Problem B: Factors Associated with Levels of Living of the Elderly in Hamblen County, Tennessee

The purpose of this investigation was to identify some of the factors associated with the levels of living of elderly residents of Hamblen County, Tennessee. Levels of living were determined by the number of selected home improvements items possessed by each household. Multiple regression analysis was the statistical tool used to assess levels of living. Possession of these home improvement items was analyzed according to 11 independent variables. The variable education of the female accounted for approximately 18 percent of the variation in levels of living, and appeared to be the best overall predictor of variations in level of living of the households surveyed. Women with more education tended to have a significantly larger number of home items than did those with less education. Nearly 6 percent of the variation in levels of living was accounted for by where the senior female member of the household was reared. Elderly women reared outside Hamblen County tended to have a significantly larger number of home items than those reared in Hamblen County. Approximately 4 percent of the variation in levels of living was accounted for by marital status. Married couples tended to have a significantly greater number of home items than those who were not married. Income of the household head accounted for approximately 2 percent of the variation in levels of living. Those elderly with higher incomes tended to have a significantly larger number of home items than those with lower incomes. The major lifetime occupation of the male household head accounted for nearly 1 percent of the variation in levels of living. Those who worked in professional or semi-professional occupations tended to have a significantly greater number of home items than those who worked in skilled or semi-skilled jobs. Also, those who worked in skilled or semi-skilled occupations tended to have a significantly larger number of home items than those who reported farming to be their major lifetime occupation. These five independent variables accounted for approximately 31 percent of the variation in levels of living of the households surveyed. While other variables were also significantly related to level of living, they did not appreciably add to the percent of variation accounted for in levels of living

Performance funding 2.0 in higher education

As tuition and student debt at public institutions of higher education have grown substantially over the last decade, state governments have looked increasingly to performance funding programs to incentivize the efficient delivery of higher education, particularly by decreasing time-to-degree. Even with hundreds of millions of dollars devoted to these efforts, however, it remains unclear whether the programs have a significant impact on an institution's operations and student outcomes or rather, for example, they simply reward those institutions which were already most able to meet the program's goals and which enroll the best prepared students. Initial performance funding systems that awarded institutions with additional funding for meeting outcomes goals have not been shown to be effective in impacting degree completions. In this paper I analyze whether new models of performance funding that tie performance to a portion of base formula funding, dubbed 2.0, are better at incentivizing institutions to increase degree completion. Considering the myriad influences on student success (and, consequently, graduation rates), it is questionable whether the incentives provided by these programs are sufficient alone to positively influence improvements to graduation rates. Accordingly, it may be more effective for states that desire increased graduation rates and reduced student loan debt to appropriate funds to direct measures of controlling tuition costs—such as increased financial aid tied to timely graduation—than to fund performance funding programs.Public Affair

Problem C: The Influences of Assumptions and Values on Intercultural Interactions

This study has attempted to draw together and more clearly define some of the cultural assumptions and values that may influence our behavior as human beings. More specifically, it has attempted to clarify how these assumptions and values may influence the behavior of individuals in cross-cultural situations. Assumptions were defined as the predispositions people employ to explain and pattern the world in a rational manner. Assumptions are relatively vague and very difficult to define or measure. Values are the explicit reflections of cultural assumptions, and are relatively concrete, specific, and more easily explained or measured than assumptions. Considerable emphasis was given to a discussion of cultural patterns which are the individual\u27s guides to the number and kind of alternatives he may choose from for solving problems. These patterns were broken down into four basic components, which were discussed in the body of this text: (1)the modalities of human activity; (2) man\u27 s relationships with nature; (3) the temporal focus of human life; and (4) man\u27s relationship with other men. It was suggested that the effectiveness of many internationally related programs might be enhanced through the adoption of an attitude of culturally relativity, where the individual, group, or institution is able to scrutinize itself in the light of often different cultural attitudes and modes of behavior. Edward Stewart\u27s alternative for encouraging the adoption of this attitude was examined. In conclusion, implications for further research into the character of cross-cultural communications and behavior were discussed

