401(k) Plans and Race

Many data sources show a disparity among racial and ethnic groups regarding participation in and contributions to 401(k) plans. White workers participate at a higher rate and contribute a higher percentage than African American and Hispanic workers. However, few studies have explored whether these differences persist once other factors expected to impact these decisions are taken into consideration. One recent study by Ariel/ Hewitt using client data found lower participation and contributions rates in 401(k) plans for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites, even after controlling for age, tenure, and earnings.

How your past can influence your perceptions of sports aggression

Sports violence has received increased attention in the media recently and more individuals are becoming aware of dangerous behaviors in sports. This study was designed to look at the effects of personal variables and past participation in sport in how they affect an individual’s perception of aggressive sports acts. The perception aggression is important to understanding why sports aggression is more accepted in different groups of people. This utilized Union College students, who took a version of the Sport Behavior Inventory in an online survey. Through the use of different indices of data, a test of means and a multi-variable regression was performed. It was found that individuals involved in contact sports, and to a lesser extent team sports, were more likely to perceive aggression as acceptable. Personal characteristics like age and sex played no significant role. These findings can then be used to influence sports policy and raise awareness to the impacts of past sport experiences

Design of a terrain detection system for foot drop

The ankle foot orthotic (AFO) has been around for centuries. They were created to augment functionality of an ankle damaged due to injury or disease. A common reason a patient might be prescribed an AFO is a condition called foot drop. Foot drop can be caused by many conditions, but the most common reason is a stroke. Foot drop can be characterized by the inability to raise and/or lower a patient\u27s foot. This incapacitation of the patient\u27s foot leads to unnatural gaits and joint fatigue, as well as increasing the patient\u27s likelihood of tripping and becoming seriously injured. Hard plastic AFOs that hold a patient\u27s foot in a neutral position are the current standard for combating foot drop. These AFOs come in many different shapes and sizes, which emphasizes the wide variety in functionality of someone with foot drop. Unfortunately, the restrictive nature of the AFO can cause unnatural movements in the patient\u27s foot; these unnatural tendencies are more exaggerated when walking down stairs and ramps, as the natural gait is to land toe first, the opposite of what the brace allows the patient to do. The purpose of this project is to create a sensor system for an AFO to help identify varying terrain. In the future this information can then be made to control an active AFO. Each terrain type will be first measured by a pair of simple infrared range finder, attached on the lower leg, one range finder looks ahead of the user and the other looks straight down at the ground. Models for the ground conditions can be established by representing each with Fourier series created using RANdom Sample Consensus (RANSAC). RANSAC coefficients will be scaled off the rate of data coming in and gait speed. Each model has a period term so the data can easily be scaled to match the pattern of walking regardless of pace. Gait speed will be measured using the downward facing ankle-mounted rangefinder, but with a threshold to determine when the foot is in contact with the ground. Once this initial set-up is completed, the system can take in data live and provide a prediction of the type of ground the patient is walking over, using pattern recognition techniques. The hope for this project is that if the system can accurately predict the change in ground type from, for example, level walking to walking down a ramp, an AFO could then be made to adjust itself, giving the patient a more natural gait, even when encountering adverse conditions. A byproduct of constantly using a patient\u27s own gait to measure ground type is the ability to track a patient\u27s changing gait over time, giving therapists a valuable new tool for tracking progress in a patient

PREDICTORS OF ACCULTURATIVE STRESS FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES

International students in the United States are confronted with a wide range of challenges and difficulties as they move to a new country and need to adapt to a new cultural, social, andacademic environment. This study examined the relationship between acculturation orientation, or how these cultural changes are addressed, sources of social support, and the level of acculturative stress these students experience. Data was collected using an on-line survey from international students at six public universities in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, and Iowa. Statistical analysis was conducted on the data collected from the 648 students who participated in the study. Descriptive statistics, group comparisons, and a regression model were employed to summarize and test the study’s hypotheses. Correlational analysis indicated that lower levels of acculturative stress were associated with both positive cultural identification with both the home and host culture, as well as the presence of a wide network of social support, while increased levels of acculturative stress were found to be related primarily to higher levels of perceived discrimination and higher levels of mood and anxiety disturbances. Analysis of group differences found that students with positive home and host cultural identifications, as well as students with broad-based social support, experienced statistically significant lower levels of acculturative stress than other groups. A prediction model was developed, although only perceived level of English language ability, perceived discrimination, levels of mood and anxiety disturbance, positive host culture identification, and host country social support were found to be statistically significant predictors. The study findings highlight the importance of both positive cultural identification with both the home and host culture, as well as the positive association with higher levels of social support on mitigating the level of acculturative stress international students experience. The findings have implications for mental health professionals counseling international students in the United States to better understand and thereby develop more effective therapeutic interventions in their work with international students. Suggestions for future research are also indicated

The Effect of Sports Franchises on Property Values: The Role of Owners versus Renters

