Local Government Spending on Public Housing: Factors of Influence in Metropolitan Areas

Rent or mortgage payments make up the largest portion of an American family’s budget. As there is a limited housing stock in metropolitan areas, low-income families struggle to find housing that is both adequate and affordable. Federal housing programs make funding available, but the provision of housing is left to local governments. Through the implementation of bold strategies and initiatives, local governments can help their low-income constituents find permanent housing for themselves and their families. Public housing in the U.S. is associated with dilapidation, overcrowding, and social disorganization. In the past, housing projects have been shortsighted measures aimed at addressing the most critical problems. Instead of providing permanent housing to low-income residents, the focus was to house as many people as possible in one project with high-rise buildings and small units. A strategy of the late 20th century was tearing down high-rise housing projects, which displaced the residents living therein. Now, 21st-century strategies are to proliferate mixed-income apartment buildings, ensuring that the buildings are architecturally sound, are well maintained, are permanent or semi-permanent residences, and have access to occupational and social services. This thesis evaluates social and intergovernmental factors affecting the provision of public housing by local governments in metropolitan areas across the U.S. The evidence revealed in this thesis provides analysis of data and findings that is useful to local governments, public housing authorities, non-profit housing organizations, federal and state programs supporting housing initiatives, private developers involved in low-income housing projects, and researchers interested in public housing policy

Origin and spectroscopic determination of trigonal anisotropy in a heteronuclear single-molecule magnet

W-band ({\nu} ca. 94 GHz) electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was used for a single-crystal study of a star-shaped Fe3Cr single-molecule magnet (SMM) with crystallographically imposed trigonal symmetry. The high resolution and sensitivity accessible with W-band EPR allowed us to determine accurately the axial zero-field splitting terms for the ground (S =6) and first two excited states (S =5 and S =4). Furthermore, spectra recorded by applying the magnetic field perpendicular to the trigonal axis showed a pi/6 angular modulation. This behavior is a signature of the presence of trigonal transverse magnetic anisotropy terms whose values had not been spectroscopically determined in any SMM prior to this work. Such in-plane anisotropy could only be justified by dropping the so-called 'giant spin approach' and by considering a complete multispin approach. From a detailed analysis of experimental data with the two models, it emerged that the observed trigonal anisotropy directly reflects the structural features of the cluster, i.e., the relative orientation of single-ion anisotropy tensors and the angular modulation of single-ion anisotropy components in the hard plane of the cluster. Finally, since high-order transverse anisotropy is pivotal in determining the spin dynamics in the quantum tunneling regime, we have compared the angular dependence of the tunnel splitting predicted by the two models upon application of a transverse field (Berry-phase interference).Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Business Faculty and Undergraduate Students\u27 Perceptions of Online Learning: A Comparative Study

In this paper, the authors compare business faculty and undergraduate students\u27 perceptions of online learning. Specifically, a survey was given to a convenience sample of 893 undergraduate students (of which 890 were usable) at two regional universities in the southern United States; a modified version of the survey was mailed to a random sample of 1,175 business faculty members throughout the United States. Comparison of the results from each group showed that a number of differences in perception exist, due, perhaps, to the heterogeneous points of view and motivations for online learning between faculty and students. Since many universities are still deciding the extent of their offerings of such courses, this information may be helpful to university administrators in deciding which types of courses at their universities might be offered online. Faculty who are considering teaching one or more online courses may find the results of this study helpful in structuring these online offerings. The results of this study should assist students in gaining a realistic expectation of what to anticipate from online learning courses based on information we have found and studies we have done. It is important that students have a realistic perception of the online learning experience

Business Simulation Games: Effective Teaching Tools Or Window Dressing?

Business simulations serve as learning platforms that stimulate the “gaming” interest of students, that provide a structured learning environment, and that should help manage the time resources of faculty. Simulations appear to provide a context where students feel learning can take place. However, faculty perception of simulation research is lacking. This study focuses on perceptions of management and marketing faculty in U.S. business schools. Both groups perceive simulations as useful teaching tools for their undergraduate courses; however, neither group views simulations as offering learning opportunities that are superior to traditional methodologies, such as case studies, service learning, or in-class discussions

The Online Classroom: Differences In Perception Between Business Students And Non-Business Students

The authors discuss the results of a questionnaire given to 893 undergraduate college students regarding distance-learning courses, which reveal a number of differences in perception between business and non-business students.  The authors suggest possible reasons for these differences, and make recommendations to university administrators and faculty as to what could be done to help reduce or limit these differences.  The results of this study should be of interest to university administrators, faculty members, and students who plan to offer, teach, or take online courses in the future.  In addition, this information may be helpful to university administrators in deciding which types of courses at their universities might be offered online.  Faculty who are considering teaching one or more online courses may find the results of this study helpful in structuring these online offerings.  This research is intended to give students a realistic expectation of what to anticipate from distance learning courses based on information we have found and studies we have done

