Poverty Matters: The Correlation of Poverty to Test Outcomes in Buffalo, Amherst, and Cheektowaga Schools

Correlation of Poverty to Test Outcomes in Buffalo, Amherst and Cheektowaga Schools data sets

State of the Artist: Challenges to the New York State Arts & Entertainment Industry and its Workforce

[Excerpt] In 2009, with support from Empire State Development (ESD), the Cornell University ILR School published its first report on the state of the New York arts and entertainment (A&E) workforce, Empire State’s Cultural Capital at Risk? Assessing Challenges to the Workforce and the Educational Infrastructure for New York State’s Arts and Entertainment Industry. The report analyzed a number of key characteristics of the A&E workforce across electronic media, live performing, and visual arts, identifying the most pressing issues for New York A&E workers and the support structures in place to protect their interests. The report concluded by proposing a number of questions to policymakers to be considered in future legislation. State of the Artist both updates this analysis of the State A&E workforce and analyzes trends in recent years based on comparable data presented in the 2009 report. The current report draws from government surveys, industry reports, and interviews with key stakeholders to assess the condition of the NYS A&E industry and its workforce, identifying key issues faced by workers in each sector of the industry. In addition to an extensive review of current literature, data from primary and secondary sources was analyzed to assess the state of the industry and major trends by sector. Survey data from the US Census Bureau and Department of Labor, notably from the American Community Survey (ACS), were retrieved to isolate trends in A&E workforce employment patterns, demographics, and income by occupational group. This analysis, including a conference attended by industry leaders and representatives to assess reactions to preliminary findings, served to identify current challenges facing this vital workforce to the state economy. Often left out of discussions about precarious workers, many working within the A&E industry continue to face high rates of contingent and project-based employment, low average income, and inadequate employment protections—all of which are explored here. State of the Artist concludes with a summary of public policies currently in place as well as those under consideration, providing an updated set of questions for New York policymakers

User-intermediaries and the local embedding of low carbon technologies

This article draws on three theoretical fields, innovation intermediaries, socio-technical transitions and domestication studies to develop a process perspective of how user-side intermediary organisations seek to locally embed low carbon technologies. The term local embedding is increasingly used by transition researchers in a variety of ways. The first contribution of this paper is to explore and substantiate the concept of local embedding as the process of integrating technologies into local contexts of use. Intermediary organisations are conceived as contributing to local embedding where they facilitate, configure and broker change towards configurations that work. Nonetheless, understanding how these key intermediary processes relate as well as the influence of system dynamics on the work intermediaries undertake is still largely uncharted territory. The paper’s second contribution is a process perspective on the agency of intermediary organisations in local embedding. The resulting perspective offers insights into the agency of user-side intermediaries and later phases of transition processes

Smart Table Top

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (D&D) is a tabletop role playing game (TTRPG) with complicated mechanics and a seemingly overwhelming amount of information. D&D players are often looking for ways to more effectively track information and products that enhance their game experience. One such product is a custom miniature; players use these to track their character’s location and for the enjoyment of creating a physical representation of their imagination. Virtual Tabletops (VTT’s) were developed to make the entire experience digital. The digital nature of VTT’s make all of the game’s rules and mechanics accessible at the click of the mouse; however, it also alienates players from a physical connection to the game. The smart game board offers digital convenience while preserving the physical connection to the game. The game board wirelessly communicates with the pieces on the board to provide quick access to their specific rules and mechanics while also determining their location on the board. The board utilizes a digital display to swap between different game boards/maps. The smart game board saves time and simplifies the experience for players by displaying only the most relevant information and it enhances their experience by utilizing their custom miniatures. This makes the game more accessible to beginners, reduces risk of error for the game master and allows everyone to focus more on enjoying the game. This product could easily be adapted to accommodate any board game with pieces large enough to contain wireless communication technology. Future developments of this product could also include an automatic board setup feature if the piece has a known board layout such as chess, checkers, or monopoly

Community energy business model evolution:a review of solar photovoltaic developments in England

The ongoing energy system transformation process is placing citizens and communities at the heart of future energy systems. To date, their participation has focused on the ownership and control of renewable energy installations facilitated by supportive national policies. Yet across many European countries, policies that have previously supported the deployment of small-scale renewable projects are being withdrawn. Social innovation and the evolution of business models are needed if citizen participation is to continue and succeed in this new policy landscape. At the same time, few business models stand still. This paper reviews the evolution of community energy business models in England to provide insights into the potential of community participation in the energy system post subsidies. Concentrating on community solar photovoltaic projects as the cornerstone technology, this review identifies and critique three archetypal business models as sequentially dominating English community renewable energy to date. Using insights from both Science and Technology Studies and Transaction Cost Economics, it explores the drivers and origin of these models as well as resulting community benefits. Looking forwards and by reviewing current activity, this paper identifies new intermediary actors as playing a key role in facilitating and brokering new, increasingly complicated and commercial community energy business models. We argue that this marks a significant break from the past and may, in time, offer more opportunities for community participation in energy system transformation. Moreover, it offers some communities the possibility of staying small and retaining their more radical potential

Y(2175): Distinguish Hybrid State from Higher Quarkonium

The possibility of Y(2175) as a $2{^3D_1}$ $s\bar{s}$ meson is studied. We study the decay of $2{^3D_1}$ $s\bar{s}$ from both the $^3P_0$ model and the flux tube model, and the results are similar in the two models. We show that the decay patterns of $1^{--}$ strangeonium hybrid and $2{^3D_1}$ $s\bar{s}$ are very different. The experimental search of the decay modes $KK$, $K^{*}K^{*}$, $K(1460)K$, $h_1(1380)\eta$ is suggested to distinguish the two pictures. Measuring the $K^{*}K^{*}$ partial width ratios is crucial to discriminate the $2{^3D_1}$ from the $3{^3S_1}$ $s\bar{s}$ assignment.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figure

Surface ozone variability and the jet position: Implications for projecting future air quality

Changes in the variability of surface ozone can affect the incidence of ozone pollution events. Analysis of multi-century simulations from a chemistry climate model shows that present-day summertime variability of surface ozone depends strongly on the jet stream position over eastern North America. This relationship holds on decadal time scales under projected climate change scenarios, in which surface ozone variability follows the robust poleward shift of the jet. The correlation between ozone and co-located temperature over eastern North America is also closely tied to the jet position, implying that local ozone-temperature relationships may change as the circulation changes. Jet position can thus serve as a dynamical predictor of future surface ozone variability over eastern North America and may also modulate ozone variability in other northern midlatitude regions