This paper estimates the public benefits to homeowners in cities with NFL franchises by examining housing prices rather than housing rents. In contrast to Carlino and Coulson (2004) we find that the presence of an NFL franchise has no effect on housing prices in a city. Furthermore, we also test whether the presence and size of the subsidy to the team affects values and find that higher subsidies for NFL stadium construction lead to lower house prices. This suggests that the benefits that homeowners receive from the presence of a team are negated by the increased tax burden due to the subsidies paid to the franchises.impact analysis, stadiums, football, mega-event, tourism

A molecular epidemiological analysis of meningococcal isolates within Scotland 1972-1998

Neisseria meningitidis is an important cause of meningitis and bacteraemia worldwide and is associated with high case-fatality rates. Meningococcal disease continues to remain a public health issue in Scotland and the rest of Europe. Typing methods are used for epidemiological purposes to investigate outbreaks and the spread of meningococci and to examine the population structure of the organism in order to better understand its variation and evolution. Reference institutes have employed such methods for a number of decades for the diagnosis and detection of meningococci. However, phenotypic methods for serogrouping, serotyping and serosubtyping meningococci, although providing good strain information, can lead to endemic strains appearing identical using these methods when they are in fact quite different. More recently methods have been developed to further characterise bacteria. These methods have included PCR for the detection of meningococcal disease within blood, serogrouping and sequencing of housekeeping genes (MLST) and antigen genes such as PorA. These molecular epidemiological methods were used for the retrospective typing of invasive meningococci in Scotland, 1972-1998, using a fully automated procedure. The results of these were then analysed using statistical packages to examine the population structure of the organism. In total there were 2517 invasive isolates, received by the Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory (SMPRL) from the start of 1972 to the end of 1998. Serogroup distribution changed from year to year during the time period 1972-1998 but serogroups B and C were dominant throughout this period. Serogroup B was the dominant serogroup throughout the seventies and early eighties until serogroup C became dominant during the mid 1980s. This increase in dominance of serogroup C has been found in this study not to be associated with one particular sequence type (ST) but is associated with a number of STs, which include ST-8, ST-11, ST-206 and ST-334. This is in contrast to the increase in serogroup C disease in the 1990s that was due to the ST-11 clonal complex. While there was much diversity in the STs (309 different STs among the 2517 isolates), only ten accounted for 1562 isolates (59.9%). These were ST-11, ST-8, ST-41, ST-153, ST-1, ST-32, ST-33, ST-269, ST-334 and ST-60. There were 177 new STs found during the time period. The STs were further differentiated into 31 clonal complexes, with 57 singleton types. As with the STs, although there was much diversity in the clonal complexes, only seven accounted for 1993 isolates. It was found that with PorA variable region (VR) types there were certain combinations significantly more common than others. There was a strong link with PorA type and ST and more so with clonal complex. This link was evident with the PorA type 5, 2-1, 36-2, which occured in 70 isolates representing the ST-11 complex and in all but two isolates representing ST-11. Similarly PorA type 18-3, 1, 35-1 was associated with 15 isolates belonging to the ST41-44 complex. However, this was not the case with all PorA combinations as the PorA type 19, 15, 36 was associated with 10 different complexes. There was some association between serogroup and PorA VR types. There was strong evidence of certain VR1, 2 and 3 regions being associated with certain serogroups, although this was not definitive. For example, of 192 isolates with PorA type 19, 15, 36, 85.4% were associated with serogroup B. Genosubtyping of the porA gene has been shown to increase the power of differentiation within clonal meningococcal populations. For, example, seven isolates that had the same serogroup, ST, VR1 and VR2 could be differentiated by their VR3 type. Using cluster detection software SaTScan to analyse all isolates, it was found there were 29 clusters in Scotland, from 1972-1998. These clusters included 63 cases, which accounted for 2.5% of all cases. A range of different strains caused the clusters that were identified in this study, some caused by hypervirulent strains. These strain types were responsible for a number of cases throughout the world as well as in Scotland during the period of this study. However it was also shown that there were clusters identified in this study caused by lesser-known strain types that were not responsible for many cases and that appear to be unique to Scotland or the UK. This study is the first to look at the detection of clusters over a time period of 26 years and to identify clusters that would have previously been unidentified due to lack of suitable characterisation techniques. The results in this study indicate that the multivalent preparation produced by the Netherlands Vaccine Institute (Nonavalent vaccine) had the potential, based on the PorA types that it contains, to prevent the majority of serogroup B infection that had occurred in Scotland, from 1972-1998. It also had the potential, although not to the same extent as serogroup B, to protect against other serogroups. For the age groups that would potentially have been the first to be immunised with any vaccine as part of the childhood vaccination programme, the 0-4 years old group, the potential coverage was over 92% which is comparable with the coverage seen with the serogroup C meningococcal conjugate (MCC) vaccine, of approximately 90%