Student Perceptions Of The Online Classroom: An Update

In this paper, the authors compare perceptions of 2001-2002 undergraduate students toward online courses, with the attitudes of undergraduate students matriculating in 2005. Specifically, a questionnaire developed and used in a study during the period 2001-2002, in which there were eight hundred ninety-six (896) undergraduate students at two medium-sized southern universities, was again given to six hundred twenty-six (626) undergraduate students at these same two universities in 2005. The results suggest that students continue to have questions about the overall appeal of online courses, despite the fact that three to four years have elapsed. The results of this study should be of interest to university administrators, faculty members, and students who plan to offer, teach, or take online courses in the future. This information may be helpful to university administrators in deciding which types of courses at their universities might be offered online. Faculty who are considering teaching one or more online courses may find the results of this study helpful in structuring these online offerings. This research is also intended to give students a realistic expectation of what to anticipate from online courses, based upon information we have found and studies we have done

Faculty Perceptions Of Distance Education Courses: A Survey

This paper discusses the results of a study of the perceptions of a national sample of business faculty members from various business disciplines regarding distance (online) education and teaching distance education courses.  In the past few years, distance learning programs have become very popular, and the number of offerings continues to increase.  However, distance learning courses offer significant differences from the classic classroom environment.  The results of this study suggest that the offering of online courses in business is still in the early or developmental stages, and that only a small percentage of the respondents indicate that they would teach online courses in the future

GnRH agonist versus GnRH antagonist in in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF/ET)

Several protocols are actually available for in Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer. The review summarizes the main differences and the clinic characteristics of the protocols in use with GnRH agonists and GnRH antagonists by emphasizing the major outcomes and hormonal changes associated with each protocol. The majority of randomized clinical trials clearly shows that in "in Vitro" Fertilization and Embryo Transfer, the combination of exogenous Gonadotropin plus a Gonadotropin Releasing Hormone (GnRH) agonist, which is able to suppress pituitary FSH and LH secretion, is associated with increased pregnancy rate as compared with the use of gonadotropins without a GnRH agonist. Protocols with GnRH antagonists are effective in preventing a premature rise of LH and induce a shorter and more cost-effective ovarian stimulation compared to the long agonist protocol. However, a different synchronization of follicular recruitment and growth occurs with GnRH agonists than with GnRH antagonists. Future developments have to be focused on timing of the administration of GnRH antagonists, by giving a great attention to new strategies of stimulation in patients in which radio-chemotherapy cycles are needed

Selective Disruption of Perineuronal Nets in Mice Lacking Crtl1 is Sufficient to Make Fear Memories Susceptible to Erasure

The ability to store, retrieve, and extinguish memories of adverse experiences is an essential skill for animals' survival. The cellular and molecular factors that underlie such processes are only partially known. Using chondroitinase ABC treatment targeting chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs), previous studies showed that the maturation of the extracellular matrix makes fear memory resistant to deletion. Mice lacking the cartilage link protein Crtl1 (Crtl1-KO mice) display normal CSPG levels but impaired CSPG condensation in perineuronal nets (PNNs). Thus, we asked whether the presence of PNNs in the adult brain is responsible for the appearance of persistent fear memories by investigating fear extinction in Crtl1-KO mice. We found that mutant mice displayed fear memory erasure after an extinction protocol as revealed by analysis of freezing and pupil dynamics. Fear memory erasure did not depend on passive loss of retention; moreover, we demonstrated that, after extinction training, conditioned Crtl1-KO mice display no neural activation in the amygdala (Zif268 staining) in comparison to control animals. Taken together, our findings suggest that the aggregation of CSPGs into PNNs regulates the boundaries of the critical period for fear extinction

Stringy K-theory and the Chern character

For a finite group G acting on a smooth projective variety X, we construct two new G-equivariant rings: first the stringy K-theory of X, and second the stringy cohomology of X. For a smooth Deligne-Mumford stack Y we also construct a new ring called the full orbifold K-theory of Y. For a global quotient Y=[X/G], the ring of G-invariants of the stringy K-theory of X is a subalgebra of the full orbifold K-theory of the the stack Y and is linearly isomorphic to the ``orbifold K-theory'' of Adem-Ruan (and hence Atiyah-Segal), but carries a different, ``quantum,'' product, which respects the natural group grading. We prove there is a ring isomorphism, the stringy Chern character, from stringy K-theory to stringy cohomology, and a ring homomorphism from full orbifold K-theory to Chen-Ruan orbifold cohomology. These Chern characters satisfy Grothendieck-Riemann-Roch for etale maps. We prove that stringy cohomology is isomorphic to Fantechi and Goettsche's construction. Since our constructions do not use complex curves, stable maps, admissible covers, or moduli spaces, our results simplify the definitions of Fantechi-Goettsche's ring, of Chen-Ruan's orbifold cohomology, and of Abramovich-Graber-Vistoli's orbifold Chow. We conclude by showing that a K-theoretic version of Ruan's Hyper-Kaehler Resolution Conjecture holds for symmetric products. Our results hold both in the algebro-geometric category and in the topological category for equivariant almost complex manifolds.Comment: Exposition improved and additional details provided. To appear in Inventiones Mathematica