on the verge of losing their homes as eviction bans expire. Many families continue to face hunger. There is a major need for the creation of policy to ensure that people have their basic necessities met and that they are able to make necessary adjustments, including job retraining, to begin the process of rebuilding their lives in the coming months and years

Interdisciplinary Approach to Spationtemporal Population Dynamics. The North Orkney Population History Project

The North Orkney Population History Project is a multidisciplinary data collection, digitization, and analysis effort that aims to reconstruct longitudinal demographic, environmental, and economic change. We describe the motivation, methodological approach, data sources, and some initial findings of the project. Detailed contextual information about a single community allows for the joint analysis of the changing population and changing landscape. The combination of diverse data sources and disciplinary approaches has resulted in findings that would not have been possible if each source had been considered in isolation. The approach adopted by the project offers a way to examine the interaction of a population with its landscape over a period of change

Strategies to Increase Early Discharges to Decrease Hospital Length of Stay and Avoidable Patient Days for Neuro-Spine Patients

STRATEGIES TO INCREASE MORNING DISCHARGES IN AN ACADEMIC TERTIARY HOSPITAL Delays in patient discharge result in numerous negative impacts on the health care system. Amongst those are a reduced patient flow and satisfaction, long wait times, and physician/ staff frustration. An inpatient neurotrauma unit initiated a performance improvement project that utilized a multidisciplinary approach to identify barriers to discharge and coordinate a discharge plan focused on neurospine patients. A root cause analysis was conducted to collect reasons that these patients were not discharged by 11:00am. As a result of the findings, 4 performance improvement plans were created. Subsequent data collection demonstrated that the discharge goal of 25% by 11:00 am was exceeded. Next steps include ongoing surveys to measure early discharges and continue monthly meetings of the length of stay committee