Perceived Risk and Risk Relievers Associated with Online Shopping

Even before the Internet, numerous studies of perceived risk and risk relievers in purchasing decisions populated the literature. Since the dot-com bust, studies in this area have declined, yet online shopping continues to increase. This study provides a much needed update on this literature by investigating the different perceived risks associated with online shopping across six product types as well as exploring the usefulness of risk relievers to overcome barriers to online purchasing. The study gives some longitudinal perspective to how these variables are changing over time. In this study, the three main sources of perceived risk are psychological risk, time risk and product performance risk. The key risk relievers are payment security, information about product specification and price. While much as remained the same in the past decade, changes in the way shoppers use the Internet in 2010 provide a sharp contrast to earlier studies

Nonlinear blind mixture identification using local source sparsity and functional data clustering

International audienceIn this paper we propose several methods, using the same structure but with different criteria, for estimating the nonlinearities in nonlinear source separation. In particular and contrary to the state-of-art methods, our proposed approach uses a weak joint-sparsity sources assumption: we look for tiny temporal zones where only one source is active. This method is well suited to non-stationary signals such as speech. We extend our previous work to a more general class of nonlinear mixtures, proposing several nonlinear single-source confidence measures and several functional clustering techniques. Such approaches may be seen as extensions of linear instantaneous sparse component analysis to nonlinear mixtures. Experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and relevancy of this approach

Post-nonlinear speech mixture identification using single-source temporal zones & curve clustering

International audienceIn this paper, we propose a method for estimating the nonlinearities which hold in post-nonlinear source separation. In particular and contrary to the state-of-art methods, our proposed approach uses a weak joint-sparsity sources assumption: we look for tiny temporal zones where only one source is active. This method is well suited to non-stationary signals such as speech. The main novelty of our work consists of using nonlinear single-source confidence measures and curve clustering. Such an approach may be seen as an extension of linear instantaneous sparse component analysis to post-nonlinear mixtures. The performance of the approach is illustrated with some tests showing that the nonlinear functions are estimated accurately, with mean square errors around 4e-5 when the sources are " strongly" mixed

Water Recovery from Brine in the Short and Long Term: A KSC Approach

KSC has spent many years researching Hollow Fiber Membrane Bioreactors as well as research encompassing:Alternate ammonia removal/Advanced oxidation. Brine purification technologies KSC-ISRU has built an electrolysis cell for the removal of acids in ISRU mining brines. Our goal is to combine all such technologies

The Conserved Macrodomain Is a Potential Therapeutic Target for Coronaviruses and Alphaviruses

Emerging and re-emerging viral diseases pose continuous public health threats, and effective control requires a combination of non-pharmacologic interventions, treatment with antivirals, and prevention with vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the world was least prepared to provide effective treatments. This lack of preparedness has been due, in large part, to a lack of investment in developing a diverse portfolio of antiviral agents, particularly those ready to combat viruses of pandemic potential. Here, we focus on a drug target called macrodomain that is critical for the replication and pathogenesis of alphaviruses and coronaviruses. Some mutations in alphavirus and coronaviral macrodomains are not tolerated for virus replication. In addition, the coronavirus macrodomain suppresses host interferon responses. Therefore, macrodomain inhibitors have the potential to block virus replication and restore the host’s protective interferon response. Viral macrodomains offer an attractive antiviral target for developing direct acting antivirals because they are highly conserved and have a structurally well-defined (druggable) binding pocket. Given that this target is distinct from the existing RNA polymerase and protease targets, a macrodomain inhibitor may complement current approaches, pre-empt the threat of resistance and offer opportunities to develop combination therapies for combating COVID-19 and future viral threats

Maximal force and tremor changes across the menstrual cycle

PURPOSE: Sex hormones have profound effects on the nervous system in vitro and in vivo. The present study examines the effect of the menstrual cycle on maximal isometric force (MVC) and tremor during an endurance task. METHODS: Nine eumenorrheic females participated in five study visits across their menstrual cycle. In each menstrual phase, an MVC and an endurance task to failure were performed. Tremor across the endurance task was quantified as the coefficient of variation in force and was assessed in absolute time and relative percent time to task failure. RESULTS: MVC decreases 23% from ovulation to the mid luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. In absolute time, the mid luteal phase has the highest initial tremor, though the early follicular phase has substantially higher tremor than other phases after 150 s of task performance. In relative time, the mid luteal phase has the highest level of tremor throughout the endurance task. CONCLUSIONS: Both MVC and tremor during an endurance task are modified by the menstrual cycle. Performance of tasks and sports which require high force and steadiness to exhaustion may be decreased in the mid luteal phase compared to other menstrual phases